When was the last time the Wallabies were a force in world rugby? It’s hard to remember isn’t it?
I’d say around 2003 and before that, the golden years of 1999-2001. That’s seven bloody years ago.
A couple of times in-between you could say that we were on the up but it only came crashing down again due to inconsistency and a lack of depth.
A good example of that is 2008 where we defeated the All Blacks in Sydney 34-19 and the Springboks a couple of times as well.
However, that was followed up with a disgraceful 53-8 snotklap at Ellis Park (with space cadet/peanut/muppet Tahu playing a prominent role) and three subsequent losses to the Kiwis.
Then we went to Europe and defeated Italy, England, France and the Baa Baas but lost to the Taff’s, who were Six Nations champions at the time. And this was regarded as a fairly successful season. Gee, haven’t our expectations slipped?
Has there been any improvement since 2008? Not that I can see. Robbie Deans was to be ‘the Great White Hope’ but that prospect has now fallen away as badly as Jerry Quarry did when he boxed Cassius Clay in 1970.
We actually had a few players who you could say were world class around that early 2000’s period such as Matt Burke, Stirling Mortlock, Stephen Larkham, Joe Roff, George Gregan, George Smith and Patricio Noriega?
Do we have any at the moment who would fit into a world team? Not likely on form. Zip I’d reckon – not one. The cupboard is bare. Maybe Pocock or Elsom on the bench but that would be it.
We can’t seem to beat our Tri-Nations rivals in their backyard, let alone ours. The last time we defeated the All Blacks in New Zealand was in 2001. We have beaten the Springboks once in South Africa (2008) in ten years.
Our world ranking floats somewhere between three and about five. We were at No 2 in 2005 but started slipping thereafter.
We’ve slightly recovered this year due to some ‘artificial’ embellishments e.g. a win against Fiji is not ‘weighted’ so you get the same points if you beat them or, for instance, the All Blacks.
That, the first Pom test and the Irish effort (another average side) has pushed us to No 3 at present. If we’re supposedly the third best side in the world then international rugby must be goddam weak.
I rate France above the Wallabies. Our record away to Le Frog is in the red as well, although we don’t seem to play them as often as some others. The record is won two, lost three since 2000.
We beat them here a few times because, apart from last year, like most other European nations they very rarely bring their top side on tour – lots of players are ‘rested’.
I’d be surprised if we win in Paris on the Spring Tour later this year with our current lineup.
I’d also be surprised if we win any of the two games against the Bokke in South Africa in the next few weeks. History and consistency is definitely against us.
So, our rugby is going south at the moment. Why is that? Why is it that Robbie Deans hasn’t been the success that he was touted to be? Is it all his fault?
The answer to this rhetorical question is both yes and no. I think that he’s operating within a system that doesn’t provide him with the cattle to do the job.
We can bang on about Australia not having a third tier competition all we like, but watching NPC and Currie Cup on Fox is an indicator of what’s missing.
The standard of rugby is a damn sight better than any club footy you’d find in this part of the world.
It was a sad day when the ARC was put out to pasture (for reasons financial) and look at the number of players now in Super 14 that featured in that series.
We are poorer for its passing. It’s a shame Clive Palmer isn’t a rugby fan because we could finger him for a cool $3m each year to cover costs?
As an aside, isn’t it piss poor that at this stage of the rugby season we have to watch South African and Kiwi domestic footy on our TV because there isn’t any of ours available?
So, the fact is that Robbie Deans doesn’t get the quantity of quality players needed to supply a top-tier international squad.
Using New Zealand as the benchmark, our rugby depth across the board is no match for the Kiwis.
Australian Schoolboys generally lose to NZ (apart from the odd year), our U20s are always road kill for them and we’ve discussed our senior record.
The rugby aficionados who read G&GR are the most perceptive, knowledgeable and sympathetic group within Australian rugby circles. They’re prepared to cut our rugby ‘masters’ a lot of slack.
There is now considerable disquiet amongst this demographic about Robbie’s selection and coaching strategies, and longevity. This is an indicator to me that the Deans ‘goodwill factor’ is finite and currently in decline.
Injuries notwithstanding (which all nations are subject to: think Sivivatu, Hore, Toeava, Williams, Eaton, Delany, Donald etc for the ABs), my view is that Robbie has blooded too many younger players earlier than he should have.
There needed to be more experienced blokes in the June tests to mentor this group i.e. Baxter, Hoiles etc (before they were injured) and his use of the bench has been poor.
Some positional picks have also been questionable and the continued selection of marginal players like Ma’afu, Brown, Mumm and Mitchell is worrying.
As for his coaching ability, he’s regarded as a top tier coach. However, he’s only as good as the cattle he’s presented with. I bet that this job is a lot harder than he first thought….
