If you look at where we are now are we better positioned than before last year’s Spring Tour?
What’s changed since then, if anything? Have the test debutant’s introduced since that time reached expectations?
Actually, at least a third of the 2009 Spring touring party won’t be selected for the coming trip due to injury, retirement or having fallen by the wayside. More on that later.
This time last year we had won our three June tests (Italy twice and France), beaten the Springboks once in a stormer of a match in Brisbane (the AAC highlight) but lost the other five Tri-Nations tests, with Tokyo yet to come.
There was only one really bad loss and that was the 33-6 Wellington defeat where the coach effectively said the Wallabies gave up on the day.
This year we won three out of four June tests (Fiji, England, Ireland) but lost to England in the 2nd match, which appears to have saved Martin Johnson’s bacon as a coach.
In the Tri-Nations Tournament we won two against the Bokke, including Gilbert’s test in Bloem, and tasted defeat three times by Les All Blacks.
The 49-28 defeat in Melbourne was particularly galling with the Kiwis picking up a four try bonus point before halftime.
The thing that stands out when you look at the comparative Wallaby teams of 2009 v 2010 is the lack of experience in the 2010 forward pack.
Funnily enough, the pack that disastrously lost in Wellington in 2009 was just about our strongest – Robinson, TPN, Alexander, Horwill, Chizz, Rocky, Bam and George Smith (Palu and Moore on the bench).
The All Black team was relatively poor (for them) losing four games, once to France early on and three times dominated by the Springboks.
So in 2009 a ‘weak’ All Black team defeats our strongest combo four times (the backs were fairly settled and a similar selection during both years).
Fast forward to this year and the pack is a relatively inexperienced Robinson, Faingaa, Ma’afu, Sharpe, Mumm, Rocky, Bam and Dick Brown.
The All Blacks have been dynamite in 2010, winning all 6 Tri-Nations games for the first time.
I think we had 4 out of 6 pretty good Tri-Nations games this year although we only came away with two wins. The couldabeen champions?
Winning two Tri-Nations matches, one in South Africa, coming oh-so-close against the Bokke in Pretoria and the ABs in Sydney sounds like, looks like and feels like progress.
That’s a bit simplistic as there were a few other selections in the mix later on this year and apart from Wellington, most of the games in 2009 were fairly close affairs as well.
But the introduction of the Faingaa’s, Daley’s, Slipper’s, Simmons’s, McCalman’s etc to test rugby – although most of them were forced on the selectors – will not go unrewarded down the track.
The development of Kurtley Beale has been stunning and in that 12 month period guys like JO’C, QC, Genia and co are closer to more regular wins against the All Blacks than any time recently.
Bam Pocock has turned into a world class forward with Rocky and Sharpie not too far behind.
The Spring Tour in 2009, with high hopes of a Grand Slam against the Home Countries proved to be a ‘peaks and troughs’ affair with mediocre performances mixed with a couple of goodies.
We started in Tokyo in the 4th Bledisloe, although the ABs had retained the Cup months before.
Our hardy correspondent in Tokyo, El Dommo-San, in between copious amounts of Sapporo, tells us that the Wallabies were lateral and uncreative.
He praised the Kiwis’ intensity as we slowly saw the Wallabies get strangled out of the game and go down 32-19. “The 80 minute consistency of the All Blacks is amazing to observe” (Ed note).
El Dommo drowns his sorrows in a sea of biru with Heens, Dan Crowley and Kef – dribbling to the end….
Over to the Old Dart and after a dirties club win over Glos, we touch up a lacklustre and injury stricken Pommy team (with a completely inexperienced front row – sound familiar) at HQ 18-9.
They did have Wilko back but he didn’t look like the Wilko of old. Genia was the star and Quadey, in the centres with Diggers – it seems like ages ago, had a very mature game.
But it was the forwards who probably won it with their workrate and intensity.
The next two games were a huge disappointment. The 2nd match against Ireland ended in a 20-all draw when we had it more or less won.
The last play of the match had BOD using an Alan Gafney move from his Sydney club days to equalise. That was the Grand Slam then before we even started.
Scotland was even worse. An abysmal match best forgotten. If you want be sick read this and then this. Say no more.
The caravan moved onto Wales and the brightest moment of the tour (after a 31-3 defeat of Cardiff – the first time an Oz side has won against this club).
In the test we absolutely friggin’ smashed them in the first half. Bam was huge: off he went at halftime and on came George Smith, and he was huger.
A comprehensive 33-12 win and we were back on track in an inconsistent sort of way.
New Wallabies on the Spring Tour were Richard Kingi, Rob Horne, Mitch Chapman, Dave Dennis and Salesi Ma’afu.
Of those, none have really kicked on with the promising Horne a permanent crock, although Chapman seems to be a good call.
Dennis was selected only because there was a dearth of unfit locks at the time and the jury is still out on the favoured Ma’afu. Kingi hasn’t been sighted since.
The Spring Tourists from last year who probably won’t be back again in 2010 are:
Retired: George Smith, Injured: Stirlo, Ioane, Horwill, Palu, Horne, TPN and maybe Chizz. Unlikely to be be selected: Cowan, Dennis, Dunning, Cross and Kingi.
Sekope Kepu has had a couple of great club hitouts in the past few weeks and fully fit is an absolute must to bolster our inexperienced front row.
This time we’ve got Wales, Leicester, England, Munster, Italy and France, not forgetting another exhibition match in Hong Kong on the way.
I think the areas of our game we’ll probably need to address against our European friends are, apart from inconsistency, is our tendency to fall away towards the end of matches and an inability to defend a decent lead, a lack of physicality and intensity at the breakdown and this year a fragile scrum (inexperience). Our goal kicking has also been an issue.
I think we’ll have a squad to give this a decent lick. I don’t think we’ll have the juice to win them all with France the most concerning (and we’re unlikely to defeat the All Blacks just yet).
I think we have definitely progressed from this time last year.
