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Five predictions for the Wallabies ahead of The Rugby Championship
Following last year’s disastrous international season, new coach Eddie Jones has helped breathe new life into the Wallabies and Australian rugby as a whole.
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Rugby is back in the headlines, and many fans genuinely believe in the men in gold.
Under coach Jones, anything is possible. Wallabies fans are not only optimistic but confident ahead of this year’s Rugby World Cup in France.
But that’s still months away.
The road to rugby immortality starts this weekend in The Rugby Championship.
As a passionate sporting nation watches on from Down Under, the Wallabies will want to make their mark against their fierce southern hemisphere rivals.
The Wallabies begin their TRC campaign against reigning Rugby World Cup champions South Africa in Pretoria this weekend, before hosting Los Pumas in Sydney a week later.
Eddie Jones and then Wallabies will round off their shortened TRC with a blockbuster fixture against Ian Foster’s All Blacks at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
It doesn’t get much bigger than that.
Looking to usher in a new era under coach Jones, here’s how things might play out ahead of the Rugby World Cup.
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Springboks will teach the Wallabies a lesson
While Eddie Jones’ sheer genius may finally help unearth the very best of a golden generation of Australian rugby players – this team may go deep at the World Cup – things might not get off to an idyllic start.
The Wallabies begin their Rugby Championship campaign against the Springboks at Loftus Versfield in Pretoria this weekend.
It’s a venue that they’ve never won at. They’d need to rewrite their history.
Before flying out to South Africa earlier this month, Jones told reporters at Sydney International Airport that the Wallabies want to “set the tone for our campaign” against the Springboks.
But the Springboks aren’t to be messed with. They aren’t the reigning World Cup champions for no reason.
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South Africa showed last year in two Test matches against the All Blacks that they’re a different breed in front of their home fans – an unforgiving force that refuses to cower or give up.
The Springboks have named a strong side for the Test, with powerful backrower Duane Vermeulen set to captain the team from the back of the scrum.
They simply have everything going for them before this Test, while the Wallabies are still trying to figure out their identity under Eddie Jones.
The Wallabies will show glimpses of promise, but the hosts will ultimately get the job done by a relatively comfortable scoreline.
Wallabies will win a Bledisloe Cup battle, but lose the war (again)
Whenever there’s a Rugby World Cup coming up, the Wallabies seem to go up another gear against their greatest rivals New Zealand.
It’s almost as if they want to create a sense of genuine fear amongst All Blacks fans. Every time it has happened in the past, panic rapidly spreads throughout a rugby-mad nation at the bottom of the world like the plague.
This year will be no different.
After losing to South Africa, the Wallabies will bounce back with a win over Argentina in Sydney – which sets them up perfectly for their toughest Test yet.
In front of a packed house at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, a sea of gold will inspire the Wallabies to a famous win over the little brothers from across the ditch in late July.
The world-famous venue will erupt into a frenzy at full-time, and Australian rugby fans will begin to question whether 2023 is the year that the men in gold finally break their Bledisloe Cup hoodoo.
But they won’t.
Not yet, at least.
After winning the Test match in Melbourne, the Wallabies will head to Dunedin – and lose that clash at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
Painfully in the eyes of Wallabies supporters, the Bledisloe Cup will remain in New Zealand for another year.
So, while a battle will be won, the Wallabies will ultimately lose the Bledisloe Cup war.
Carter Gordon will emerge as a Breakout Player of the Year contender
Going into this year’s Super Rugby Pacific season, playmaker Carter Gordon had clearly been given the keys to the Melbourne Rebels’ attack under coach Kevin Foote.
Starting 13 matches at flyhalf this season, Gordon was nothing short of sensational.
It almost wasn’t a surprise to see the 22-year-old included in Eddie Jones’ Wallabies squad for The Rugby Championship. Gordon was just that good.
Now just a few days away from possibly his first taste of international rugby against the Springboks, Gordon could be set for more greatness in 2023.
Gordon will not only challenge veteran Quade Cooper for the starting No. 10 jersey under coach Jones, but the young flyhalf will also take his game to the next level.
With a brilliant rugby IQ, a skillset well beyond his years, and great leadership qualities as well, Gordon will emerge as a contender for World Rugby’s Breakout Player of the Year.
French-based locks will make a real difference
Late last month, former Wallabies captain James Horwill said that the Wallabies should select uncapped Toulouse lock Richie Arnold alongside Will Skelton in The Rugby Championship squad.
Both players were picked, and could potentially play a big role – both figuratively and literally – for the Wallabies in the coming weeks.
Arnold, who is the twin brother of former Wallaby Rory, has been sensational for the French powerhouse in both the domestic and European competitions.
But with such a big frame, and the experience of playing in the northern hemisphere, Arnold could form a formidable connection with La Rochelle lock Skelton.
The pair could give the Wallabies a physical edge against some powerhouse teams including the All Blacks, and potentially Ireland, France and England and this year’s World Cup.
To say Australia could have a better set-piece would be an understatement. The Wallabies could end up having one of the most dynamic and physical forward packs in the world.
Eddie Jones will bring out the best of Suliasi Vunivalu
Winger Suliasi Vunivalu was never able to really force his way into the Wallabies under former coach Dave Rennie.
Vunivalu, who is a former NRL star with the Melbourne Storm, has only played one Test match – and that was a cameo off the bench against England at the Sydney Cricket Ground last year.
But the fault can’t be pinned on Rennie. Vunivalu also struggled to maintain some consistency under former Queensland Reds coach Brad Thorn.
Vunivalu is better than that, though. That’s what Australian rugby fans thought when the code hopper put pen to paper with Rugby Australia, and that’s what some still believe.
Fortunately for the one-Test Wallaby, Eddie Jones is a genius. The super coach has been able to get the most out of some world-class stars, including some former rugby league players.
Better than anyone else in rugby union, Jones will understand what made Vunivalu so special in the NRL – and how this can be replicated in the 15-player game.
Jones was able to lead former NRL stars Lote Tuqiri and Wendell Sailor to Wallabies stardom 20 years ago, and Vunivalu can be dealt a similar fate this year.
There’s plenty of depth in the Wallabies’ outside backs though, so the Reds winger will face a tough challenge to force himself into the starting lineup.
But under coach Eddie Jones, anything is possible for the former Storm star.
Comments on RugbyPass
To be fair it was nowhere bear the Leinster first team (for which, btw, Leinster copped nothing like the outrage that Jake White did for sending a rotated team to the UK). But it’s fun to watch the Stormers doing their thing. They are attracting big, diverse crowds of young fans, and deservedly so. Great to see.
1 Go to commentsIt might be legal but he’s sailing pretty close to the wind. Not a lot needs to go wrong for Finau to end up in the bin. Was it late? Not quite, but borderline. High? A couple of CM within the laws, no room for error with that one. Did he wrap the arms? There was a token effort to wrap one arm, the intent was clearly to hit with the shoulder. So yeah, it’s legal, just. But as we all know, a very slight change in the dynamics could easily have him seeing red. Hopefully not when it really matters.
4 Go to commentsCan we also show some love for Tane Edmed’s fantastic draw and pass? Put his body on the line and committed the defender before letting go of that pass. Flawless skill.
4 Go to commentsYou forget this is Rassie Erasmus who is still holding the Springbok keys. Even with Felix Jones orchestrating a really tight RWC SF last year. It still wasn't enough to get England past their particular Springbok Monkey in world cups. The reason is FJ was going off of what they did in 2019 not necessarily adapting to current Springboks. So yes, Australia can get passed England because let's be honest, England have a one track strategy, Springboks do not. Even with rush defense I wouldn't be surprised if Rassie continually tweaks it. Also bear in mind Rassie is happy to sacrifice a few mid year and inter World Cup matches to pin point how opposition plays and how to again tweak strategies to get his Springboks in peak performance for the next World Cup. As much as most teams like to win games in front of them and try to win everything, Rassie always makes sure to learn and train for the greatest showdown International Rugby has to offer. Tbh, most people remember World Cup wins and ignore intermediate losses as a result but will remember also WC losses, Ireland, even if they won games in the interim. So even if games are won against the Springboks, it's likely Rassie is just getting a feel for how opposition is moving and adapt accordingly…in time. For Rassie, a loss is never a loss because he uses it as a chance to learn and improve. Sometimes during a game, again like the England match in last year's Semi Final.
7 Go to commentsDanny don't care. He pretends to care but he don't. He says all this stuff to justify his reasoning but no one can claim that legitimately. He knew exactly what he was doing and wondered if his old team mate would overlook it, which he did. Ref has got to be sidelined or properly trained. It's one thing for refs to move up the ranks but if it was me I would require refs to either have played in different clubs or not at all having the temptation to bias in high stakes games like this. This has got to be stamped out. But then again World Rugby is so destroying the game of rugby in an attempt to be more “safe” and “concussion free”. What they are doing is making it more infuriating for the fans and more difficult for the refs to officiate evenly and consistently. It's fast become Australian Rules football. If guys don't want concussions, they should have played chess. Stop complaining you oldies of the game. When they played the game was vastly heavier hitting than it is now but of course they can't see that.
2 Go to commentsJa, why do Bulls get flack for not bringing their best but Leinster never bring their best and it goes “unnoticed”?
3 Go to commentsIt’ll be very interesting to see how Razor’s AB’s handle the new England rush D. It’s basically the Bok recipe they copied, so if England goes well then we know most likely the Boks will go well too. If England cops a hiding then we’ll have to study and adapt.
7 Go to commentsTypical trait of an australian is to moan. Goes well with there lack of humbleness as evident by the Reds bench on the weekend.
4 Go to commentsSBW’s bro’town commentary and lazy default to hyperbole should be ignored, a technical analyst he is not. Sotutu is a good player when games get goosey loosey, high skill set that fans of Zinzan recall with starry eyes. But you need power and mongrel at no8 in the Test arena and Sotutu gets found wanting there, much like Akira Ioane. No8’s like Zinzan and Ardie have bucketloads of mongrel and power and tenacity which allow the skill sets to flourish.
11 Go to commentsAn inside pass to attacker on the angle can make a drift defence look lead footed. Relies on fleet footed forward/s to get across from the breakdown. An argument for the smaller faster 7 perhaps?
7 Go to commentsSensational tackle. The reds one was late and rightly penalised. The other two were simultaneous with the pass. If nitpicking TMOs can’t find fault there clearly isn’t any.
4 Go to commentsBrumbies fully deserved their win on the back of their physicality and desire to control the ball. Xavier Numia, Asafo Aumua and Tyrel Lomax should be the ABs starting front row when we start our test schedule. They have “come of age” and have bested all they have faced as well as been dominant with ball in hand in making the gainline. With De Groot, Tamaiti Williams and Fletcher Newell backed up by Taukei'aho and Cody Taylor there's not an international front row that can trouble us. Can't wait to face the Boks over there, won't be no one point game this time.
7 Go to commentsKinda strange that he wasn’t with a premiership team or a higher level of rugby? Start playing late or something? With that kind of size and athleticism you’d think someone would have picked him up?
2 Go to commentsShows how much attitude matters. Last week the Brumbies got done, this week they dominated the tournament leaders, who were likely thinking they could cruise to victory.
7 Go to commentsA Turtle has more pace and leg drive than Owen Franks, so it’s a good thing he only had to run 90 metres for that try.
2 Go to commentsOh Tamati Tua was in the vastly over-rated Leon MacDonalds Blues system? Well, no wonder he was wasted, much like Emoni Narawa and Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens under MacDonald. now look at them. Good thing Tua isn’t eligible, the Aussies latch on to any player who isn’t tied down.
7 Go to commentsMark Telea is a lot of things, but a defensive juggernaut has never been one of them. There will be far bigger tests in that regard for the youngster.
11 Go to commentsLove and respect to Fiji but not a chance outside of 7s
4 Go to commentsGood summation Ned. Agree the Canes were out-muscled for once (except at the scrum!) by a focused Brumbies outfit. Tua deserves consideration for higher honors after the way he humbled Jordie and the Canes defense. Thankfully, his lack of eligibility for Oz keeps him from Joe’s plans. While I also agree the injuries affected the Canes performance, some players seemed to lack focus and intensity for this match. Perhaps after the Blues demolished the Brumbies, they thought it was going to be easy? A good reminder that any slip up in preparation can have a big affect on the result. Brumbies deserved that win.
7 Go to commentsKarl Dixon should never have been appointed this fixture, absolute disgrace, He’s not much of a referee anyway, didn't have the balls to send his mate care off
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