How the Wallabies have proved themselves as 2023 World Cup contenders
2021 was mostly a successful year for the Wallabies, with some promising and captivating performances reaffirming their credentials as a potential World Cup contender less than two years out from the sports penultimate event.
But winning just 50 percent of their matches this year, they probably aren’t quite at the level where they would be considered by rugby fans as anything more than a dark horse for the World Cup.
However, the Wallabies have shown this year they’re on their way back to their best, and that’s exciting for fans of the sport around the world.
Australia began their season with an incredibly competitive three-test series against France, which they won two matches to one. The first two tests were decided by just two points, before the hosts won the third by three in Brisbane.
While three consecutive losses to the All Blacks followed, keeping the Bledisloe Cup on the other side of the Tasman for another year, the Wallabies bounced back in a big way over the next five tests.
Quade Cooper helped lead the resurgence as the Wallabies won all five of those matches. That included two unforgettable wins over reigning World Cup winners South Africa, including a convincing 13-point victory in Brisbane.
The Wallabies’ fifth win during that streak, and their final victory for the year, came in Oita against Japan last month. Outside of a World Cup year, this was the first time since 2008 that the Wallabies had won five tests in a row.
Prior to their end-of-year trip to the United Kingdom, the Wallabies had already established themselves as a team well and truly on the rise, but Cooper, Samu Kerevi and Sean McMahon were all made unavailable for this leg of the Spring Tour.
Their absences proved costly as a defeat to Scotland at Murrayfield was the first of three losses on a winless tour to finish their season.
But, as will be discussed shortly, it’s not all bad for the Wallabies who can still take positives out of their losses moving on to 2022.
2021 Record: Seven wins from 14 matches
2021 Grade: B
One line to sum up the 2021 Wallabies: A team on the rise who is only going to get better.
Former Wallabies playmaker Stephen Larkham has been tipped to return to his former Super Rugby Pacific side after walking out on Irish club Munster. #SuperRugbyPacific #Brumbies https://t.co/PKpx2Jh5Ow
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 23, 2021
What did 2021 prove about the Wallabies?
2021 was an important challenge for the Wallabies, who, under Dave Rennie, had their first season testing themselves against teams from both the southern and northern hemispheres.
In these matches, they showed that they have the potential to be a contender for the World Cup in 2023.
Even though they lost all three of their tests in the UK, the Wallabies proved to the world that they aren’t far off the mark when it comes to beating the best teams in the north.
The Wallabies were beating Scotland until the 69th minute, when a Finn Russell penalty goal handed the home side the lead before going on to win 15-13.
Then, during the following week’s 32-15 loss to England at Twickenham, it was a seven-point game until Marcus Smith converted a penalty goal with seven minutes to play.
In their final test of the year against Wales, a 14-man Wallabies side were leading the Six Nations champions until well after the siren, before a Rhys Priestland penalty decided that test.
So, really, it seems like the Wallabies were just mere minutes away from being able to overcome these thrillers against some of Europe’s finest.
They aren’t far off, and that’s when they’ve arguably been understrength without the likes of Kerevi and Cooper unavailable, as was captain Michael Hooper in the test against Wales.
This year was also a useful marker for the men in gold who showed just how far they’ve improved on last year.
In Rennie’s first season in charge of the Wallabies, they won just one from six matches played. Three of those results were also draws, with two of them coming against Argentina.
Despite ending their European tour without a win, there is plenty of admiration for Rennie’s side from the Australian rugby public, writes @ArgyleSport. #WALvAUS https://t.co/Tdiq3jdjBs
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 22, 2021
The Wallabies faced Los Pumas twice again this year and didn’t seem to have too many problems this time around. They won the first match 27-8, and the second 32-17.
The two wins against South Africa, though, may go down in history as a turning point for this side ahead of the World Cup.
While the first of these matches on the Gold Coast was a tense thriller, the second match in Brisbane was one that the Wallabies largely controlled.
They showed this year that they’re capable of winning Ttsts against literally the world’s best side at the moment, and they’re not far off beating others of a similar calibre.
Their Best Player
It seems as though there are two players who are leading the race for this honour.
Hooper and Kerevi were both nominated for one of World Rugby’s highest individual honours earlier this year, that being the 15s Men’s Player of the Year award.
While he’s an incredible player, it was arguably a surprise to see Kerevi as one of the four players nominated, considering he’s only played a handful of tests this year.
That leads me to suggest that Hooper has clearly been the Wallabies’ best player once again this year, and it wouldn’t be a complete surprise to see him win his fourth John Eales Medal.
As I wrote in a piece last week, ahead of the final tests of the year, Hooper had won 10 more turnovers than the next best Wallabies player. He was also leading the likes of Ardie Savea and Siya Kolisi by some margin in that area of the game.
Without going into it too much, Hooper had one of his best seasons in Wallabies gold after returning from a sabbatical in Japan.
It would be a big surprise not to see him rewarded for his efforts on the field as Australia’s top player, as well as possibly the world’s best.
The former Wallaby coach is throwing his support in behind the man who replaced him. #WALvAUS https://t.co/KNq0uLACEs
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 22, 2021
Breakout Player
The Wallabies have added to their depth really well this year, and it’ll no doubt serve them well throughout this World Cup cycle.
There are a number of players who made their debuts this year and performed very well, including Len Ikitau and Darcy Swain. But, quite clearly, Andrew Kellaway has been a superstar.
The 26-year-old has been nominated for World Rugby’s Breakout Player of the Year award, and it’s not difficult to understand why. In his first season in the green and gold, he crossed for nine tries, and has a great understanding of the game.
The Wallabies have well and truly found a gem in Kellaway this season, and considering other up-and-coming players at their disposal, it’s an exciting time for Australian rugby fans.
What to expect in 2022
It’d be easy just to say that the Wallabies need to win more games next year to be successful, but, really, the Wallabies just need to continue building this consistency both week-to-week, as well as across 80 minutes.
The improvements that they’ve made this year have been clear for all to see, and if they continue on this upward trend, then this side may just be on the cusp of something special.
I’m sure the Wallabies would love another chance at Scotland, England and Wales, but with another year of development under the belt, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Wallabies win two of these three tests should they meet again next year.
As for the Rugby Championship, this team has the potential to contend with South Africa and the All Blacks. Also, getting some wins over those sides a year before the World Cup would also be invaluable for Rennie’s side.
I expect the Wallabies to show the rugby world next season that their competitiveness this year was far from a fluke, as they prove why they’re a team to watch out for come France 2023.
Comments on RugbyPass
Wasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
30 Go to comments