Raelene Castle sets high bar for Wallabies tour

Rugby Australia CEO Raelene Castle has set the bar high for the Wallabies’ upcoming tour of Europe.

According to Castle, going undefeated would be a “pass mark” as Michael Cheika’s men look to end a tough season on a high with fixtures against Wales, Italy and England.

The Wallabies have won just three of their ten fixtures this season and their have been calls for Cheika’s sacking. The RA have backed the coach and his staff as they continue their preparations for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan next year.

“They are determined to go there and win all three games,” Castle told reporters in Sydney.

“That’s the start point, that’s the pass mark from where they are, from their perspective, that’s the expectation that certainly Michael’s setting for them and there’s no reason why they can’t do that.

“They will be very confident that they can come home with three wins.”

Castle also said she saw positives in Australia’s most recent loss, a 37-20 beating at the hands of the All Blacks in Japan.

“I think the great thing about the third test was we saw some improvements and some things they identified they were concerned with,” she said.

“I’m not justifying the result — we all wanted a win — but if you think about building into a World Cup, there was some very specific improvements, particularly around the defensive patterns and things I know they had targeted, that Michael had [targeted], as important for that game.”

The Wallabies have the week off before heading to Cardiff to take on Wales on November 11.

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