Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
NZ NZ

Rugby Championship 2018: Reasons for optimism and concern for Australia

By Peter Hanson
Australia in action against Ireland

Australia will have to arrest an alarming run of form if they are to upset the odds and deny powerhouses New Zealand Rugby Championship glory.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Wallabies face a daunting opener against world champions the All Blacks in Sydney, a venue where they shipped 54 points to Steve Hansen’s men 12 months ago, on Saturday.

A year ago, Australia won only two matches and finished second above South Africa only on points differential.

Head coach Michael Cheika has plenty to ponder, but there are positives as well for the men in yellow. We take a look at the positives and negatives ahead of the tournament.

NEGATIVES:

CENTRE CRISIS

Australia are lacking in options at centre. Samu Kerevi sustained a ruptured bicep and is not expected to return until the trips to South Africa and Argentina in the latter stages of the tournament at the earliest.

Fellow outside centre Tevita Kuridrani is also expected to miss a large chunk of the Championship with a pectoral issue.

Reece Hodge will likely fill the void, while the returning Matt Toomua provides depth at centre and fly-half, but it is an area opposition teams are likely to focus on.

ADVERTISEMENT
Video Spacer

FALTERING FORM

It has been an unhappy spell for Cheika’s side who finished 2017 with heavy defeats away at England and Scotland, matches which followed a narrow win in Wales.

Things did not massively improve in the June Test series against Ireland. An 18-9 triumph in the first contest provided brief respite as the tourists roared back to win the next two contests.

Australia did finish 2017 with a morale-boosting win over New Zealand in the final Bledisloe Cup encounter, but only managed to beat Argentina in the Rugby Championship last season.

ALL BLACKS OUT FOR REVENGE?

New Zealand is again, inevitably, the team to beat in this year’s tournament.

ADVERTISEMENT

The top-ranked team remains the standard bearers in world rugby and even the most optimistic fans of the other three nations will struggle to believe they can be toppled.

Even more worryingly for the Wallabies, New Zealand will be stung by beating beaten the last time the teams met. The All Blacks do not lose often, and when they do there are usually repercussions.

Video Spacer

POSITIVES:

HOME COMFORTS

While Australia’s form is hardly anything to write home about, they do have the added bonus of playing three of their opening four matches on home soil.

New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina visit Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast respectively, with Australia facing a short hop to Auckland in game two.

If they can make the most of the home comforts then Australia will be in a strong position heading into the closing weekends.

KEY TALENT BACK IN SUPER RUGBY

With the Rugby World Cup just a year out, Cheika has been successful in convincing several of Australia’s exports to return to Super Rugby.

Kurtley Beale and Will Genia are back on Aussie soil, while the skillful Matt Toomua is restored to the squad having agreed to a deal with Rugby Australia and Waratahs – who he will join after the 2018-19 Premiership season with Leicester Tigers.

David Pocock also returned for the 2018 Super Rugby season, having had a spell in Japan, while captain Michael Hooper recently signed a new five-year deal.

MOTIVATION

This might seem an obvious one, but there is no doubt that there is motivation.

Firstly to end New Zealand’s stranglehold on the trophy but, perhaps just as importantly, to prove that competition is still strong in the Southern Hemisphere.

Add in the fact that several players in an aging squad will know they face a last-chance saloon ahead of next year’s World Cup, there is plenty to play for.

Think you can build a Super team? Join The Rugby Championship Fantasy now and you’ll stand to win $1000s in prizes! It’s not hard: https://fantasytab.fantasyrugger.com/

In other news:

Video Spacer
ADVERTISEMENT

Join free

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | Episode 6

Sam Warburton | The Big Jim Show | Full Episode

Japan Rugby League One | Sungoliath v Eagles | Full Match Replay

Japan Rugby League One | Spears v Wild Knights | Full Match Replay

Boks Office | Episode 10 | Six Nations Final Round Review

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | How can New Zealand rugby beat this Ireland team

Beyond 80 | Episode 5

Rugby Europe Men's Championship Final | Georgia v Portugal | Full Match Replay

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
Jon 9 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

35 Go to comments
j
john 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

44 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING 'Crikey': Son of league legend Martin Offiah picked by England U18s 'Crikey': Son of league legend Martin Offiah picked by England U18s
Search