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Australian rugby has spent the past six months facing questions about its impending mortality after a disastrous World Cup under Eddie Jones. But a competitive start by Australian sides in the opening three rounds of Super Rugby, including victories by the Reds and the Waratahs against powerhouse New Zealand opposition, has kept the gravediggers at bay for the moment. Despite Jones’ reputation having taken a battering after last year’s chaotic campaign, the early revival of Australian form this year arguably bears some fingerprints of the ex-coach.
Entering the new Super Rugby season, the 2023 World Cup seemingly divided Wallabies players into two camps. There were those who’d been brushed by Jones for France and had been stewing about it all summer, waiting for the new year to arrive. Then there was the mostly young core of players who’d been selected and thrown into battle by Jones, and though they emerged bruised and battered, they also emerged wiser and as stronger, more experienced players.
In the first group, the Reds’ young No.8 Harry Wilson and the Waratahs’ back-rower Jed Holloway showed in their strong performances in wins against the Chiefs and Crusaders respectively how wrong Jones was to overlook them. Wilson, in particular, has been a dynamo this season. So too has his Reds’ back-row teammate Fraser McReight. The No.7 was a rare source of optimism for the Wallabies in France and has brought his form home to Queensland. After dealing with the difficulties of being part of Jones’ travelling circus for so long, McReight is back home playing outstanding rugby and has grown from the adversity of the World Cup.
Elsewhere, Carter Gordon has looked in good touch in back-to-back wins for the Rebels, and Ben Donaldson has been in sharp touch for the Force. The form of the Reds in downing the Chiefs, and the Waratahs in beating the Crusaders a week earlier, will have brought a smile to the face of Jones’ successor, new Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt.
Australian Super Rugby franchises understand the difficulty in consistently challenging their counterparts from across the Tasman, even in better times. Three seasons ago in Super Rugby Trans-Tasman, Australian teams lost 23 of the 25 games and shipped an average of 21 points in every defeat against Kiwi opposition. Last Friday the Waratahs came within a last-minute penalty kick of winning against the Highlanders in Sydney, before losing by two points, showing that even in defeat, they were competitive until the end. The normal sole Australian flag bearers against New Zealand clubs, the Brumbies were uncharacteristically rusty in round two’s 34-point loss against the Chiefs, but should be far more competitive against the Highlanders on Saturday.
The Reds attracted a very healthy crowd of 16,725 in Brisbane for last Saturday’s win against the Chiefs, an increase from 14,593 in their round one victory over the Waratahs. Last Friday in Sydney 13,533 fans watched the Waratahs’ last-minute defeat against the Highlanders and the franchise will hope for an even better crowd next Saturday against the Blues.
Former Wallaby Morgan Turinui is cautiously optimistic about the state of Australian rugby, but feels that the relative safe haven of club rugby has been a blessing for the returning Wallabies after the World Cup.
“It was hard because when you have a really poor experience you want to get a small break, but you also really want to get back into it because you don’t want that bad taste in your mouth anymore,” Turinui said. “You want to get back and prove yourself on the field again. I think it’s just re-energised some players [in Super Rugby] and some of them have kicked on and are playing really well.”
Turinui feels that early signs of consistently competing strongly against New Zealand opposition in Super Rugby could potentially point to a brighter picture for the Wallabies as new coach Schmidt looks to build his extended squad for July’s Test against Wales.
“I think it’s important we don’t get ahead of ourselves, but also remember that we’ve got good rugby players and lots of guys are playing well at the moment,” Turinui said. “The Wallabies are a very different kettle of fish to the five [Australian] Super teams, but I think we have to be optimistic and remember we’re a good rugby side at international level. It was a really poor World Cup, but there’s still lots of good players, and we’ve got good young players that we need to be patient with. It’s funny, the one time in rugby in Australia where we probably don’t have the time for patience with what’s coming, we actually need to be patient with the players and just let them play lots of rugby, as much as possible.”
The stark list of challenges for Rugby Australia remains, most notably finding a solution through the financial fog of the Rebels’ balance sheets. Optimism has been a rare emotion for Australian rugby fans recently, but the Reds and the Waratahs could finally help them to believe in a brighter future.
Written by an RA puffpiece scribe I guess
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