February 23, 2019. Is this the date future rugby historians will pinpoint as the turning point for the game in Australia? Or was the Brumbies’ astonishing 54-17 win against the Chiefs in Canberra on Saturday night just another false dawn for the struggling code?
Australia’s Super Rugby teams failed to win a single game against New Zealand opposition in 2017 and won only four matches last year. But in the second round of the 2019 season, the Brumbies smashed the Kiwi hoodoo, raising hopes of a long-awaited revival of Australian rugby at Super Rugby and Test level.
If the Brumbies can maintain this form, what are the implications for Australia’s chances in Super Rugby and more importantly for the Wallabies at the World Cup in Japan? The Brumbies produced a superb display of total rugby, complementing their strong set-pieces and rolling maul with expansive, running rugby. And they did it without injured star openside flanker David Pocock. Their line-speed in defence and support play in attack were excellent. They showed no fear of the Chiefs and they never took their foot off their throats, very much a ruthless Kiwi trait.
The spark for the Brumbies’ win was the scintillating performance of five-eighth Christian Lealiifano, who capped off his comeback from cancer with a game that turned back the clock. It was the best display by an Australian playmaker for several years.
A strong Brumbies will give Australia a greater chance of contributing two teams to the Super Rugby playoffs, which in turn will help the Wallabies to prepare for the Bledisloe Cup, the Rugby Championship and the World Cup. But how much notice will Wallabies coach Michael Cheika take of Super Rugby form? Will he continue to rely on players who have performed for him in the past, particularly members of his 2014 Waratahs Super Rugby title-winning team?
Significantly, when the Brumbies won the Australian conference title in 2016 and 2017, their dominance was not reflected in the selection of the Wallabies in the opening Test of the Bledisloe Cup series, the most important game of the year. In 2016 there were nine Waratahs (who finished sixth) in the Wallabies’ 23-man squad for the opener against the All Blacks in Sydney compared to seven Brumbies, including five to four in the starting line-up.
Similarly, in 2017 there were eight Waratahs (who finished ninth) in the Wallabies’ 23-man squad for the Bledisloe Cup opener against the All Blacks in Sydney compared to the Brumbies’ six, including five each in the starting line-ups, while ex-Waratahs hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau was playing for the Western Force. The Wallabies were thrashed by the All Blacks in both of those games. Was selection a contributing factor in those defeats?
The new Wallabies selection panel of Cheika, Rugby Australia director of coaching Scott Johnson and dual international Michael O’Connor will be crucial in ensuring outstanding Super Rugby form is transferred to the Test arena. The question is, will Johnson and O’Connor be merely selection advisors or will they have the power to outvote Cheika?
Intriguingly, under Rugby Australia’s new power structure, Cheika will answer to Johnson, which effectively makes him head of the selection panel. The key for Johnson and O’Connor is to help Cheika find the players who are best equipped to play the style of game the coach wants the Wallabies to play, but also make sure Super Rugby form is given a high priority.
After two rounds it is way too early to make confident predictions about which Super Rugby team will win the Australian conference. With Will Genia and Quade Cooper running the show, the Melbourne Rebels looked fairly impressive, if not entirely convincing, in their 34-27 win against the Brumbies in Canberra in round one. The Queensland Reds showed a lot of improvement in attack and a huge amount of heart in their 36-31 loss to the Highlanders in Dunedin last Friday night. But the Waratahs – the team Cheika seems to rely on most - have had a slow start; their one-point win against the Sunwolves in Tokyo on Saturday more disappointing than their one-point loss to the Hurricanes at Brookvale Oval the previous week.
On form the Brumbies should supply the majority of the Wallabies, but one game does not make a season. There is still a long way to go before the Bledisloe Cup opener against the All Blacks in Perth on August 10. We will know more about the Brumbies when they play the Hurricanes in Wellington on Friday night. They may have made a rod for their own back, particularly against the Kiwi teams, who will now be on high alert. The Brumbies need to back up their performance against the Chiefs to prove they are not one-game wonders, while Australia’s other three Super Rugby teams and the Wallabies should sit up and take note that if you play positively and fearlessly, you can achieve something special.
