Does beating the four home nations at a Rugby World Cup on British soil count as a grand slam? Well, if that’s the case – and there may well be plenty of debate on this - then Australia are on the brink of a rare achievement: a grand slam within a World Cup.
No team since the All Blacks back in ‘95 has beaten Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales in the same World Cup, and no team has done it when Britain has wholly, or partly hosted the World Cup. Of course, results this weekend would have to fall into line with Australia beating Scotland, and Ireland beating Argentina, which would then pave the way for an historic grand slam semi-final decider. The last and only time the Wallabies pulled off a grand slam was in 1984.
It’s not that other teams have tried and failed grand slam attempts at the World Cup; the draws to date simply haven’t produced the opportunity. The best a Wallabies team could get was three of the four host nations. In 1987, the Wallabies beat England and Ireland and then lost to Wales in the third-place play-off match. In 1991, the year the Wallabies won their first World Cup, they played and beat Wales in pool play, Ireland in the quarter-finals, and then England in the final. Indeed, somewhat ironically, the anomalies of the 2015 draw which has seen England evicted from Twickenham even before the quarter-finals could also produce an opportunity for the Wallabies to land only their second grand slam.
In fact, this World Cup will be remembered as the one that kept giving for the Wallabies and their coach Michael Cheika. And that sentiment wouldn’t change even if they lose to Scotland on the weekend. With all the hype surrounding the Wallabies at the moment, it’s easy to forget how utterly broken the team was barely a year ago following the Ewen McKenzie/Di Patson/Kurtley Beale fiasco. Few, if any, Australian commentators gave them a chance at this World Cup. Just getting out of the so-called pool of death was considered an achievement.
And yet the Wallabies now stand as favourites to beat Scotland for a place in the semi-finals no less. If an injury/suspension-stricken Ireland get past the Pumas, the bookies would no doubt have the Australians as favourites again. That’s a big if though, given Ireland’s injury woes with Paul O’Connell cruelly out of the tournament, and Peter O’Mahony and Johnny Sexton ruled out against Argentina. And on top of that, there’s Sean O’Brien’s suspension for punching Frenchman Pascal Pap’e. The Pumas have improved significantly through their involvement in the Rugby Championship and would fancy their chances against a side with so many key players out. It’s a coin toss at best.
Whichever way it lands, it’s a remarkable turnaround for the Wallabies, a team punch drunk and on the ropes this time last year. Cheika has rightly been given the kudos for this transformation. And so he should be praised. He gambled big with the Wallabies, signing a contract with the Australian Rugby Union only until 2017. Now, he can name his price for a contract extension.
Cheika doesn’t need to win the World Cup to leave a legacy; that’s already in place: the man who rescued the Wallabies not only as team, but also as a sporting brand in the most competitive football code sports market in the world, Australia. Suddenly, people are setting their alarm clocks again. And, what’s more, they’re happy they did. Cheika has brought the love back for the Wallabies. That’s his legacy.
What price on a Wallabies World Cup grand slam culminating in beating, say, the All Blacks in the final? It’s a dream scenario, but one gathering momentum with each Wallabies outing.
Editor’s note: A correction was made to the second paragraph of this article which stated that no country had ever succeeded in pulling off victories against the British and Irish teams in a World Cup. As amended, New Zealand did just that in 1995, and as the wording did not explicitly exclude non-World Cup tournaments, France has on several occasions pulled off a ‘Grand Slam’ in the Five Nations.
