Opinion: Springboks result proves Wallabies are ‘no mugs’ as looming Bledisloe Cup offers Les Kiss’ men big chance to ‘take a step forward’
Wallabies celebrate Mandela Plate victory over Springboks in Perth.
The Wallabies can only play what’s in front of them, but the world will get its first proper look at how the men in gold are truly tracking 12 months out from next year’s World Cup when they face the All Blacks next month.
Once again, the Wallabies got past a second-string side over the weekend.
They smashed a severely weakened Italian side in late July to kick-start their six-match unbeaten streak, before notching a win and a draw in Argentina over a Pumas side missing more than a dozen players earlier this month. In between the victories, the Wallabies also got past Eddie Jones’s building Japanese side in home and away fixtures.
Rassie Erasmus’s second XV are the latest to have been dispatched.
The dramatic 42-38 win ensured the Wallabies climbed to sixth on the World Rugby rankings.
The rise more accurately reveals where the Wallabies have sat in the global standings over the past decade: close but not close enough.
The looming Bledisloe series is an opportunity to take a step forward.
While Erasmus “rolled the dice” when it came to selection for the Test after edging the All Blacks 3-1 in the Greatest Rivalry to rest some and give others opportunities, New Zealand head coach Dave Rennie won’t be taking any chances.
After dropping three straight Tests, Rennie will know the heat is on. After all, you don’t want to be the first All Blacks coach since 2002 to lose the Bledisloe Cup.
In fact, the All Blacks haven’t dropped a Test to the Wallabies since 2020 – 11 Tests ago.
Rennie will also know that he’s got a point to prove against Rugby Australia, having been brutally sacked on the eve of the 2023 World Cup.
The New Zealander will likely want to sweep the controversy under the rug and not talk about it, but he will know that a couple of the figures who were at the table when the decision was made to sack him remain.
Wallabies are World Cup’s biggest smokey
The big three are clear: South Africa, New Zealand and France.
England might be below Ireland in fifth on the World Rugby rankings, but you wouldn’t bet against the 2003 champions rising again in 2027.
All four nations have serious depth, and that will be vital next year.
It will be particularly important for the Springboks and All Blacks, especially with the Rugby Championship to be played over six Tests – that’s a lot of rugby on the eve of a World Cup campaign, and injuries are bound to occur.
But the Wallabies loom as the best valued outsider.
Home ground advantage and familiarity will likely help, but they’ve also got a potentially super draw if they miss the Springboks in the quarter-finals.
Sunday’s victory over Erasmus’s side showed that they’re no mugs either.
Les Kiss has got a group of players who are knocking on the door for world class status: Angus Bell, Rob Valetini, Fraser McReight, Len Ikitau and Max Jorgensen are all consistently brilliant.
There’s also a group of players around them who are developing all the time like Josh Canham, Jeremy Williams, Ryan Lonergan and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii.
Others like captain Harry Wilson, props Allan Alaalatoa and Taniela Tupou, and Tom Wright are other key cogs.
Kiss will want his playmakers Carter Gordon and Ben Donaldson to stay on the park and drive their sides to victories, but the Wallabies at least have options in the crucial No.10 jersey despite not yet having a world class fly-half.
However, at least they’ve got a goal-kicker in Lonergan who has emerged as world class sharpshooter – and we know how often World Cups are settled by the men stepping up at the kicking tee.
Tupou loss could prove telling
When Kiss names his Bledisloe Cup squad later this week, the absence of Tupou will prove telling.
Already the Wallabies have a couple of concerns heading into the crunch series.
Ikitau is racing the clock to be fit because of an ankle issue and Hunter Paisami is due to face the judiciary panel on Tuesday night following his late and high hit on Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
But the most important missing piece will be the absence of Tupou from the squad.
The 30-year-old left Australian rugby last year after an unhappy final 12 months in Super Rugby, but has returned to the Wallabies a better player.
While the Springboks’ bomb squad finished over the Wallabies at the death in Perth, they exposed Aidan Ross’s scrummaging. Before then, Tupou and Bell had kept the world champions at bay.
The Springboks also showed the value of having a dominant scrum against the All Blacks, and any hope the Wallabies had of putting their trans-Tasman opponents under some serious stress during the Bledisloe Cup series will have likely gone by the absence of Tupou because the two Tests will be played outside the international window.
Aerial threat only the start
After dominating the All Blacks in the air, most expected the Springboks to pepper the Wallabies and find some huge success in the area.
The opposite occurred.
Instead, wingers Jorgensen and Suaalii got the better of their counterparts, including outstanding Springboks flyer Ethan Hooker.
Suaalii won possession from the kick-off and also competed in the air ahead of Ikitau’s second try in three minutes, while Jorgensen climbed high on a couple of occasions to get the Wallabies on the front foot.
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But it should only be the start of things to come for the Wallabies, with 190cm superstar winger Mark Nawaqanitawase due to return to rugby over the next month.
The 2023 World Cup Wallaby has become a hit in the NRL for the Sydney Roosters and will feature in this weekend’s final against the Newcastle Knights.
While he’s not expected to play for the Wallabies in November, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if Rugby Australia attempted to work some magic and have him join for a part of the November Tests.
If he does, he’ll give the Wallabies another aerial threat – and it will give Kiss some serious potency in the sky.
