Aussies on a long road to recovery

EXPECTATIONS in Australia will be pretty low after back-toback defeats to South Africa in the opening rounds of the Rugby Championship, but, given the way the Wallabies played in the 2023 World Cup, there was no reason for them to be sky-high heading into the tournament.

Wherever you look, rugby union Down Under is at a low ebb with participation numbers, broadcast and viewing figures, and success at international level, all on a downhill trajectory.

While there may have been a little bit of uplift after the victories over Wales and Georgia, the Springboks' 33-7 victory in Brisbane last weekend was a sharp reality check.

In particular, new Wallaby coach Joe Schmidt will know now that it's going to be hard work to get Australia back to being a consistent top four country.

To do that Schmidt will have to find new talent - and although some Australians will expect the Kiwi to move mountains, they need to be realistic about where their team is.

When possession and territory is almost even, but the opposition run with the ball for 547 metres and score five tries, as South Africa did, whereas you can only manage 284 metres and score one try, the gulf in standard is obvious.

However, it should not be surprising, because there are no household names in this Wallaby side in the way that there were during my era. One of the names being touted that I recognised is Tom Lynagh the son of Wallaby great Michael Lynagh - but pinning your hopes on a 21-yearold fly-half to make an immediate difference is not realistic.

This is a huge Australian rebuilding job. The first requirements are for the pack to be solid at the set-piece and restarts, to get your kick-chase in sync, and to get your defence sorted out. Those are the foundations, and then you bring in the talent - and it means that in three years' time, you might have something.