Super Rugby and Beyond

Richie McCaw holds the Bledisloe Cup (C) Getty Images

The final Bledisloe Cup match for 2014 is around the corner with the trophy already polished and placed at NZRU headquarters, and the Wallabies left to wonder what might have been had they taken the first game a month ago. The record defeat in Auckland on the 23rd of August left no doubt as to separation between the two sides, rendering the third game meaningless in deciding where the trophy is headed.

The hope created in the Autumn test series and the June Internationals had given the Wallaby fan-base some belief that the team was on track as the 7 game winning streak attested to, though it must be said only Wales and Ireland were truly class teams that Australia faced during that period. However they were secured, a win is a win is a win, and that is what the Wallaby fans care about most.

The returns thus far in the Rugby Championship have not been great, though you could excuse some of it to injury with various crises that the team has experienced in the back three and at hooker, as well as Queensland couple Quade Cooper and Will Genia being unavailable thus far. It would be a mistake however to use this issue as an excuse for a team that has struggled with simple decision making and basic skills. The hopes some Australian rugby union fans allowed themselves to indulge in after the Waratahs emerged victorious in this year’s Super Rugby competition had created heightened expectations and the side has struggled to perform at a similar level. Whether those hopes were reasonable or not to begin with remains to be seen.