Recently there has been a lot of hype about the Wallabies’ winning streak. They have seven-straight wins and are closing in on the elusive record of ten set by the 2000 side.
The main obstacle they will have to overcome to achieve that goal will be the All Blacks, who are also trying for a record-breaking streak.
A lot has been made of this team. Some are saying they may finally have the measure of the old foe across the ditch. Personally, I don’t think they’re there just yet.
Take a look at the Wallabies’ last seven wins.
Italy (14th)
Ireland (5th)
Scotland (8th)
Wales (6th)
France (7th) x3
While the last six wins have all come at the expense of teams in the top 10 on the IRB world rankings, they have yet to crack a team in the top four.
Their last loss was England at Twickenham at the start of their Northern hemisphere tour.
Not exactly the greatest report card going into their next few games against the World Champions, who have swept away all comers in the last 18 months, including the Wallabies on three separate occasions.
While they’re not at the same level as the All Blacks yet, that’s not to say that they aren’t closing the gap. Ewen Mckenzie has worked wonders in a short amount of time trying to fix the “toxic” culture within the team. I think they are better for it.
All the way down to Super Rugby level you can see the players really standing up for their teammates in defence and believing in themselves in attack.
The June International window didn’t really do much to boost their credibility, but that comes down to the French side being in a downward spiral since the World Cup final.
Only really turning up to one game – and a pretty boring one at that – during the series while getting blown away in the other two.
And while the wins will be great for team confidence, the fact is that they weren’t really pushed hard and haven’t had to dig deep to win when they’re behind the eight ball.
Make no mistake, they will not have such an easy run against the All Blacks. While looking a little rusty in the first Test against England, the All Blacks improved game to game and delivered a complete performance in the last Test and will be high on confidence after delivering a clean sweep to the only team to beat them in the last two and a half years.
The Wallabies are on the right track. They’re playing a better style of rugby that suits the players, getting rid of the trouble makers in the team to form a more unified, cohesive unit and shying away from the cocky outbursts that have left them red faced in the past. This time, they are letting their footy do the talking.
Great teams are not made over night and it will take a while to see if this bunch of Wallabies can go the distance.
If they keep their heads down and go about their business they may just make it, but I think Rod Macqueen’s Wallabies will hold onto their record for a little while longer.
