The Wallabies will get the perfect opportunity to show off their World Cup credentials over the next month, as they prepare to take on the Springboks and All Blacks three times in four weeks.
Of course to win a World Cup you need to win three straight knockout matches in as many weeks.
And it just so happens that the next three Tests will make or break the Wallabies’ hopes of claiming the Rugby Championship for the first time since 2015 and the Bledisloe Cup since 2002.
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“Yeah, it’s not a bad way of framing it,” Rennie said on Thursday, after making just one change to his 23-man squad with halfback Jake Gordon replacing Tate McDermott for the Test against the Springboks in Sydney.
“We’re going to get a fair bit of practice.
“You look at the end of the year, we’ve got five in a row. So the ability to turn up and back up hopefully a good performance is vital.
“We haven’t put too much thought into the Bledisloe series at the stage, there’s a little bit of a gap. An 11 or 12-day turnaround, but yeah that’s a nice way of framing it.”
Key to the Wallabies’ hopes of staying in the TRC hunt and building momentum in the Bledisloe Cup series will be winning at Allianz Stadium against a seething Springboks side, who have been put on a leash and keep their social interactions to a minimum.
Rennie said his focus turned to this weekend’s Test as soon as they won last week’s match in Adelaide.
“Every Test is important. We want to get some momentum and so that’s why it’s good to have continuity in selection,” he said.
“We’ve got ourselves in a reasonable position on the table, along with Argentina, so it’s a big weekend for all teams in that comp.
“We want to take confidence and momentum into that Bledisloe series. But our focus is totally on South Africa at the moment.”
Whether or not regular captain Michael Hooper will be there or not remains to be seen, with the warrior-like skipper working on himself privately in the background.
There remains a lot unclear about Hooper’s future in the game, with all sorts of scenarios still a possibility, including whether the openside flanker will appear again this year.
Rugby Australia, including Rennie, have kept in dialogue with Hooper about his health since he withdrew from the tour of Argentina last month. RA aren’t putting any pressure on Hooper to return and are instead leaving the ball in his court.
Rennie indicated that Hooper won’t take any part in this year’s Rugby Championship, but Rennie left the door ajar for a potential return with the second Bledisloe Test still an outside chance.
“Yeah, I’ve had plenty of contact with Hoops,” Rennie said.
“I’m not going to comment on where he’s at and what that looks like.
“We’re not looking to include him in the rest of the Rugby Championship and then we’ll make decisions beyond that. But (we’re) certainly not looking to rush him, but he’s certainly on the improve.”
It’s understood Hooper has not had any physical contact since returning to Australia almost four weeks ago, but has kept himself in shape.
Hooper will have meetings early next week to map out whether Hooper will return to the Wallabies’ environment at all during The Rugby Championship.
It could yet be decided not to rush his return, particularly if the Wallabies lose their Bledisloe opener in Melbourne in a fortnight.
Whether or not he goes on the end of year Spring Tour, where the Wallabies will play five Tests, remains unclear too.
Before the 30-year-old left Argentina, the Wallabies were looking to give more opportunities to a number of fringe players, particularly Fraser McReight – Hooper’s heir apparent – which could have seen the side’s most capped player rested from some Tests.
With next year a marathon not a sprint, Wallabies officials are cognisant of not burning out players, especially with resting players during Super Rugby likely to be frowned upon.
Meanwhile, Brumbies scrum guru Dan Palmer is becoming more involved in the Wallabies’ coaching ranks.
While Brumbies coaches, including Stephen Larkham, joined the Wallabies’ camp for coaching development this week it’s believed Palmer, a former Wallabies front-rower, has spent the past two weeks with the national team.
The 33-year-old’s technical nous at the scrum has had some real cut through, with players believing his messaging is clear and empowers them with the required knowledge.
The Wallabies currently have Petrus du Plessis as their scrum coach, but Palmer is considered the best scrum coach in Australia and will have a more expanded role with the Brumbies next year.
Palmer will tour with Australia A later in the year.
