Cardiff: Whatever happens against Wales in Australia’s final hit-out of a tough spring tour, Dave Rennie believes the Wallabies are in a favourable position heading into next year’s World Cup and hopes Rugby Australia officials don’t get the chainsaw out during a wide-ranging review.
It comes as Rennie revealed he has a preferred No.10 for the World Cup but isn’t sure who Australia’s best fullback is less than a year out from the tournament.
Rennie’s calm demeanour on this end-of-year tour has hardly fluctuated despite a run of three losses – all by three points or fewer.
Sure, Rennie might not be cracking jokes like he did after the match at Murrayfield to a few old pals in the Scottish media, but despite all the criticism directed at the Wallabies, there is a genuine belief that the World Cup won’t be a disaster.
Former Wallaby and now Stan Sport pundit Morgan Turinui said this week he believes Australia will make the final four in France.
Four Wallabies wins from 16 Tests during the past 12 months would indicate that is far from guaranteed. Another loss in Cardiff would make it Australia’s worst year since 1958 when 10 or more matches have been played.
Wallabies coach Dave Rennie at training in Cardiff.Credit:Andrew Phan/Wallabies Media
But a favourable draw at the World Cup gives the Wallabies a chance.
In truth, no one will be talking about this Wales fixture next week, let alone in six months’ time when World Cup preparation really heats up.
This weekend the Wallabies are conservatively missing 10 key players who will be next year’s World Cup.
Although Rennie doesn’t absolve himself of any blame – he is the overlord of a team struggling to ice close games – he continues to say publicly he is content with how the team is tracking.
Providing RA chairman Hamish McLennan keeps his promise that Rennie will remain in charge until the World Cup, the former Chiefs coach will fight to keep his assistants and push back on potential changes.
“I wouldn’t change what we’re doing from a coaching perspective,” Rennie said. “I think that we’ve got high-quality people. I think if you spoke to the players, there would be an enormous amount of support for the coaching group, our medics and our strength and conditioning [team]. I don’t envisage any change.
“I definitely think we’re a better side. We’ve got a lot of fire power to come back in.”
On the subject of a contract extension beyond the World Cup, Rennie appears to have cooled on that idea.
“I don’t think any commitment could be made beyond [2023] anyway,” Rennie said. “Look, I’m not in a hurry around that.”
A major frustration for Wallabies fans this season has been the raft of changes each week. Continuity in selection is all but impossible when so many injuries occur, but getting an understanding of who is really in Australia’s best XV is now a complicated assignment.
On that front, there’s good and bad news.
The shootout for the No.10 jersey is effectively between Quade Cooper and Bernard Foley, both of whom aren’t playing against Wales. Ben Donaldson will be rolled out as Australia’s fifth five-eighth this year.
Rennie loves to give “opportunity” to many players but has written one name down on a piece of paper.
“Yes,” was Rennie’s response when asked if he had a clear first-choice No.10.
What about a fullback?
“No,” Rennie said. “What we’ve found out this year – because we’ve used a lot of 15s – is we’ve got some genuine strong options there now. We’ve played Andrew Kellaway there, we’ve played Tom Banks, Tom Wright, Jordy [Petaia] was down to play there at one stage. We’ve used [Reece] Hodgey back there. We’ve used Jock Campbell. We’ve genuinely developed some strong options back there now. But as to who’s got the nod from a World Cup point of view, it’s pretty tight.”
Ironically, it is the first time on this tour Australia’s opponents have been under more pressure.
Georgia celebrate their one-point win over Wales last week. Credit:Getty
Wales coach Wayne Pivac is fighting for his job following his side’s 13-12 loss to Georgia.
A handful of angry former Wales internationals want Pivac sacked. Local journalists have little interest in the Wallabies this week, who have flown under the radar despite staying in the centre of Cardiff.
There will, however, be a storm for Rennie to navigate if the Wallabies fall behind and fail to keep up. An ugly scoreline will not go down well with RA officials, who are still shaking their heads at a first-ever loss to Italy.
No one can say with conviction what Wallabies team will show up at Principality Stadium.
Will it be a determined, well-organised outfit with desperation in their eyes, or a team down on cohesion and motivation, already thinking about how good holidays will be next week?
“There’s zero complacency,” Rennie said. “It’s a war of attrition up here.
“It’s easy to start thinking about beyond this weekend, but we’ve got a lot of guys who are determined to finish on a big note. There’s a handful of guys whose last game was against Italy, and they get a chance for redemption on the weekend. This is the best 23 players we can put on the park. So regardless of availability, it’s your responsibility to do the job. You’re representing our country and need to front up.”
The Wallabies will then have 303 days to get ready for Wales at the World Cup, where they will meet in a pool match.
“I’m not sure how much of a part [victory on Saturday] will play in a World Cup next year, but it gives you confidence,” Rennie said, before delivering one final quote with a smile. “If we win, we’ll say, ‘yep, it’s important’. If we lose, we’ll probably say it’s irrelevant.”
Maybe the sense of humour is still there after all.
Tupou’s World Cup dream isn’t over yet
Australian rugby fans can cling onto hope of seeing Taniela Tupou at next year’s World Cup, with coach Dave Rennie revealing his game-breaking prop may recover in time to feature in the game’s showpiece tournament.
The sight of Tupou hitting the turf at Aviva Stadium against Ireland last week had Wallabies supporters holding their breath.
Tupou has arrived back in Australia, with scans confirming he has ruptured his Achilles tendon.
There were initial fears Tupou wouldn’t have enough time to get his injury fixed before next year’s World Cup, which begins for Australia on September 9 with a clash against Georgia in Paris.
While such Achilles injuries normally take longer to heal in bigger athletes, Rennie indicated Tupou could make it to a second World Cup.
“Recovery time is seven-plus months. He’s unlikely to get back in time for Super [Rugby] but will be back in time for international [matches], said Rennie ahead of Australia’s final Test of the year against Wales on Saturday (Sunday morning AEDT).
Wallabies prop Taniela Tupou.Credit:Getty
Rennie rejected the notion that Tupou had been overworked across Super Rugby commitments with the Queensland Reds and his time in Wallabies camp.
Tupou picked up a calf injury in May that ruled him out for the remainder of the Super Rugby Pacific season before hurting his other calf before the Sydney Test against the Springboks in September.
However, Tupou has played big minutes for the Reds in recent years.
“He’s worked to get himself into better shape,” Rennie said. “A lot of that stuff is off feet as well, on watt bikes and in swimming pools. The plan around him has been really strong. It’s disappointing.”
This week Rugby Australia boss Andy Marinos labelled Australia’s horror injury toll “alarming” and said a review would take place after the spring tour.
The likes of Andrew Kellaway (foot), Rob Valetini (ankle) and Hunter Paisami (knee) were all casualties out of the Ireland match and could miss the beginning of the Super Rugby season starting in February.
“We’re not looking to point a finger at any area of what we’re doing at the moment,” Rennie said. “It’s frustrating because there’s a lot of good men who aren’t getting to play Test rugby. But it’s also going to affect Super Rugby.
“There’s a number of guys who won’t start their season with their clubs. They are an important part of their [team’s] success. That’s tough on everyone.
“We’ll have a good look into what’s caused some of those. Some of them are bad luck and others, if it’s something we’re doing in our program, then we need to adjust.”
Watch all the action from the Wallabies Spring Tour with every match streaming ad-free, live and on demand on Stan Sport. Continues this weekend with Wales v Wallabies (Sunday 1:55am AEDT) and England v South Africa (Sunday 4:20am AEDT).
