With the grassroots game struggling, participation declining and Super Rugby on the wane, the writing has been on the wall for many years. There is something rotten about the state of the Australian Rugby Union. Wales’ 40-6 defeat at the Rugby World Cup confirmed what most players already knew: the rules of the 15-man game and the men’s national team are in a hellhole.
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Fresh from suffering a historic defeat at the hands of Fiji last week, the men in green and gold supported an even more ignominious capitulation in Lyon. The Wallabies play Portugal for the last time next weekend, but that should be a mere formality.
Unless a big miracle happens, they will fail to make it past the group stage and return home early from a tournament in France for the first time in history. For two-time William Webb Ellis Trophy winners and the country that produced David Campese, Tim Horan, George Gregan, Joe Roffe and John Eales, things don’t get much worse.
What makes the situation even sadder and entirely predictable is that the writing has been on the wall for many years, if not at least a decade. Grassroots rugby in Australia is struggling, with participation declining and the women’s game in crisis. The NRL and AFL are thriving across the country, capturing fans, top young athletes, media space and broadcast money, while Super Rugby has long been in decline.
Australia’s Rugby Union Woes: A Nation in Crisis
In a country where the fight between football codes is fierce, where cricket reigns in the summer and even basketball has a strong position, rugby union is lagging far behind. While the provincial game and administration have been questioned and criticized for some time, the Wallabies – the ultimate symbol of sport in Australia – have consistently underperformed.
As the temptation for players to ply their trade in France, Britain and Japan has increased due to the rich treasures on offer, the quality of the Super Rugby area in Australia has deteriorated. Unless you’re playing against the best player week after week in your state or province, you’re unlikely to be fully prepared to face Antoine Dupont or Johnny Sexton on the international stage.
This has been helped by the influx of Australian talent overseas, highlighted by Canberra-born and accomplished forward Mac Hansen, who scored Ireland’s only try against South Africa on Saturday.
The Wallabies have lost 18 of their last 24 games and won just once (against Georgia) in eight matches under coach Eddie Jones. They haven’t won the Bledisloe Cup in over 20 years and haven’t claimed the rugby league title since 2015 other.
The harsh but unavoidable truth is that the Wallabies have been living in poverty for many years and this Rugby World Cup comes as no surprise. Even after the disaster at Michael Cheikay-Raelin’s castle in Japan four years ago, the rot brutally exposed. New Zealand coach Dave Rennie held the reins for a time and steadied the ship somewhat. But he is unable to navigate the iceberg ahead, and just six months ago he ruthlessly sacked and replaced by Jones.
Eddie Jones and the Failed Hopes of Australian Rugby
Rugby Australia chiefs felt Jones’s sacking by England in January was a godsend. The gift that allowed them to turn Australian rugby around is not it. What they thought is a masterstroke quickly turned into another major mistake.
Officials thought Jones, with his quick wit and energetic personality, generate interest and get the media involved. They thought a British and Irish Lions tour to Australia in 2025, not to mention hosting the Rugby World Cup on its own shores in 2027, could usher in a golden decade.
And while the wily 63-year-old did grab a few column inches early with his one-liners and poaching Joseph Sualia from the NRL, he failed where it mattered most – on the field with his team. RWC fans can buy Australia Rugby World Cup Tickets from our website.
Jones have little time to make changes or try out new players, having only played a few games before the Rugby World Cup. The manager decided to take a chance by leaving captain Michael Hooper at home along with veteran playmakers Quaid Cooper and Bernard Foley. Instead, he took just one established No. 10 player, Carter Gordon, into a young team to try to build a future. This strategy os poorly exposed in France.
Jones showed disrespect for his opponents and the Rugby World Cup itself by focusing solely on 2027 rather than the upcoming tournament. His recent contact with Japan over a potential future job, as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald ahead of the Wales game, was a further slap in the face to fans. As Foley wrote during the defeat to Wales.
Real Reform for Australian Rugby: Time for Change
The 76-match Wallabies are right. Rugby Australia doesn’t need a magician to change the fortunes of the sport and its national team, it needs real reform of the provincial system, a national model like the one Ireland uses and improvement in its ways. She needs changes in selection policy, more emphasis on the amateur ranks and an end to the network of blazer crews and old boys that dominate her power structure.
There has been a long period of mediocrity and that needs to change, admitted Rugby World Cup winner Gregan after the Wales fiasco. There is no time like the present.
Eddie Jones takes ‘full responsibility’ after Australia beaten by Wales
Australia coach Eddie Jones said he remained proud of his players despite their heavy defeat to Wales and admitted his coaching not good enough; The Wallabies crashed out of the Rugby World Cup at the pool stage for the first time
Australia head coach Eddie Jones has apologized to his country following the Wallabies’ devastating defeat to Wales. Wales triumphed 40–6 to progress to the quarter-finals, leaving Australia in the lurch with the possibility of exiting the World Pool Championship for the first time in their history.
Australia are not officially out of the tournament but need several results to achieve their goal, including Wales beating Georgia and Georgia beating Fiji. Firstly, I would just like to apologize to all Australian fans. Our actions did not meet the required standards. I apologize for it. I take full responsibility for this, Jones said.
“We are disappointed, our young team is very disappointed. They tried their best but unfortunately at the moment we don’t have the consistency in our game to put the pressure on teams like Wales. We do some good things and then fail. It’s very disappointing.”
Congratulations Wales. I thought they played some good hard rugby. They kicked well, chased well and had a couple of scoring opportunities which they took. Well done to Wales. Asked if he is still commit to the Australian project, Jones added: One hundred percent. I returned to Australia trying to help. I’m not providing much help at the moment, am I? But this does not mean my commitment to help has changed.
Pride and Concern: Jones Acknowledges Australian Rugby’s Struggles
“I’m a proud Australian, I hate to see Australian rugby going as poorly as we have, especially under my reign. It’s not just the Wallabies that we need to improve, it’s the whole Australian rugby system that we need to improve. It’s not an excuse, but we need to really look at ourselves and see what we need to do to get better.”
Fiji’s shock 22-15 win over Australia last week led Jones to admit he could lose his job after the RWC. The Wallabies’ defeat to Wales marked their seventh defeat in eight Tests this year. Wales, meanwhile, reached their fourth consecutive Rugby World Cup quarter-final under Warren Gatland as head coach and celebrated one of their best performances against Australia.
Australia fall to new low in World Rugby Men’s Rankings
Wales became the first team to book their place in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup after a record 40-6 win over Australia at the OL Stadium in Lyon. Replacing the injured Dan Biggar, midfielder Gareth Anscombe scored 23 points and named Mastercard man of the match as Wales recorded their biggest ever win over the Wallabies.
For Australia, the result means they could miss out on reaching the quarter-finals for the first time in Rugby World Cup history, as well as dropping to their lowest ever position of 10th in Capgemini’s world men’s rugby rankings.
With Argentina picking up 1.72 points in their scrappy 19-10 win over Samoa and Australia dropping two-and-a-half points in defeat, the teams swapped places, with Los Pumas moving up to ninth and the Wallabies dropping to 10th. Australia have never been lower than ninth before.
Ireland Rises in Rankings After Impressive Victory
Top-ranked Ireland improved their ranking by 3.20 points with closest rivals France after a 13-8 win over South Africa in a seismic Group B match at the Stade de France. Although France did not score a single point in their 96-0 win over Namibia (their biggest win in history and the highest score in Test rugby), their rating was 30.06 points higher and they finished second behind losing South Africa.
South Africa have lost 1.97 points and their new ranking of 89.70 points is 0.89 points behind Les Bleus (90.59) and 4.09 points behind Ireland (93.79). Italy began the third round of matches on Wednesday with a 38-17 win over Uruguay and that result, coupled with defeat to Samoa, saw the sides switch places with the Azzurri now ranked higher of the two 11th-placed teams .
It’s a similar story for Japan and Georgia, with the Lelos’ 18-18 draw with Portugal costing them enough points to slip into 13th place to the Brave Flowers. Nuno Sousa Guedes’ missed penalty in the final seconds of the match denied Portugal their first Rugby World Cup victory and a new high in the rankings. Meanwhile, Scotland and England remained unchanged in fifth and sixth place respectively following their bonus-point wins over Tonga and Chile.
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