Wallabies: End of year tour

Australia embarks on a difficult trip to Europe, playing the busiest schedule of any Southern Hemisphere power, clashing with Sir John Kirwan’s Barbarians to open November for the Wallabies before four straight Tests against the best the old continent has to offer.

Michael Cheika is the newest Test coach on the highest stage, and the successful coach, the only mentor in rugby history to record a Super Rugby / Heineken Cup double, will relish the immediate challenge which has seen him get ready for departure without even trying on his Wallabies gear.

From an on field perspective, to suggest the men in gold are in crisis is ludicrous, after they made the All Blacks look decisively mortal for long periods in Brisbane.

If the long serving Randwick stalwart brings the same level of discipline and dressing room solidarity to Australia that he has to other sides, then expect some rapid results over the next year.

BIG GAME

Josef Schmidt’s Ireland represents a colossal hazard to the Wallabies, for the 2014 Six Nations champions look to be building impressively, and the alignment is eerie as the former Bay of Plenty coach took over from Cheika at Leinster.

The newly confirmed Australian Test coach won a Heineken Cup, but Schmidt repeated the feat while adding three other titles to Leinster’s cabinet, a remarkable maintenance of glory after the current Irish coach broke Clermont’s record French drought in 2010.

The Wallabies may have defeated the Irish 32-15 in 2013, maintaining their rate of 21 victories over 31 Tests, but this will be a radically changed men in green who won back-to-back Tests in Argentina earlier in the year.

Sat, 01 Nov 2014 Barbarians v Australia @ Twickenham
Sat, 08 Nov 2014 Wales v Australia @ Millennium Stadium
Sat, 15 Nov 2014 France v Australia @ Stade de France
Sat, 22 Nov 2014 Ireland v Australia @ Lansdowne Rd
Sat, 29 Nov 2014 England v Australia @ Twickenham

EXPERIENCE TO BE RESTED?

This will be a tricky one for the Wallabies, with the Australians fielding the youngest Test captain of any tier one rugby nation.

Michael Hooper, via his efforts for the Waratahs and recent excursions as international skipper, will record among the highest minutes of any player by the end of the year, so how he, and other NSW players are managed will be interesting.

Israel Folau is another who has put together some impressive minutes throughout 2014, and one thing that Australia will not want is their marquee player to break down.

KEY AREA

The Wallabies performance against the All Blacks proved once again that ball in hand attack is the way forward for Australia, interestingly in contrast to a New Zealand side that has looked more comfortable playing defensive orientated pressure rugby.

One suspects that this will be the template under Cheika, after all, the style reaped him a Super Rugby trophy, yet it won’t just be razzle dazzle out wide.

Under the command of the long serving Randwick loose forward, his teams are far from one dimensional show ponies, the new Wallabies coach knows that belligerent forward play is necessary to reap backline reward.

However NSW had one on the weaker scrums and lineouts during Super Rugby, and while they may have been strong enough in other areas to counter this – scrutiny in the Test environment is intense and with a World Cup on the horizon in Europe, development of Australia’s work up front will be a priority.

BIG QUESTION

How quickly will the Cheika effect take to settle throughout the squad? While a proven change manager with the likes of Leinster and the Waratahs, the new coaches job won’t be as immense as some may paint out, for the only way is surely up for Australian rugby.

While an obvious point, how the mentor balances the needs of the national outfit alongside his beloved Waratahs could define the 47-year-old’s tenure.

The best starting XV is not apparent for the Wallabies, but beyond run on selections, how the team on the old continent will circumscribe their results – Australia has a very tough game against a star-studded Baa-Baas team followed by four Tests.

The last 14 Tests against tier one European opposition in their own stadiums for the Wallabies have generated 11 wins for the side so recording results at the end of the year isn’t foreign territory for the team.

NEW FACE?

Henry Speight is one of five uncapped players in the Wallabies squad, and while Tom English, Kyle Godwin, Tetera Faulkner and Sean McMahon are their own promising futures, the powerful wing has been waiting for this moment.

Cleared by none other than the International Rugby Board, an injured hamstring has delayed the 26-year-old’s debut.

But the 1.86m, 99kg power wing has the potential to add a serious amount of punch to the Australian wide attack, so expect him to earn his first cap in the coming weeks.

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