SCRUM Magazine – September 2019

2011 – Third 2015 – Runner-up

1987: Fourth Place

1991: Winners

1995: Quarter Finals

1999: Winners

2003: Runner-Up

2007: Quarter Finals

2011: Third

2015: Runner-Up

WALLABIES LOOKING TO CONTINUE

WORLD CUP ROMANCE

ustralian rugby has been in the

news for the wrong reasons for

the best part of two years now.

From the persistent questioning of

whether Head Coach Michael Cheika

is the right man to lead the team into

rugby’s biggest competition to the Israel

Folau debacle that has dominated rugby

headlines recently, the past 24 months

have undeniably been some of Rugby

Australia’s most turbulent ever.

While one might argue that these

are purely off-field issues, and that a

professional outfit could, and should, rise

above such things, things haven’t been

the rosiest on the pitch either.

Indeed, Cheika’s squad has looked far

from settled for a while now, and, more

often than not, the team have lacked

that Australian flair and creativity that

has seen them rack up hefty scorelines

against even the best in the world - see

the side’s 2015 defeat of New Zealand in

the Rugby Championship.

What’s more, following a dismal Rugby

Championship campaign in 2018, the

Wallabies dropped to a record low

seventh place in the world rankings, and

things have not looked up since, with

the side losing to Wales for the first time

since 2008 in the Autumn Internationals,

before suffering a sixth consecutive

defeat to England on the same tour.

At the time of writing, this all combined to

make for Australia’s worst run of games

since 1958, the team winning just four

of their last 13 games under Cheika’s

stewardship. A significant fall from

grace for the four-time Rugby World Cup

finalists.

Combine this with the loss of a talismanic

player like Folau, and Australia approach

this year’s Rugby World Cup on rocky

ground.

But, while a lot of how Australia will

fare at this year’s World Cup depends

on how they perform during The Rugby

Championship, they do have the makings

of a strong squad.

Centurions like Sekope Kepu, Will Genia,

and Adam Ashley Cooper provide a

wealth of experience that can prove

crucial over the course of a World Cup

campaign, while players like Kurtley

Beale, Samu Kerevi and Dane

Haylett-Petty have the ability to turn any

game on its head. And if David Pocock

can work his way back from injury to pair

with Michael Hooper in the back-row, the

Wallabies may be a team to be feared

once more.

A

AUSTRALIA

WALLABIES

COACH:

MICHAEL CHEIKA

40 • WWW.SCRUMMAGAZINE.COM • ISSUE 116 2019

RUGBY WORLD CUP - TOP 10