Brumbies in gold: How can the Wallabies be anything else while Reds, Tahs are struggling?

The reality is hitting home, if it hadn’t landed with a thump some time ago, that the Wallabies at this year’s World Cup in France will essentially be the Brumbies in gold.

How could it be otherwise? Brumbies coach Steve Larkham has picked up where predecessor Dan McKellar left off, added a few deft refinements, and has the side playing compellingly, to a plan. Whether one appreciates that plan is up to the individual, but it is working so the critics – myself among them – can basically shut up.

Still, it took three first-half tries from driving mauls against Moana Pasifika last weekend before the Brumbies decided it was safe to let fans see who was actually scoring them.

And if the Brumbies do take over the Wallabies, there is the question of whether the driving maul is as effective at Test level as it is in Super Rugby. My recollection of last year’s spring tour is that northern hemisphere sides frequently defused it. Referees have also discovered – after being alerted to the problem years ago – that the lifters are illegally blocking the jumper in the lineout and are finally starting to crack down on it.

However, the question remains: how could it be anything other than a Brumbies-dominated Wallabies while NSW and Queensland are playing as they are? Reds coach Brad Thorn is in his sixth year of Super Rugby coaching, Darren Coleman in his second, but each man wore the same look of bewilderment after their weekend games against the Fijian Drua and the Hurricanes, respectively. So many training drills, so much forgotten.

Regarding skill execution: Queensland’s skills were paraded out before a firing squad and shot. It was a gruesome spectacle. Josh Flook, one of the few reasons to get excited about the Reds last weekend, didn’t need to be told by Tim Horan in commentary to use two hands to regather a chip kick in order to score beside the posts. The talented outside centre knew already and was berating himself loudly as he was interviewed while walking off the ground. Too late! Just do it!

Nick Frost celebrates the Brumbies’ opening victory over the Waratahs.Credit:Getty Images

Is it any wonder the Reds back-rowers and backs are trying to get everything done quickly? They clearly have no faith that their tight five will consistently deliver, certainly not the bench tight five. Halfback Tate McDermott has had no front-foot ball to operate with and, for the moment, is being played out of Test contention.

The Reds’ core game is all over the place. They cannot rely on their scrum, lineout or handling, and their exiting is excruciating.

As for the Waratahs, they looked rudderless. Captain Jake Gordon took the blame for that, acknowledging he and five-eighth Ben Donaldson were largely ineffective, which they were. It was the “clunkiness” of his side’s attack that most distressed Coleman. The Tahs looked like a beginner driver back in the days of clutch and gear shifts, kangarooing down the street.

Max Jorgensen is too young to know better, so he’s taking whatever comes as pretty much normal. The 18-year-old NSW fullback’s try against the Hurricanes will be remembered as one of the most improbable in the side’s history. He should have been bundled into touch by a posse of Canes heavy hitters, yet slow-motion replays showed him scoring with relative ease.

There are, inevitably, gaps in the Brumbies line-up. Jorgensen is one of the “outsiders” who will help the Wallabies plug them. Langi Gleeson is another, although if he is serious about entering the Test reckoning at No.8, he needs to start showing some lineout skills, especially if Eddie Jones goes for a toiler like Jed Holloway to partner Nick Frost in his second row.

The pleasant surprises, among non-Brumbies players pressing for consideration, have come from the Melbourne Rebels.

Carter Gordon still needs to square his shoulders to present more as a running threat but so crisp is his passing that Jones must be entertaining thoughts of getting a full 80 minutes of Quade Cooper-like direction from the 10 jersey. His development this year has been extraordinary.

The other is breakaway Brad Wilkin, a product of Iona College in Brisbane. He arguably has his nose in front of both Michael Hooper and Fraser McReight for the No.7 jersey. That’s no small thing in a World Cup year.

Wherever the Wallabies squad is drawn from, keep this in mind. Australia pushed the top two sides in the world, Ireland and France, to the limit on the spring tour, losing to Ireland by three and by a solitary point to Les Bleus. That’s closer than any other Six Nations teams came.

History has shown continuity of selection is critical to World Cup success. For that reason, Jones might find himself spending more and more time in Canberra.

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