Wallabies Face Battle of Attrition in Northern Tour

If it wasn’t enough that an Australian team with a modest recent record is heading to Europe to try and achieve just their second Grand Slam, they will confronted with their most dangerous foe and an arduous travel schedule to kick off proceedings.

With such a landmark occasion in Europe ahead, marking the 25th anniversary of the famous 1984 team that recorded Australia’s first home nations touring whitewash, a triumph would all but erase what has been a horror year for the Wallabies.

However, few betting men would bank on Australia beating Ireland, Wales, England, and Scotland based on current Wallabies form and home ground advantage for the host nations.

An unbeaten run in their home tests and a surprise victory over the Springboks in Brisbane didn’t erase a poor Super 14, a wooden spoon Tri Nations, numerous off field incidents including the Lote Tuqiri affair and the rumours of infighting between the Victorian Super 15 factions—and of course another lost Bledisloe and a 0-3 record against the All Blacks.

New Zealand has now held the famous cup since 2003, and the ledger between the two sides in the last seven years is horribly one sided from an Australian perspective reading at 15 losses and just four wins.

To break this six match losing streak, one feels that it is not so much a case of doing the job as much as just being mentally prepared. The Wallabies have shown that they can compete at the highest level, but when it comes to the All Blacks, it is almost as if they regard the men in black as their modern hoodoo.

They must overcome this bogey team in Black.

The Bledisloe has become arguably the strongest barometer of Australian (and for that fact New Zealand) rugby, and a 2009 with a 4-0 series score line to the All Blacks is a statistic and a piece of mental baggage that the Wallabies do not need.

But after kicking off their Northern tour with so much expectation in what will be a carnival like atmosphere in Tokyo, it will be followed by a second match just four days later.

With a clash with Gloucester on Nov. 3rd, numerous Wallabies will be backing up in what is the better part of a 15-16 hour road trip from Japan to South West England.

As Australia is taking 35 players, it is likely that there will in effect be two starting XV’s in coach Robbie Deans mind, and at least seven of the players involved with the All Black clash in Japan will then be backing up against cherry and whites.

While it will be a midweek clash, and no doubt will see Deans employ more of his second selections, it will be a difficult encounter, with the English club side playing a different style that normally encountered by the Australians.

''It's not like the old midweek fixtures, when you were just playing the club side, Gloucester,'' Deans said.

''Now they are an international side; so they will be formidable opponents. It will be a good, torrid workout, because those blokes don't get the chance to play against international sides that often. It will be a real education for them.''

In this though, Deans does have time on his side, and will be hoping his slight overhaul of the Wallabies team will have the desired effect.

Rocky Elsom is the new captain, with Berrick Barnes his deputy, and while it remains to be seen whether or not these changes will give the Wallabies the boost they need, there is further positive news on the troops front.

Displaced captain Stirling Mortlock is almost back to full fitness and the Wallabies missed his physical presence in the Tri Nations. Furthermore, Digby Ioane, possibly Australia’s best player through the 2009 Super 14, will form a compelling case for selection in the three quarter line.

Here, Deans must find the balance for the future.

The Wallabies have already unearthed their next tier of players, and the former Crusaders boss has spent the last 18 months blooding in more caps than any other international coach.

The trick is with the veterans.

Will the old guard of the Wallabies, such as the Mortlocks and the most capped active player George Smith remain on the front, or will the “warhorses” as such come from the middle ranks, such as the Barnes, Elsoms, or even players like James Horwill.

This is where Australia has either the edge or is behind their test foes.

Other leading nations like South Africa, Ireland and New Zealand have an established tier of experience and a new generation of rugby talent. In the next couple of years, those sides will form their decisions on how dominant either blend shall be.

Deans and the Wallabies may have already made this decision, and the short term pain Australian fans are now witnessing may come with long term gain.