Can Australia Really Win a Grand Slam?

That was the year that many believed was the genesis for the Wallabies elevation to legitimate world powers, when a marvellous Australian team under Coach Alan Jones arrived at Twickenham on Nov. 3, 1984, and would go on to record a famous Grand Slam.

The tour, which was 25 years ago, was the seventh Grand Slam attempt by an Australian side.

This tour will be the 24^th such tour by any Tri Nations power and at its conclusion will see the Wallabies join the All Blacks and Springboks as having undertaken eight such visits. 

In 1927-'28, the team would tour as New South Wales, with Queensland Rugby Union effectively a non-entity at the time (the QRU was disbanded in 1919 and reformed in 1928). Despite beating Ireland 5-3 in the first game—the first ever test match between the sides—and Wales, 18-8, they would lose narrowly to Scotland, 8-10, and England, 18-11.

In 1986, the ARU would declare the matches as full internationals.

That New South Wales team would contain legends such as Alex Ross, Johnnie Wallace, and Cyril Towers, and be captained by Tom Lawton, the latter of whom would captain Australia to their first series whitewash of the All Blacks in 1929.

In 1947-'48, the Wallabies would embark on a mammoth 41-match tour, captained by Bill Mclean, a former Australian commando. Australia would beat Scotland, 16-7, and Ireland, 16-3, in their first two tests, but would be shut down in a dour match by Wales, 0-6.

They would beat England, 11-0, and finish their account against the home nation test sides with the notable record of not having their try line breached.

The 1957-'58 tour represented a nadir in Australian rugby, with the side travelling to Britain, Ireland, France, and Canada. Of the 41 matches played, the Wallabies would win only 22 and would lose all five tests on the tour.

England, the 1957 Five Nations champions, would celebrate the Australian victory as their first win over a Southern test power since the end of the second World War.

Nearly 10 years later, Ken Catchpole would take an impressive Wallabies team on tour.  The 1966-'67 itineraries would see the Australians play 36 matches. Despite beating Wales, 14-11, to kick off their test matches, they would lose to Scotland and Ireland to deny them another opportunity at the home nation’s sweep.

However, they would beat England, 23-11, the heaviest defeat to the English in over a decade, where Catchpole’s performance was proclaimed by many to be arguably the greatest routine by a No. 9.

In 1975-'76, the Wallabies would head north buoyed after earlier beating the English, 2-0, on home soil. Despite this, they would again fail on their Grand Slam quest, losing their first three matches badly.

The 10-3 loss to Scotland, 28-3 thumping by Wales, and 23-6 reversal by England would be the heaviest succession of losses suffered by an Australian team. 

In 1981-'82, a young Australian team would tour, containing then unknown players by the names of Simon Poidevin, Andrew Slack, and two brothers with the surname Ella. 

It was not successful in terms of results, with the Wallabies only winning the first test and losing the following three. However, in all their matches, Australia would score more tries than their opponents, but would suffer from the boots of the two fullbacks—Scotsman Andy Irvine and Welshman Gwyn Evans.

Sir Nicholas Shehadie (tour manager) and Bob Templeton’s (coach) side would also start the tour terribly, winning only one of the first four tour games, with a Midland Division and Bridgend both recording upset wins.

In 1984, the Wallabies would assemble, but expectation was not as high as their eventual reputations would prove to be.

This was based on a less than impressive build up.

In 1982, Scotland would draw a two-match series in Australia, winning the first test in Brisbane, 12-7. The Wallabies would lose the Bledisloe Cup that same year, 1-2. 

In 1983, Argentina would draw a two-match series in Australia, and again the Wallabies would fall to the All Blacks, losing 18-8 in Sydney. In that year’s end of year tour, they would lose a two-match series against France, 1-0.

This is the comforting aspect for the 2009 hybrid of the Wallabies, who like the famous team 25 years before them, have had a less than impressive build into their historic eighth Grand Slam attempt.

While the 1984 Grand Slam team would lose four tour matches—to Cardiff, Llanelli, Ulster, and South of Scotland, they would whitewash the home union teams.

A 19-3 win against England in the first test (the biggest Australian win on English soil), a 16-9 win against Ireland, and then two excellent wins—a 28-9 shutout of Wales and a 37-12 smashing of Scotland—secured their piece of history.

This is the advantage for the Wallabies less than two years out from the World Cup. 

For all of the faults many believe Australian rugby has, a Grand Slam will come close to erasing the apparent recession in the Wallaby team and underline the progress that Coach Robbie Deans and company would have us believe has been made.

The Wallabies of 1984 didn’t have a perfect record leading in, but the annals of history have put them on a pedestal due to their landmark achievement. They would also progress from their success, winning the Bledisloe, 2-1, on New Zealand soil in 1986, and laying the foundations for the future with a solid 1987 World Cup.

Can the 2009 Wallabies do the same?