The Wallaby Super Slump

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World Rugby needs a strong Australian team as it is boring without them.

The Australian Rugby team has slowly been sliding down a slippery slope and something needs to happen to slow it down or turn the tide. The problem hasn't just been the coaching over the last few years as I believe Michael Cheika had become stale and too predictable. Fresh ideas are needed and why they have gone with a New Zealander for now.

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Must be quite depressing reporting and commentating on the games lately.

There is a bigger problem though and i hadn't really paid attention to the facts. The Australian Super Rugby teams have won only one game out of 46 in New Zealand dating back to 2015. Not travelling very well is an understatement and something that needs to be looked at seriously.

On their home soil they have fared slightly better winning 16 out of 54 which is still not very good as that is less than 30 percent. Who knows if this is just a problem now or it was always there.

Right in the beginning we had regional groups so this was never really highlighted before. At the time we thought this was rather boring seeing the same teams playing each other and spectators lost interest. These teams play each other in their own domestic leagues so why should they be playing super rugby in a similar format. Now it shows us what we hadn't realised up until now how weak those teams really are.

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Opting for a New Zealand coach makes sense and possibly Dave Rennie can change things in general. You can't keep losing your Super Rugby games without noticing you are doing something wrong.

From 1996 to 2016 Australian teams have won 53 games from a total of 172 which equates to 1 in 3 or 33% against New Zealand opposition in New Zealand. Since the regional changes happened we now see the conference leagues and they have 1 win out of 42 which puts them at only 2.3%.

One of the Brumbie players has faced New Zealand opposition 65 times and has never won a game yet. Imagine playing your entire career knowing you are going to lose as this doesn't give you much confidence. i would hate to be playing knowing that you have never beaten other teams.

Choosing a Wallaby side out of teams that are constantly losing is a difficult task as players perform differently on the back foot. I know the Australian rugby Union scrapped one side already being the Western Force as player resources were over stretched. They currently have 4 sides being the Warratahs,Brumbies,Reds and the Rebels and still it maybe one side too many with not enough quality.

The Jaguares from Argentina have a better record than the Australian sides as they only have one which to be honest can't really be compared as it is basically the Argentinian test team playing provincial rugby.

South Africa had a similar problem with the Cheetahs and the Southern Kings and luckily they dropped both of them.I love watching my rugby and I no longer watch Super Rugby unless I turn it on by mistake. I think it has run it's course and would like to see International tours happening once again.

The British and Irish Lions do it and it is a highlight for me to watch. I would love to see New Zealand and Australia touring as test team once again travelling around the world. Maybe I am wrong and this is what the public want. The Home Nations and France can't complain as they get a touring team every year even if it only one test match. i would love to see some double headers though where England play New Zealand or Australia two weeks in a row instead of a once off test match.

Rugby standards need to be lifted and if your team is losing every week what benefit does that honestly do. Support will wane eventually and then what are
you left with. The Australian National team is not bad as a unit, but there Super Rugby sucks. I think it is time to change before it is too late.