Rugby World Cup 2023: Time for excuses has run out for Wallabies

They haven’t won a test in over 300 days and the time for excuses is over. If the Wallabies want to breathe new life into Australian rugby, it has to start this weekend, writes Julian Linden.

The Wallabies haven’t won a test in over 300 days. The time for excuses is over. Picture: Getty Images

The time for excuses has run out.

If the Wallabies really want to breathe new life into Australian rugby, it has to start this weekend.

Without a Test win in over 300 days, the Wallabies will open their Rugby World Cup campaign in Paris against Georgia (Sunday 2am AEST), an emerging Tier II team they really should beat comfortably.

Victory won’t solve Australian rugby’s problems in a single swoop, but it sure beats losing and the Wallabies have been doing a lot of that lately.

A loss against the eastern Europeans would be catastrophic, but no-one thinks that’s a serious possibility, even the sour pusses who revel in death riding Australia’s national sporting teams.

For all their failings in the past four years, the Wallabies are still not without some hope of winning this World Cup, based mostly on their outstanding past record, a highly favourable draw and their wily old coach Eddie Jones.

The Wallabies haven’t won a test in over 300 days. The time for excuses is over. Picture: Getty Images

A master tactician and eternal optimist, Jones has rebuilt the Wallabies from scratch in less than a year and is telling everyone who will listen that his young side is finally ready to take a shot at the greatest prize in rugby.

“It‘s 20 years since Australia’s picked a young team like this, and it shows a changing of the guard,” Jones said.

“This is a new team that wants to take Australian rugby forward. We want to play a game that enthuses people in Australia to want to follow the Wallabies again.”

Jones is renowned for talking things up but he also has a knack for making people believe in him — and with good reason.

He has already pulled off so many World Cup miracles in the past, so nothing should ever be discounted, even when everything suggests otherwise.

Testing the patience of their most loyal supporters, the Wallabies have lost all five Tests they have played since Jones replaced Rennie at the start of the year, but there have been plenty of bright signs.

Eddie Jones has pulled off some miracles in the last year, but can the Wallabies be a force at the World Cup? Picture: Getty Images

Playing the same get out of jail card Rennie tried, Jones has dismissed the losses as irrelevant, saying his focus has been on preparing for the World Cup.

And he’s right, but with the tournament about to kick off, that doesn‘t hold water any more so it’s time for the Wallabies to stand up and deliver on their bold promises.

“We’re ready to take off. We’re like an F1 car,” Jones said.

“The team is really starting to come together and understand how we want to play. Play to our strengths.

“It would be unfair for me to say I knew where the team was going to end up because we’re just starting to understand our strengths as a team. We’re going to develop a reasonably unique style of play that suits us. We’re ready to go. We’re just ready for the lights.”

By his own admission, Jones has been keeping his cards close to his chest.

Behind closed doors, it’s no secret the Wallabies have trained differently to the way they have been playing in public, not wanting to give anything away, although there are some clues.

“We‘ve got a huge pack that could dominate the World Cup and we intend to use that to our advantage,” Jones said.

“We also look like a team that can score from a number of different places and a number of different sources.

“We‘re at the starting line now. Everyone starts on the same spot now. Some teams have had about six months preparation, some teams have been together four years, some teams have been together eight years. But we’re all on the same starting line. We all go together.”

Training behind closed door, Jones has the Wallabies preparing differently to the way they have been playing in public. Picture: Getty Images

Not everyone is convinced by Jones’ slick sales’ pitch. The doubters, and there’s plenty of them, reckon he’s completely lost his marbles.

But for a team that hasn’t won a match this season, Jones has struck a chord with the people who matter most: his players — who have shown a distinct confidence that they have been foxing all along and there are better things to come.

“I feel like we had to find an identity ... and now we‘ve found that,” halfback Tate McDermott said.

“We’ve got a game model that‘s built around our strengths individually and probably a less structured model.

“What you‘re seeing is a complete buy-in from the whole squad and while we haven’t put it together for 80 minutes, there’s a hunger, there’s a sense of belief.”

An old school running halfback, McDermott was rarely picked by Rennie, but has been promoted to vice-captain under Jones and is thriving in the added responsibility and self-belief that the squad has developed.

Asked what would constitute a successful campaign, McDermott didn’t miss a beat before replying: “I‘d say to go all the way.

“We‘re not here to scrape out of the pool stages. A pass mark and it should be for all Australians. We’ve got to win it. There’s a lot of water under the bridge before we do that but that’s the pass mark.”

Originally published as Rugby World Cup 2023: Time for excuses has run out for Wallabies