Road trip from hell has Wallabies in danger of falling further down world rankings
AS if the first half of the international season hasn’t been bad enough, now the Wallabies are facing the prospect of their worst year on record if they don’t find an instant cure to their long lost of problems.
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IF you think the Wallabies have hit rock-bottom after slumping to a worst-ever seventh place in the world rankings after Saturday’s embarrassing loss to Argentina then turn away now because things might be about to get even worse.
Even their most loyal supporters have lost all faith after the Wallabies’ fourth home defeat this year and now Michael Cheika’s wounded men are facing the ultimate road trip into some of the most hostile rugby grounds on the planet.
And they will have to do it without one of their key players after Lukhan Tui announced he was pulling out of the tour and taking a break after his ugly confrontation with a disgruntled fan after the team’s latest, diabolical performance at the Gold Coast.
The excuses have worn thin but the stark reality is that if the Wallabies don’t suddenly find a way to start winning, not only will they continue their rapid freefall down the world rankings but this could turn out to be their worst year in history.
Depressingly, their worst season in terms of losses was just two years ago when they were beaten nine times. They have already lost five matches in 2018 so are on track to eclipse that this year, with many of the same players and staff involved.
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They still have six tough games to go this year but they’re all away from home and there are no guarantees of winning any of them because of the quality of the opposition coupled with a 72,000 kilometre logistical nightmare.
The first stop is against South Africa in Port Elizabeth. The Springboks are on a massive high after their stunning victory over New Zealand and have set the perfect ambush for the Wallabies.
The Australians haven’t played South Africa in the Eastern Cape since 1963 and face a 12,000km trip just to get there.
But that’s a doddle compared to the Wallabies next match against the Pumas in Salta, a remote city in the foothills of the Andes that is more than 1,500m above sea level.
The Wallabies will have to be up at the crack of dawn after their match in Port Elizabeth to make their flight from Johannesburg to South America. With no suitable direct flights available, they face a stopover in Brazil before finally arriving just before midnight at their hotel in Buenos Aires , where they’ll train for a few days before heading to high altitude.
As soon as that match finishes, they’ll be back in the air for another gruelling trip home via Chile for a short rest before embarking on a Northern Hemisphere that is booby trapped from start to finish.
What might have seemed like a good idea at the time it was organised now looks like a looming public relations disaster with the Wallabies taking on the All Blacks at Yokohama, the venue for next year’s World Cup final.
Then it’s off to Europe for Test matches on three successive weekends against Wales, Italy and finally England, who have beaten the Wallabies the last five times they’ve met and have got enough problems of their own to want to show any charity.
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Originally published as Road trip from hell has Wallabies in danger of falling further down world rankings