Super Rugby doldrums no key to Wallabies’ chances

Eddie Jones and Michael Cheika agree the overall poor form of Australian Super Rugby teams is no pointer to the Wallabies.

Wallabies flanker David Pocock works out on the Sunshine Coast. Picture: Mark Cranitch.

England coach Eddie Jones and his Australian counterpart MichaelCheika have struck a rare note of agreement ahead of this month’s three-Test series, utterly discounting the overall poor form of Australian Super Rugby teams as a pointer to the Wallabies.

Cheika has repeatedly warned that the lowly positions of Aust­ralian side on the NZ-dominated ladder — with the Brumbies eighth, the Waratahs ninth, the Rebels 11th, Reds 14th and Western Force 16th in the 18-team competition — counts for little coming into the Test series.

Ominously, only 14 games out of 36 have been won against ­international rivals in the cross-­conference matches, four of them at the expense of the competition newcomers, the Sunwolves of Japan. But that is only a commentary on the depth of Australian rugby, not the quality.

Jones, too, is well-acquainted with the disconnect between Super Rugby and Test form. In 2003, Australia had only one team involved in the playoffs, the Brumbies, while the Waratahs and Reds both missed out — this when the Wallabies were spread over only three franchises — yet that same year his Australian made the World Cup final against England.

“What affects the Australian team is the team environment and from the last 18 months Cheika has done a fantastic job to put together an environment where players want to play for Australia, they want to put their body on the line,” said Jones, just before his flight to Australia. “They’re aggressive, they’re committed. So it doesn’t matter what they do during Super Rugby, it’s not going to affect the Wallabies. The Force have been historically weak for 15 years and it hasn’t affected the Wallabies, so you can’t take that into consideration at all.”

In fact, the Force made their debut Super Rugby appearance in only 2006 but the point is valid nonetheless. The Perth side has never made the playoffs but for most of that intervening decade, Australia has been ranked pretty much consistently in the top three rugby nations.

Similarly, he discounted the ­recent rise of the Waratahs, the team which is most familiar with Cheika’s coaching, having been mentored by him for the past three years. “I don’t place any credence on the form of the Super Rugby teams,” he said.

Jones was reluctant to evaluate the Wallabies squad while it ­numbers 39 players, with another five players also invited into the Caloundra camp for experience.

“They’ve picked a strong squad but it’s hard to get a real feel for it until they trim it back (to 30),” he said. “But when you pick 39 men, you’re going to get a few surprises.”

But one name which surprised him not at all was Israel Folau. Nor was he stressing over which position he fills — his customary spot at fullback or the outside centre berth where he has been moved by NSW coach Daryl Gibson to get him more involved.

“I’m sure Cheika will work that out,” he said. “He’s one of those gifted players. He plays Aussie rules, he plays rugby union, he plays rugby league. He probably plays hockey in his sleep ... anything he plays, he does well. Whether he plays 15 or 13, he’ll do it well.” As for where Folau might get more ball in the centres or in the backfield, Jones replied cryptically: “It would depend if you play a side that kicks a lot.”

England have won only three times in 17 Tests against Australia on tours Down Under. The last was the most recent Test played here when Matt ­Giteau missed a virtual point-blank shot at penalty goal at ANZ Stadium in 2010 and Australia lost 21-20. The other two times — ironically — came when Jones was coaching the Wallabies.

The one most recalled is the extra-time World Cup final but the other was, in many ways, just as important, when England beat Australia and New Zealand in June 2003, to convince themselves they were world championship material.

Whether England’s current squad has the potential to following in the footsteps of Martin Johnson’s champions will largely be determined by how they fare in Australia but Jones certainly feels there is a basis there for optimism.

“We’ve got some good forwards, four good young locks … George Kruis, Maro Itoje, Joe Launchbury and Courtney Lawes,” he said. “They’re all under 25, good athletes, good in the air. That’s always been an area where England has been traditionally strong and I think it’s an area where we’re strong at the moment. “We’ve got a young No 8 in Mako Vunipola, a young Tongan boy, not too dissimilar to how Toutai Kefu used to play. And in the backline we’ve got a host of good young backs.’’