Brumbies’ Super Rugby semi final loss a kick up the backside for Aussie rugby ahead of Lions tour

Good on the Brumbies for making the Super Rugby finals, but JULIAN LINDEN writes their semi final loss is another reason for Aussie rugby to be embarrassed by an endless cycle of defeat.

The Brumbies will beg to differ but their Super Rugby semi-final loss to the Chiefs on the weekend was another abrupt kick up the backside for Australian rugby ahead of the upcoming series against the British and Irish Lions.

Don’t blame the Brumbies because at least they made the semi-finals, but the brains’ trust in Australian rugby should be embarrassed by the endless cycle of defeat our teams are trapped in.

That’s 21 Super Rugby playoff matches in a row Aussie sides have lost on the other side of the Tasman Sea.

And don’t bother flicking through the Bledisloe Cup record books hoping to find a recent victory to hang your hat on because it’s already been more than two decades since the Wallabies beat the All Blacks away from home.

It is an open secret in New Zealand rugby circles that while Kiwi teams get stronger the longer each season goes, Aussie sides just steadily get weaker and weaker.

The Brumbies met the Chiefs head-on but, as so often is the case, came off second best. Picture: Getty Images

As the Chiefs demonstrated in their win over the Brumbies, all the Kiwis need to do is stay patient then stand back and wait for the wheels to fall off.

The simplest explanation is the comparative lack of depth of talent and the failed pathway systems, which invariably leaves the men in gold always one or two injuries away from disaster.

But it’s also a lack of rugby intelligence. For too long, Australian teams have been tricked into overplaying their hand. New coach Joe Schmidt is trying to change that.

Already long shots to overcome the combined might of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, Australia’s only real hope of beating the Lions over three gruelling Tests is if Australia’s top players can remain fit and firing on all cylinders.

The Wallabies have a number of world-class players like Angus Bell, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and Andrew Kellaway, but they have to fire when it counts. Picture: Getty Images for Rugby Australia

For all the team’s woes, the Wallabies still have some world-class players at their disposal, but just haven’t been able to gel as a team because of badly-timed injuries or badly conceived tactics.

Avoiding casualties is a fanciful wish for any team that plays a heavy-contact sport but that’s also the best hope the Wallabies have right now.

While Eddie Jones copped all the blame for Australia’s humiliating early exit from the 2023 World Cup, the brutal truth is he just didn’t have the cattle to overcome the loss of three key players before the Fiji match: the captain Will Skelton, the vice-captain Tate McDermott and tighthead prop Taniela Tupou.

Two years on, the Wallabies still haven’t restocked the cupboards enough to cover a high-injury toll so you can bet your last dollar Schmidt wasn’t too disappointed that the Brumbies got knocked out on the weekend.

Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt needs to mastermind a miracle. Picture: Getty Images for Rugby Australia

As Australia’s best-performed pack, the Brumbies forwards are going to be critical to the Lions series and while Schmidt knows players can’t go into a bruising, physical confrontation unprepared, he’ll settle for big fresh bodies every time.

Like a lot of New Zealand coaches, what Schmidt does and what Schmidt says are often miles apart. The trick is figuring out what his intentions are.

Publicly, he doesn’t say much because he dislikes being questioned by the media. But behind closed doors, he’s a stickler for having all his players be held accountable for their own actions.

Neither of those will win him any popularity contests but that’s not what he’s trying to do.

Like Ange Postecoglou when he was managing Tottenham in the English Premier League, Schmidt wants to be judged on any silverware he earns in his second season.

Ange Postecoglou won the Europa League trophy for Tottenham. Can Joe Schmidt deliver silverware for the Wallabies in his second season? Picture: Getty Images

Although he hasn’t said so, all the indicators are that he plans to tackle the Lions head-on by picking the biggest players that he can and employing a simple game plan.

That’s why, at least if the most recent speculation about the captaincy is on the money, why Jake Gordon is reportedly being considered as skipper when he unveils his squad for the warm up Test against Fiji this week,

Not everyone will agree with Gordon being appointed on-field leader, especially the Queenslanders, who want Harry Wilson to get the job, and Brumbies’ fans who think Allan Alaalatoa is the best choice.

Their argument is that Gordon is not everyone’s first choice as the starting halfback. Plenty think McDermott should get the nod, but not Schmidt, at least based on past selections, and his opinion outweighs everyone else’s.

Tall and athletic, Gordon’s strengths are the bread and butter traits of all good number nines, ground passing, defence and box kicking.

None of those are flashy things that Aussie fans normally place a high premium on but therein lies the real clue of how the Wallabies plan to beat the Lions.

The kick up the rear might be worth it.

Originally published as Brumbies’ Super Rugby semi final loss a kick up the backside for Aussie rugby ahead of Lions tour