World Cup wondering: Australian rugby’s year of success, setback and sevens stunners

It was a year of injury, growth, setbacks and success for Australian rugby, with dominant sevens teams, a revival in NSW and a drama-filled Wallabies season.

Word of the year

Injuries. More than 40 of them in the Wallabies’ five-month season alone. Name a Wallabies player and there is every chance he missed at least one game after getting hurt in the Test winter. Interwoven with a shocking record in another contender for word of the year – “discipline” – and you get a sense of why the Wallabies finished the year with five wins from 14 Tests. The huge injury toll, which saw a record 51 players used by the Wallabies in 2022, is now subject to an independent review, after CEO Andy Marinos described a cluster of four of the usually rare Achilles tendon injuries as “alarming”.

Without many of their top players, new stars like Nick Frost and Mark Nawaqanitawase emerged but the second- and third-string Wallabies found ways to make life even harder for themselves by conceding 15 yellow cards (and one red) in 15 Tests. Penalty counts were also through the roof, and with five of the team’s nine losses coming by four points or fewer, the enthusiastic foot-shooting frustrated battered Wallabies fans even more.

True believers see the potential for the Wallabies to still do well at the World Cup, if their stars can stay healthy and the discipline is fixed. But both remain big “ifs”.

The winners

Australian rugby fans. It was expected news but it didn’t make it any less welcome, when World Rugby rubber-stamped Australia as host of the 2027 Rugby World Cup in May. But it turned out to be twice as nice, with Australia awarded the 2029 Women’s Rugby World Cup hosting duties as well.

Michael Hooper and Shannon Parry pose in front of the Harbour Bridge after Australia was named host of the 2027 and 2029 World Cups.Credit: Getty

The news was massive on several fronts, with two World Cups sure to act as a platform for rugby to wrestle back lost ground in terms of national profile and relevance. The Women’s World Cup was huge in New Zealand this year and hosting duties will force Rugby Australia to fast-track full professionalism for the Wallaroos. The huge financial windfall of the World Cup and the 2025 Lions Tour will be a major boost for rugby, with RA announcing plans to lock away an anticipated $100 million in profits.

Darren Coleman. Coleman worked wonders in his first season as Waratahs coach, reviving a team that had gone winless in 2021. The Tahs won six games – including upset wins over the Crusaders and the Highlanders in Dunedin – and made the quarter-finals by finishing sixth. The on-field revival sparked an off-field one, too, and their temporary home ground at Leichhardt Oval was filled with fans again. Have set a top-four goal in 2023.

Bienne Tarita. A sevens specialist, Bienne Terita had barely played 15s when she was called into the Wallaroos side in their run towards the World Cup. The 19-year-old scored twice on debut against New Zealand, and then grabbed another two against the Kiwis in the opening game of the World Cup.

Terita typified the undaunted spirit shown by the Wallaroos in the World Cup. They beat Scotland and Wales before going down to England in the quarters, and showed how more investment in women’s rugby could see Australia swiftly become a contender. Terita’s switch encouraged other sevens stars to look at giving 15s a crack, too.

The losers

Dave Rennie. Another year of more losses than victories left Rennie’s win rate at a paltry 38 per cent, and under pressure. An independent review of the Wallabies season is being undertaken and while it appears Rennie will see out his contract and coach at the World Cup, the chances of him staying on after that are slim. Rennie is keen to stay but he also wants to sort his future before the tournament, and RA powerbrokers aren’t prepared to extend his contract based on 38 per cent.

Taniela Tupou. Started the year amid headlines of RA preparing to offer a $1 million a year contract extension to fend off overseas raiders. But calf injuries saw the marquee prop miss a big chunk of the Super Rugby season, and multiple Test matches as well. Coming off the bench, Tupou ruptured his Achilles tendon playing against Ireland, meaning he’ll be battling to play at the World Cup.

Eddie Jones. After almost getting in a fight at the SCG in July, the polarising Australian coach was sacked by England after a season of poor returns. Jones is a master at preparing teams for World Cup campaigns, but an underwhelming November Test window saw the natives get restless and the RFU acted swiftly to replace him with Steve Borthwick. Jones has no shortage of future options, including Australian rugby and NRL.

Controversy cornered

French farce. C’est encore incroyable. Australia appeared to have staged a miracle comeback to beat the All Blacks on a Thursday night Bledisloe Cup clash in Melbourne, until French referee Mathieu Raynal penalised Wallabies No.10 Bernard Foley for time-wasting in the 79th minute.

It gave New Zealand a last shot and they scored to win the game. Raynal’s extraordinary decision was widely slammed, and so too were the Frenchman’s attempts to explain the call. With only two Bledisloe Cup games in 2022, the heartbreaking defeat ensured the Wallabies lost the trophy for another year.

Man of the year

Rob Valetini. The mark of a true superstar is if their team is half as good when the player is missing, and so it proved with Wallabies and Brumbies No.8 Valetini in 2022.

The hard-running back-rower was immense in both Super Rugby and Test footy, carrying with line-breaking power and defending stoutly. Will be hard to beat for the John Eales Medal.

Woman of the year

It would be unfair to single out one from the all-conquering Australian sevens team, so the joint women of the year are: Charlotte Caslick, Demi Haynes, Sharni Williams, Dom Du Toit, Faith Nathan, Madi Levi, Teagan Levi, Sariah Paki, Madi Ashby, Lily Dick, Jesse Southwell, Tia Hinds and Alysia Lefau-Fakaosilea.

Australia win the World Cup.Credit: Getty

The Tim Walsh-team won the 2021-22 World Sevens Series, Commonwealth Games gold and the Sevens World Cup. “Dominant” doesn’t capture it.

Viral moments of the year

Aussie men’s sevens. The Nick Malouf-led men’s team also recorded, arguably, its best year, winning the 2021-22 World Sevens Series for the first time and then shocking the world to win the Hong Kong sevens in November. Up against sevens kings Fiji in the final (who hadn’t been beaten in Hong Kong since 2014), the “misfit” Aussie team stunned everyone by scoring from a turnover in the final moments to win the first Hong Kong tile for Australia since 1988.

The efforts of John Manenti’s program were all the more commendable given the men’s program had been cut in half after the Tokyo Olympics, and many of the uncontracted players were called up after impressing in club rugby.

Elsewhere, Marika Koroibete’s try-saving tackle on Makazole Mapimpi in Adelaide still defies belief, but Wallaroos fullback Lori Cramer gave a good effort at trying to match it at the World Cup.

Tane Edmed copped grief from his teammates for having a blub after beating the Crusaders but it showed the spirit of the Waratahs.

Quotes of the year

“We came into this the underdogs and we’re still underdogs within rugby. Let’s hope we can find some sponsors out there, find a bit of money and reward these girls for what they’re doing.“
Sharni Williams calls for the Wallaroos to be better funded.

“At different times it was unhelpful but it was probably a question for Hamish about what he was wanting to achieve there.“
NZR boss Mark Robinson on provocative barbs and threats by RA chair Hamish McLennan to walk away from Super Rugby. The goal was a better slice of the pie, and RA walked away with almost $9m a year more.

“He’s shown true courage by acknowledging where he is at and acting on it.“
Dave Rennie on Michael Hooper’s decision to step away to focus on his mental health.

Crystal ball

After an encouraging Super Rugby season in 2023, where NSW and the Brumbies both make the top four, the Wallabies get Quade Cooper and Samu Kerevi back from injury for the World Cup and win all their pool games, including a revenge victory over Wales. Discipline problems remain, however, and after scraping past Argentina in the quarter-finals, France down a 14-man Wallabies in the semi-finals.

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