Australia need a way to turn moments into momentum and revive spirits

The Wallabies have a squad capable of magic but doubts remain over whether their talents can be knitted into a great team There are moments when Australia look like a team that can take on the world. Moments when they’re trailing by two in the 83rd minute at Twickenham and all of

The Wallabies have a squad capable of magic but doubts remain over whether their talents can be knitted into a great team There are moments when Australia look like a team that can take on the world. Moments when they’re trailing by two in the 83rd minute at Twickenham and all of a sudden Len Ikitau has snapped an underhand pass through to Max Jorgensen and he’s haring down the wing to score in the corner. Moments when Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii has ripped his way around Tom Curry, inside Bundee Aki, and over Tadhg Beirne, to send Tom Wright racing into the empty space of the British and Irish Lions backfield.

Moments when they’re down to 11 men and defending a four-point lead with five to play against the Springboks, and somehow come out of it with a win. And then there’s the rest of it. There’s never yet been a Wallabies team that didn’t have these flickers and sparks of ability in them, but it has been a long time since there has been one that could do it often enough, for long enough to win, and then all over again in the next Test and the one after.

They lost all four Tests on tour in Europe last autumn, and two more in the summer besides. Then they went on an unbeaten run through six more against Italy, Japan, Argentina and South Africa before being knocked on to their backsides by the All Blacks in back-to-back defeats in the Bledisloe Cup, 31 points one week, 22 the next . Continue reading...