Foley keeps the faith despite air of crisis gripping Australia
The Wallabies fly-half is convinced Cheika’s side, who face the All Blacks today, are still on course
Australian rugby is a sport in crisis, and pinpointing why does not require a forensics team.
Horrendous Super Rugby results, the national team’s decline and the announcement last week that the Western Force were to be dissolved, sparking a series of legal disputes, has left rugby union in Australia on its knees.
Now the Wallabies have to raise themselves to face New Zealand in Sydney in the opening round of the Rugby Championship this morning. Australia’s Super Rugby sides lost all 26 matches they played against their New Zealand counterparts this year.
Considering Australia lost all seven of their games against the All Blacks and England last year, it is not difficult to see why many believe the situation will get worse before it improves.
True, Michael Cheika’s men won six of their other eight games, blooding a number of new faces in the process, but the fact the Brumbies were Australia’s most successful side in Super Rugby despite winning just six of their 16 games shows why few are predicting an Australian win.
One reason for hope is that Bernard Foley, a star of the 2015 World Cup, is still running the show from fly-half. But the 27-year-old is all too well aware of the bigger picture. “It has been very disappointing, in terms of the connotations that surround Australian rugby at the moment,” Foley, now vice-captain to Michael Hooper, told Telegraph Sport.
“From a player’s point of view although some of the results have not been up to scratch and we have not reached the heights we wanted to this year [in Super Rugby], it has been very disappointing to have that negative perception spread throughout out the media, which has then gone worldwide.”
What is immediately evident when discussing the decision by SANZAR to cut one of Australia’s five franchises is that Foley’s focus is not on the positive implications, like an improved Super Rugby competition after a steep decline. His worries about the impact to rugby union in Australia as a whole takes precedence.
“For us to lose a team, from a player’s perspective, is really poor,” he explains. “We want as many kids playing in Australia as possible, and they want to be Wallabies and to be playing Super Rugby. It is definitely a worry. We want every kid growing up to see a pathway to play in that gold jersey. It hurts us nationwide losing a team out in the west coast.
“We want healthy competition and to perform well on the world’s stage. Guys over at the Force, like Dane Haylett-petty, have come through the ranks to represent their nation at the highest level. It has been hard to take as players and we have spoken about it as a squad, how we want to install that pride and passion back and to make rugby in Australia a force.”
The length of time the ARU took to push through a final decision – four months instead of the early estimate of ‘48-72 hours’ – has been part of the issue, and in the current febrile climate Australia’s run to the Rugby World Cup final two years ago has looked more impressive with each passing month. Much of that success was built on the rushed returns of Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell, both now retired from internationals. Adam Ashley-cooper is in Japan, Scott Fardy in Dublin with Leinster, Matt Toomua a Leicester Tiger. Retirement beckons for Stephen Moore. Yet crucially the large core of that Rugby World Cup final side remains intact.
New caps have arrived by the bucket – 13 in 2016, with another six in June, of which the greatest success stories have been Haylettpetty and Adam Coleman (both of the Force) and Samu Kerevi.
The blueprint is simple; blood enough talent so that by the time 2018 rolls around the spine of a side to challenge at the next Rugby World Cup will be in place. Putting that into practice however comes with its own problems, which the All Blacks will look to exploit today.
“When you have a large turnover of players it is always very tough. Over the last 12 months there has been plenty of personnel changes but that is the exciting thing,” Foley explains.
“It has given a lot of life to the Wallabies and made us focus on how to improve. Going back to the Bledisloe Cup games last year, it has all been a good learning experience for us. We thought we prepared well going into it, but New Zealand were too strong and really exposed us. Ever since then we have been trucking really well. It will not come overnight. The Scotland game [a 24-19 defeat] taught us that you cannot take any game lightly.
“There were glimpses of improvement throughout the June series. Now it is just on the players to be better, to connect better, and to go out there with a clearer mindset.”