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First XV
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When it was announced in 2010 that the 'Home Nations' would be reacquainted with the traditional summer tours to the Southern Hemisphere that were synonymous with the simpler, headier days of amateurism within rugby, there were many whose nostalgia led to a generating of excitement and optimism that, finally, meaningful and competitive fixtures with the game's super powers were at last to be part of the IRB calendar.
For too long, national teams' schedules have been clogged up with irrelevant match-ups that are little more than gimmicky money-spinners (Autumn Internationals/End-of-Year Tours) that glean little more than to line the pockets of the home unions; or the futile tours of the last decade to New Zealand, South Africa and Australia that have seen 6 Nations sides send their second - and sometimes even third-string players - to get systematically demolished year on year in increasingly embarrassing ways by the sport's super-powers.
It has led to a disillusionment in fans' perception of the fixtures once held in such high regard by players and public alike - making the opportunity of being pitted against the 'Big Three' a too-regular occurrence that has recently bordered on redundancy.
But the tours of 2012 - and the projected summer series' for the next ten years, established by rugby's governing body - have offered a pivotal aspect for Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales - time.
With the advent of the new 3-Test tour (plus mid-week matches for Wales and England) , these sides would now be afforded adequate resources and preparation with which to settle into camps, acclimatise within their adopted environments and therefore train effectively and for a greater period than was previously enjoyed in order to provide the Tri-Nations with a serious challenge on their own patch for the first time in a generation.
This optimism was felt no more strongly than in the pubs, clubs, shops, workplaces and, most importantly, by the management team and playing squad of the 2012 Grand Slam champions, Wales.
After a successful 6 Nations campaign that had been built upon the foundations set at last year's World Cup in New Zealand, genuine hope was expressed that a northern hemisphere team could go to a global heavyweight's back-yard and cause a real upset for the first time since England's 15-13 triumph over New Zealand a decade ago.
With this back-drop, it is all the more frustrating that it was a case of same-old same-old last Saturday as a lacklustre Wales succumbed to a physically ferocious Australia XV that lacked nothing in intensity, following an embarrassing 9-6 slip to Scotland four days before in a rain-drenched Newcastle; a transformed team led magnificently by the sublime skills of Will Genia.
The Reds scrum-half has experienced something of an indifferent Super Rugby season for his franchise thus far in 2012 with a mis-firing Queensland side failing to get going through a mixture of poor form and a lengthy injury list which has seen Genia at times partnered in the half-backs by the sixth choice fly-half in Brisbane.
But at Suncorp Stadium last Saturday he made sure everyone knew who was top dog with a faultless display that oozed class, control, creativity and a maturity that belied his 24 years.
The playmaker from Papua New Guinea was the fulcrum of the Wallaby attack, maintaining the high tempo immediately set by the Aussie pack's explosive start to the Test; whilst his link play with outstanding stand-off Berrick Barnes, his crisp, quick, accurate passing from the base of the ruck and astute tactical kicking kept Wales on the back foot for the majority of the bruising encounter.
The Wallaby front eight provided the platform for Genia and his outside backs to work off with their frenetic pace and brutal nature, making monstrous tackles and hitting every ruck with extreme purpose in order to swiftly eradicate the memory of their reverse to the Scots - and it was clear that Wales were simply not ready to face an Australia baying for blood; with Rob Simmons, Scott Higginbotham and captain David Pocock particularly exceptional in the tight and around the field.
In studying what went wrong, Wales could be accused of underestimating their opposition to an extent and despite having the comparative luxury of a week to devise a gameplan with which to test the Wallabies they seemed undercooked, tired and naive - perfectly epitomised by Higginbotham's opening try that saw the Aussie forwards pick and drive through the middle of the Welsh line unopposed at three separate breakdowns for the Reds flanker to dot down with delight.
This forward dominance worked effectively to negate the qualities of the Welsh heavies, as, despite good defensive work from Dan Lydiate throughout, the fancied back-row of the Dragons blindside, Toby Faletau and Sam Warburton proved anonymous. How much of this can be attributed to the broken hand that Faletau suffered, or the way in which the breakdown was interpreted is open to debate, but what was clear was that Wales were severely off the pace when attempting to match Australia's physicality.
The highly-vaunted Welsh scrum also failed to adequately deliver on the night as several - somewhat questionable - infringements were awarded against them by referee Craig Joubert, whilst the formidable front-row, including Lions Gethin Jenkins and Adam Jones, were never given the chance to assert their scrummaging dominance to worry wobbly props.
Without any sort of go-forward ball, half-backs Mike Phillips and Rhys Priestland endured a torrid night - forever on the back foot and unable to create meaningful opportunities for livewires Leigh Halfpenny, Jonathan Davies and George North outside with Pocock and co. preventing any structured backline attacks.
Wales' greatest strength therefore was their threat from open field, where they possessed great ingenuity, speed and a hunger to break the gold line - which made North's early exit from the match because a dead leg all the more disappointing.
Indeed, the one score Wales did manage was molded from incisive open running as giant wing Alex Cuthbert - Wales' best player on the night - linked beautifully with Ashley Beck to receive a delightful offload from the young Osprey and race away from Adam Ashley-Cooper, giving Rob Howley's men hope.
It begs the question what Wales might have done had their most potent attacking weapon stayed on the pitch for the entire 80 minutes, especially as moments before his premature departure a wonderful run had batted down one defender and bamboozled a further two to make twenty-five yards and illustrated what the prodigious 19-year-old is capable of.
But hypotheses and hindsight are ever the friends of 'unlucky' losers; similar queries could be made of Priestland's knock-on of possession, deep into Australian territory, with Wales in the ascendancy and a huge overlap outside to exploit.
What cannot be questioned is that Australia recorded a morale-boosting 8-point Test victory over the Northern Hemisphere's best and maybe now the golden chance of a scalp Down Under is gone for yet another year.
But taking a positive stance, not much needs to intrinsically change for Wales to be successful in the second Test in Melbourne on Saturday.
This is still the best XV that the nation has assembled - unquestionably in the professional era - and three Grand Slams in eight years must put this side up there as one of the best in their 132-year history. The depth of squad at head coach Warren Gatland's disposal means the Kiwi can afford to disregard proven international performers from his starting line-up, such as James Hook, Lee Byrne and -whisper this - Gavin Henson.
The mid-week win over the Brumbies in Canberra has also contributed to posing a selection dilemma for Howley - with Hook playing well behind a dominant pack from pivot, Ashley Beck displaying guile and creativity that could provide a suitable midfield foil for pocket juggernaut Jonathan Davies and Justin Tipuric continuing his excellent form to deservedly win man of the match.
The talent, ability and drive is there for this Welsh team, but first they need to be fully prepared physically and mentally for the battle. Australia caught them off-guard in the first Test and they were subsequently blown off the park; yet illustrated a resolve to stay within touching distance where Wales teams of the past would have crumbled completely.
Due to Faletau's tour-ending injury, the projected back-row of Lydiate-Tipuric-Warburton for Melbourne offers an exciting alternative for the re-match that provides two fetchers to deal with Australia's muscle men whilst allowing the form openside in Wales - Ospreys' Justin Tipuric - game-time at the highest level.
The personnel is there for Wales, all that is required is to maintain the tempo of the Wallabies before they're left playing catch-up.
For too long, national teams' schedules have been clogged up with irrelevant match-ups that are little more than gimmicky money-spinners (Autumn Internationals/End-of-Year Tours) that glean little more than to line the pockets of the home unions; or the futile tours of the last decade to New Zealand, South Africa and Australia that have seen 6 Nations sides send their second - and sometimes even third-string players - to get systematically demolished year on year in increasingly embarrassing ways by the sport's super-powers.
It has led to a disillusionment in fans' perception of the fixtures once held in such high regard by players and public alike - making the opportunity of being pitted against the 'Big Three' a too-regular occurrence that has recently bordered on redundancy.
But the tours of 2012 - and the projected summer series' for the next ten years, established by rugby's governing body - have offered a pivotal aspect for Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales - time.
With the advent of the new 3-Test tour (plus mid-week matches for Wales and England) , these sides would now be afforded adequate resources and preparation with which to settle into camps, acclimatise within their adopted environments and therefore train effectively and for a greater period than was previously enjoyed in order to provide the Tri-Nations with a serious challenge on their own patch for the first time in a generation.
This optimism was felt no more strongly than in the pubs, clubs, shops, workplaces and, most importantly, by the management team and playing squad of the 2012 Grand Slam champions, Wales.
After a successful 6 Nations campaign that had been built upon the foundations set at last year's World Cup in New Zealand, genuine hope was expressed that a northern hemisphere team could go to a global heavyweight's back-yard and cause a real upset for the first time since England's 15-13 triumph over New Zealand a decade ago.
With this back-drop, it is all the more frustrating that it was a case of same-old same-old last Saturday as a lacklustre Wales succumbed to a physically ferocious Australia XV that lacked nothing in intensity, following an embarrassing 9-6 slip to Scotland four days before in a rain-drenched Newcastle; a transformed team led magnificently by the sublime skills of Will Genia.
The Reds scrum-half has experienced something of an indifferent Super Rugby season for his franchise thus far in 2012 with a mis-firing Queensland side failing to get going through a mixture of poor form and a lengthy injury list which has seen Genia at times partnered in the half-backs by the sixth choice fly-half in Brisbane.
But at Suncorp Stadium last Saturday he made sure everyone knew who was top dog with a faultless display that oozed class, control, creativity and a maturity that belied his 24 years.
<dl id="" class="wp-caption aligncenter" data-mce-style="width: 276px;" style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136); font-size: 12px; margin: 6px auto; border: none; background-color: rgb(241, 241, 241); padding: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; clear: both; width: 276px; "><dt class="wp-caption-dt" style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); line-height: 1.4; font-weight: bold; ">
</dt><dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; padding: 0px 4px 5px; ">Genia's generalship was key in Australia's 27-19 win</dd></dl>
The playmaker from Papua New Guinea was the fulcrum of the Wallaby attack, maintaining the high tempo immediately set by the Aussie pack's explosive start to the Test; whilst his link play with outstanding stand-off Berrick Barnes, his crisp, quick, accurate passing from the base of the ruck and astute tactical kicking kept Wales on the back foot for the majority of the bruising encounter.
The Wallaby front eight provided the platform for Genia and his outside backs to work off with their frenetic pace and brutal nature, making monstrous tackles and hitting every ruck with extreme purpose in order to swiftly eradicate the memory of their reverse to the Scots - and it was clear that Wales were simply not ready to face an Australia baying for blood; with Rob Simmons, Scott Higginbotham and captain David Pocock particularly exceptional in the tight and around the field.
In studying what went wrong, Wales could be accused of underestimating their opposition to an extent and despite having the comparative luxury of a week to devise a gameplan with which to test the Wallabies they seemed undercooked, tired and naive - perfectly epitomised by Higginbotham's opening try that saw the Aussie forwards pick and drive through the middle of the Welsh line unopposed at three separate breakdowns for the Reds flanker to dot down with delight.
This forward dominance worked effectively to negate the qualities of the Welsh heavies, as, despite good defensive work from Dan Lydiate throughout, the fancied back-row of the Dragons blindside, Toby Faletau and Sam Warburton proved anonymous. How much of this can be attributed to the broken hand that Faletau suffered, or the way in which the breakdown was interpreted is open to debate, but what was clear was that Wales were severely off the pace when attempting to match Australia's physicality.
The highly-vaunted Welsh scrum also failed to adequately deliver on the night as several - somewhat questionable - infringements were awarded against them by referee Craig Joubert, whilst the formidable front-row, including Lions Gethin Jenkins and Adam Jones, were never given the chance to assert their scrummaging dominance to worry wobbly props.
Without any sort of go-forward ball, half-backs Mike Phillips and Rhys Priestland endured a torrid night - forever on the back foot and unable to create meaningful opportunities for livewires Leigh Halfpenny, Jonathan Davies and George North outside with Pocock and co. preventing any structured backline attacks.
Wales' greatest strength therefore was their threat from open field, where they possessed great ingenuity, speed and a hunger to break the gold line - which made North's early exit from the match because a dead leg all the more disappointing.
Indeed, the one score Wales did manage was molded from incisive open running as giant wing Alex Cuthbert - Wales' best player on the night - linked beautifully with Ashley Beck to receive a delightful offload from the young Osprey and race away from Adam Ashley-Cooper, giving Rob Howley's men hope.
<dl id="" class="wp-caption aligncenter" data-mce-style="width: 310px;" style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136); font-size: 12px; margin: 6px auto; border: none; background-color: rgb(241, 241, 241); padding: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; clear: both; width: 310px; "><dt class="wp-caption-dt" style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); line-height: 1.4; font-weight: bold; ">
</dt><dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; padding: 0px 4px 5px; ">Cuthbert's try epitomised his work-rate, determination and try-scoring ability</dd></dl>
It begs the question what Wales might have done had their most potent attacking weapon stayed on the pitch for the entire 80 minutes, especially as moments before his premature departure a wonderful run had batted down one defender and bamboozled a further two to make twenty-five yards and illustrated what the prodigious 19-year-old is capable of.
But hypotheses and hindsight are ever the friends of 'unlucky' losers; similar queries could be made of Priestland's knock-on of possession, deep into Australian territory, with Wales in the ascendancy and a huge overlap outside to exploit.
What cannot be questioned is that Australia recorded a morale-boosting 8-point Test victory over the Northern Hemisphere's best and maybe now the golden chance of a scalp Down Under is gone for yet another year.
But taking a positive stance, not much needs to intrinsically change for Wales to be successful in the second Test in Melbourne on Saturday.
This is still the best XV that the nation has assembled - unquestionably in the professional era - and three Grand Slams in eight years must put this side up there as one of the best in their 132-year history. The depth of squad at head coach Warren Gatland's disposal means the Kiwi can afford to disregard proven international performers from his starting line-up, such as James Hook, Lee Byrne and -whisper this - Gavin Henson.
The mid-week win over the Brumbies in Canberra has also contributed to posing a selection dilemma for Howley - with Hook playing well behind a dominant pack from pivot, Ashley Beck displaying guile and creativity that could provide a suitable midfield foil for pocket juggernaut Jonathan Davies and Justin Tipuric continuing his excellent form to deservedly win man of the match.
<dl id="" class="wp-caption aligncenter" data-mce-style="width: 284px;" style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136); font-size: 12px; margin: 6px auto; border: none; background-color: rgb(241, 241, 241); padding: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; clear: both; width: 284px; "><dt class="wp-caption-dt" style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); line-height: 1.4; font-weight: bold; ">
</dt><dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; padding: 0px 4px 5px; ">Can Tipuric prove the difference in the back-row battle on Saturday?</dd></dl>
The talent, ability and drive is there for this Welsh team, but first they need to be fully prepared physically and mentally for the battle. Australia caught them off-guard in the first Test and they were subsequently blown off the park; yet illustrated a resolve to stay within touching distance where Wales teams of the past would have crumbled completely.
Due to Faletau's tour-ending injury, the projected back-row of Lydiate-Tipuric-Warburton for Melbourne offers an exciting alternative for the re-match that provides two fetchers to deal with Australia's muscle men whilst allowing the form openside in Wales - Ospreys' Justin Tipuric - game-time at the highest level.
The personnel is there for Wales, all that is required is to maintain the tempo of the Wallabies before they're left playing catch-up.
