All Blacks legend Jeff Wilson believes Australia’s revival at Super Rugby Pacific level is down to the involvement of New Zealand coaches with the Wallabies.
Since the inaugural Super Rugby Pacific tournament, New Zealand-based teams have been dominant – with the Crusaders winning the first two competitions and the Blues are the current champions – while Australian sides have been struggling with only the Brumbies delivering competitive performances consistently against their trans-Tasman rivals.
However, after eight rounds of action in this year’s tournament all four Australian sides are in the running for the play-offs as the Reds, Western Force, Brumbies and Waratahs occupy positions three to six in the standings with just the Chiefs and Crusaders above them in the table.
The Reds were actually sitting pretty atop the standings after seven rounds but dropped to third after suffering a 27-15 defeat to the Chiefs in Hamilton last week.
Joe Schmidt and Mike Cron’s impact
Despite that 12-point loss, the men from Brisbane delivered a competitive performance and former All Blacks outside back Wilson feels the impact of Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt and his assistant Mike Cron (scrum coach) has a lot to do with the overall improvement of Australian teams in Super Rugby Pacific.
“I’m starting to look at these Australian teams and I think the impact of Joe Schmidt and Mike Cron in the last 15 months they’ve been over there, I think you’re starting to see it in terms of the skill sets of the players,” he said on The Breakdown.
“Their impacts, particularly up front in their props, they are better. Now I think in terms of the match-ups against New Zealand teams, they’re having better reward up front than they’ve had for a long time.
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“They’re scoring more line-out driving tries against New Zealand sides.
“That hasn’t happened in the past. New Zealand teams have been able to defend that. So all of a sudden they’re getting confidence. They’re getting belief.
‘That’s their biggest question mark right now’
“And I look across their selections and what they’re capable of doing. If they can find a 10 to drive them around the park. Now that’s their biggest question mark right now.”
Wilson went on to highlight how the improvement of Australia’s Super Rugby Pacific franchises will make the Wallabies stronger in the international arena and the importance of selecting a top class fly-half at Test level.
“If they can find a 10 as they go on. Well, Noah Lolesio has signed to go offshore and Marshy (fellow All Blacks legend Justin Marshall) tells me, and I think you’re right from what we’ve read, Joe Schmidt’s not going to select him.
“So here’s the guy (Lolesio) last year who played, I think the last four Test matches of the year on tour and against the All Blacks twice. So he was the guy who was given the experience.
“Now he’s decided he’s playing offshore. He’s not going to be available unless Joe Schmidt changes his mind. And we’re going to look, if you look at it right now, (Ben) Donaldson, (Harry) McLaughlin-Phillips, who we saw on the weekend, you start throwing these guys in the mix.”
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