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Keep the faith: Jones confident Wallabies will rise again
After the Wallabies’ heartbreaking loss to Argentina last Saturday, flanker Fraser McReight referenced popular TV series Ted Lasso for how Australia must respond to the defeat.
“Be a goldfish and get on with,” McReight declared.
Ted Lasso has the right approach, imploring his players to “believe”.Credit: Apple TV+
But there’s another “Ted-ism” the Wallabies and, more particularly, fans need to heed. Above the coach’s office door in the show is a yellow piece of paper that reads “BELIEVE”.
While the players and coaches are trying to make like goldfish – forgetful of the frustrating, clunky performance at CommBank Stadium – fans have a choice.
As former Wallaby prop Ben Alexander mused on Twitter, fans can:
- Give up and stop watching, or;
- Hope Eddie knows what he’s doing.
Alexander is choosing the latter, and Australia should do the same. It’s a patriotic duty and one that, until recently, Australians took very seriously.
In many cases, we’ve become a bit too reminiscent of our English ancestors when it comes to supporting national teams: fickle, and jumping on and off bandwagons too easily.
Eddie Jones reacts to another Wallabies error, but his post-match interviews indicate all is not lost.Credit: Stan Sport
One of Australia’s great traits used to be our embrace of an underdog, and it’s fair to say the Wallabies are underdogs these days.
We are not a powerhouse any more, but that doesn’t mean we can’t become one again. For starters, we have the right coach in place.
When Rugby Australia bosses pulled the trigger and axed Dave Rennie for Jones in January, the general response was optimism and excitement, coupled with sympathy for Rennie.
While there was some scepticism, most people allowed themselves to dream about what Jones could do in his second coming.
It’s fair to say that, so far, our dreams have been dashed.
A horror showing in Pretoria was backed up by a sinking feeling on the siren as Los Pumas dived over for a match-sealing try. The reno job was bigger than we had realised.
But in Jones’ post-match interviews, he provided two insights that should give Wallabies fans hope.
Firstly, he appeared genuinely filthy with the performance and the result.
For the man in charge to show true pain in the aftermath is a positive sign of how much “rebuilding” our national team means to him, and you can be sure that is rubbing off on the players.
The second insight is Jones’ clear confidence that the situation can, and will, improve.
“Hundred per cent confident, mate,” was his reply when asked if he could turn the situation around quickly.
There was zero hesitation – just pure conviction.
“At the moment, it seems that we’re miles away from where we need to be,” he continued. “But all of this is going to make us harder and more hungry to get it right.
“We’re a team that needs to change, we know that, and that’s the reason I’m here in the job.
Mark Nawaqanitawase is the type of player who creates something out of nothing.Credit: Getty
“We’re not seeing the change in terms of results at the moment, but we’ll see that.”
Jones later warned the All Blacks to “look out” ahead of the first Bledisloe Cup match at the MCG on Saturday next week.
And why shouldn’t they? Even New Zealand coach Ian Foster declared Jones’ warning to be correct.
While the Wallabies haven’t won their first two tests of the year, there have been positive signs.
Winger Mark Nawaqanitawase is a superstar in the making, a “bums on seats” type of player who creates something out of nothing.
The performances of Carter Gordon off the bench have justified his selection and label as Australia’s future playmaker.
The successful returns from injury for Angus Bell, Rob Leota, Matt Philip, Samu Kerevi and Quade Cooper are huge steps in the right direction.
The Wallabies have also provided some simply scintillating play to whet the appetite.
The lead-up to the opening tries in both games showed the type of attacking, reactive rugby Jones’ wants to play.
So, Wallabies fans, don’t despair. Be frustrated by losses? Sure. Be passionate about winning? Yes, please.
Want more? Absolutely. Believe it will come? 100 per cent.