the end of the wobblies?

Last night the earth shook.
21:55 AEST, the most remarkable of things occurred.
For the first time since 2002, the Australian Rugby Team, affectionately known as the Wallabies, stand at the top of the tri-nations table. The moment was made remarkable by the slide in fortunes of the opponents, the New Zealand Rugby Team, known as the All Blacks. The All Blacks are the most successful rugby team ever, and this particular team is the most successful All Blacks team ever assembled.

They were beaten last night by Australia.
Beaten convincingly.
It certainly looks like the most successful rugby side in the world is self-destructing. Last week the All Blacks lost to South Africa for the first time at home in 40 years; in fact, the South Africans had never beaten the All Blacks at this particular ground in over 100 years of trying. Then even more remarkably, the All Blacks lost two games in a row. In a nation that prides itself on the ability to play rugby better than anyone, this is nothing less than a national crisis.

The flip side to all this is that one of the most inconsistent teams, Australia (labelled in recent years the wobblies due to their ability to lose big games) is on the rise. Fresh faces, fresh enthusiasm, fresh defence; the wallabies looked like a much more experienced side on the field last night. In 2002, the Australian Rugby team held every trophy it was possible to hold. By the end of 2003, the cupboard was bare; none of them have been seen since. 2007 was perhaps the most embarrassing performance by an Australian Rugby team. 2008 looks to hold much better days.

An interesting dynamic spicing this whole situation up is that Australia have for the first time in 100 years appointed a foreign coach. Robbie Deans is the most well regarded coach in his home nation of…New Zealand. He was moments away from being appointed coach of the All Blacks in 2007, until a change of heart saw a former coach re-appointed. So Deans did what all the smart Kiwis do, and moved to Australia. His influence has been critical in the reversal of fortunes of the Wallabies. Many would argue that his absence is a key factor in the demise of the mighty All Blacks.