Wallabies' spring tour shows next year's British and Irish Lions series will be no walkover
analysis
The Wallabies pushed Ireland all the way in their 22-19 loss to the Six Nations champions.
Australian rugby has been littered with far too many false dawns during the past two decades, but it's not far-fetched to suggest the Wallabies will be competitive in next year's British and Irish Lions series.
Their performances on the spring tour in the Northern Hemisphere must provide Joe Schmidt's squad with a massive boost in confidence that should be shared by their loyal band of long-suffering supporters.
Last Monday's 27-13 loss to Scotland at Murrayfield threatened to burst the feel-good vibe created by their 42-37 win over England at Twickenham and the 52-20 thrashing they dished out to the hapless Welsh in Cardiff.
But against Ireland — the reigning Six Nations winners and world number two — the Wallabies illustrated they had made progress after a disappointing Rugby Championship campaign earlier in the year.
Ireland can consider itself fortunate to have escaped with a 22-19 win in Dublin on Sunday morning AEDT, having been pushed to the brink by the Wallabies.
The Wallabies were ahead 13-5 at half-time and despite relinquishing the lead for a period in the second term, they held a 19-15 advantage with seven minutes to play.
Ireland is ranked ahead of every other nation bar world champion South Africa for a reason, so it wasn't surprising the home side found enough in the tank to overhaul the Wallabies with a late converted try.
The Wallabies have made progress during their spring tour of the Northern Hemisphere.
The Wallabies can take solace in the fact their commitment never wavered during the match, which was a stark contrast to their worst display of 2024, a humiliating 67-27 defeat to Argentina in Santa Fe during the Rugby Championship.
In the wake of that loss to the Pumas, former England Test player Ben Youngs suggested the Lions were "better off" touring South Africa instead of Australia next year.
Youngs's fears of an uncompetitive series should be unfounded as the Wallabies have proven they are on an upward curve under the expert guidance of Schmidt.
There is clearly room for improvement, and consistency in both attack and defence needs to be achieved, but there are positive signs.
"We've come a long way this year from where we started from last year to now," Wallabies captain Harry Wilson told Stan Sport after the Ireland Test.
"It's not the way to finish, but I feel as if as a group we're heading in the right direction."
Suaalii selection proves a success
The spring tour didn't just provide a gauge of where the Wallabies sit seven months out from the arrival of the Lions in Australia.
The trek north gave high-profile recruit Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii his first taste of professional rugby following a successful stint in the NRL and he passed his examination with flying colours.
Even if he had dropped each pass and missed every tackle on tour, throwing Suaalii into the deep end immediately was always going to be the right call made by Schmidt.
The 21-year-old — who had been a rugby prodigy in the junior ranks before chasing an NRL career — needed to be exposed to the Test arena as early as possible as waiting until next year could have stalled his development, given the importance of the Lions series.
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii showed he has immediately fitted into the Wallabies' set-up.
He is likely to be much more at ease when he joins the NSW Waratahs for preseason training in preparation for the Super Rugby Pacific competition, instead of being a bundle of nerves waiting to make his professional rugby debut.
Suaalii's on-field form was promising, as was the speed in which he bought into the culture Schmidt has been developing within the Wallabies squad.
You could see this in the way he encouraged his teammates and offered support during breaks in play, showing he was fitting seamlessly into the Wallabies' line-up.
Suaalii's progression will be crucial for the Wallabies as they approach the Lions series and he could have no better tutor than Schmidt to add the finishing touches.
By：ABC(责任编辑：admin)
下一篇：Israeli military says it was targeting Hamas 'terrorist' in strike that reportedly killed three World Central Kitchen aid workers
Hezbollah-Israel ceasefir
Socceroos rescue a point 
Wallabies thrash Wales 52
Jake Paul beats Mike Tyso
Live updates: England vs 
US election 2024: Donald
- ·'Deep state' critic Kash Pate
- ·Smooth chocolate bar wins British man £
- ·Syria's insurgents seize Aleppo in
- ·McLaren's Oscar Piastri wins the F
- ·Icelandic volcano eruption forces closu
- ·Deaths of backpackers poisoned by metha
- ·Russia is unleashing record drone attac
- ·Laos police arrest three more hostel st
- ·'Deep state' critic Kash Patel
- ·Smooth chocolate bar wins British man £2
- ·Syria's insurgents seize Aleppo in f
- ·McLaren's Oscar Piastri wins the For
- ·Icelandic volcano eruption forces closure
- ·Deaths of backpackers poisoned by methano
- ·Russia is unleashing record drone attacks
- ·Laos police arrest three more hostel staf
- ·International Court of Justice to begin h
- ·Israeli military says it was targeting Ha
- ·One of Vietnam's high-profile politi
- ·Shanghai Walmart Attack: A Man Randomly S
- ·South Korean police officers jailed over
- ·Cambodia publicly shames maid deported af
- ·North Korea to use all forces including n
- ·Philippines condemns China attack of Viet
- ·US adds 2 more Chinese companies to Uyghu
- ·North Korean defector steals South Korean
- ·Malaysia deports Cambodian worker for cal
- ·Rebels battle for Myanmar junta’s weste