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Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh is confident that the Wallabies will provide serious competition when the British and Irish Lions tour Australia next summer, despite recent struggles on the international stage. Australia’s 67-27 defeat by Argentina on Saturday marked their worst loss in their 125-year Test history, capping a disappointing stretch that included three defeats in four Rugby Championship matches and a pool-stage exit from last year’s World Cup.
“You can see the progress is there,” Waugh told the Sydney Morning Herald when asked about the team’s trajectory ahead of the Lions’ visit in June. “It is not nearly where we need it to be, but if we keep progressing at the speed with which we have moved things in the last six months, then there is plenty of time.”
Despite the heavy loss to Argentina, Waugh sees signs of improvement under head coach Joe Schmidt, who has been in charge for six months. The Wallabies had led 20-3 in Santa Fe before collapsing in the second half, and Waugh pointed out that Australia also kept world champions South Africa within two points at halftime in their August meeting before eventually losing 30-12.
Waugh emphasized the youth and inexperience of the current team, noting that building experience in big moments is crucial. “It is a team that is re-setting… Obviously the enormity of the scoreline in that second half [against Argentina] was disappointing. But there is context that is important… we are not the most experienced team in world rugby, and we are building that experience,” he added.
Australia’s Rugby Championship campaign will conclude with matches against New Zealand on 21 and 28 September, before they head to the northern hemisphere for tests against England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland in the autumn. Among the squad traveling will be 21-year-old Joseph Suaalii, a high-profile code-crossing recruit from the Sydney Roosters, signed in a controversial deal worth over $5 million AUD (£2.6 million). Despite never having played a senior rugby union match, Suaalii is optimistic, stating, “Footy is footy. It’s a footy ball at the end of the day. It’s just about playing.”
