Wallabies need to get back in swing

SO here's the question: will they be any good? The Wallabies, that is. Joe Schmidt, the latest New Zealander to cross the ditch, is the poor soul charged with rustling up a team worthy of hosting the British and Irish Lions. If he fails, the fall-out will be on the toxic side of nuclear.

The union code badly needs the Wallabies to rediscover the best version of themselves – something that went missing in 2016 and shows no sign of emerging from its hiding place. This is of deep concern for two reasons. A second damp-squib Lions series in succession – to remind those fortunate enough to have forgotten it, the pandemic-hit visit to South Africa in 2021 was even less fun than the pandemic itself – would do significant damage to the red-shirted brand. What's more, the Aussies are hosting the World Cup in three years' time and simply cannot afford a no-show.

Schmidt is a resourceful individual and we can be sure that when push comes to shove, he will be permitted to reshape Australia's eligibility criteria to his own specifications. For instance, the absence of Will Skelton, considered by many to be the most effective lock in the sport, from the squad for this month's Rugby Championship does not mean he will stay absent for long. The handy reappearance of Marika Koroibete tells us that much.

But the Wallabies will require more than the services of a couple of old-timers to give the Lions tour its proper lustre. Far more. And on the evidence of their low-intensity, ho-hum series victory over the weakest Wales team in an eternity, we have no choice but to wonder if the needful is available to them. Scary.