The opening match of the Rugby Championship, the first of three Bledisloe Cup matches, is being greeted with more than a glimmer of hope or blind faith from the Wallaby faithful this year, and rightly so.

We are in the fantastic position of hosting two out of the three Bledisloes on home soil, and in particular the final encounter at Suncorp in Brisbane, where we have easily the best record of all venues in Australia.

It’s been a year since Ewen McKenzie took the helm, and it’s a big compliment that it seems much longer than that.

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The changes that he has introduced have been significant. There has been a shift in the culture of the team, typified by a line in the sand moment on the spring tour last year.

Players are working hard for each other and you get a real sense that every player knows exactly what the game plan is and what their role is in executing it. A very simple concept, however one that isn’t easy to achieve!

Then there is the form of the Australian conference over this year’s Super Rugby tournament. Obviously the Waratahs and the Brumbies were standouts, the Force was the surprise packet of the season, with only the Reds and Rebels disappointing.

Let’s focus on the positives though. Both the physicality and set piece of the Brumbies and Waratahs have shown significant improvement over the past two seasons, to the point where this year the Waratahs were actually intimidating their opposition by their physical dominance, combined with their ability to play expansive, up-tempo rugby. I am looking forward to this mentality and confidence being brought into the Wallaby ranks.

The Wallaby team was announced on Tuesday and there were a couple of interesting selections, the biggest being Kurtley Beale at 10.

My first thought was wow, that’s a massive call. Bernard Foley was the incumbent 10 after starting in all three of the French Tests in June, and he had a very impressive Super Rugby season, culminating in nailing the penalty to win the final for the Tahs at the death.



It wasn’t just the fact that Foley stepped up when it counted, his game management has improved significantly with time in the saddle over the last two seasons.

KB on the other hand has had a renaissance under Michael Cheika’s guidance, and playing at 12 where he had more freedom to rove and not always having to steer the team around.

This is where I will draw my focus back to Ewen. He is now 12 months in his role and part of this selection is to unsettle the All Blacks. Also Ewen has had plenty of experience with KB, both from when he was the Waratahs coach and his recent time with the Wallabies.

One of Link’s strongest attributes is his ability to connect and get the best out of his players. This selection is one of those moments where faith will be repaid, and KB’s x-factor at 10 is now a headache for the All Blacks’ preparation. On the flipside, the Wallabies will know everything they will be looking to execute on Saturday night.

Pat McCabe is another interesting selection. I’m very happy for Paddy. He is a great team man who works tirelessly and obviously has had a couple of injury scares. For him to have made his way back into the starting line-up says a lot about his character and resilience. I am sure he will do the job asked of him this weekend – he always has – and will be solid as a rock defensively.

Finally, the forward pack. The big question again will be on our front row and their ability to lay a solid platform at set-piece time. It is fantastic to see Nathan Charles get his first start for the Wallabies, however debuts don’t get much tougher than this!

The battle of the backrow is going to be the highlight of the game. Michael Hooper versus Richie McCaw and Wycliff Palu v Kieran Read will be sensational!

I really like the look and balance of the Wallaby backrow; they all complement each other nicely. I can’t wait to see big Cliffy Palu continue his role as the enforcer of the Wallaby pack!



Bledisloe coverage on Saturday August 16 kicks off at 7.30pm live on TEN