The post-Bledisloe analysis of recent Wallabies woes has been extensive; worthy in some quarters, hysterical in others. Yet none of it has delved deeply enough into the roots of Australian rugby's woes, which go well beyond coaching and selection at the top level.

It goes beyond clubs, as well, which is what most refer to when talking about the "grassroots" of the game. The elephant in the room is a system of talent production based on elite schools, a model which has proven to be outdated and largely incapable of feeding the needs of the Wallaby machine.

This is emotional stuff for many in the game and even those in the media, plenty of whom have ties to their former halls of education and recall their battles on the field with understandable fondness. But the rose glasses blur a flawed system that now sees rugby as the only mainstream Australian sport that relies on schools, rather than clubs, to deliver its next generation of stars.

It's hardly an indictment of the schools themselves. The boys under their care could scarcely want for better coaching or facilities. Nor should it be interpreted as a class argument, although despite the ARU assuring fans it was expanding its reach beyond the cloisters, the XV-a-side game appears to be as exclusive as ever.