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Another loss for Wallabies is not all bad
- Bret Harris
- From: The Australian
- October 30, 2010 12:00AM
THE best thing that could happen to the Wallabies in Hong Kong is to lose another Test to the All Blacks.
Before you accuse me of being stark, raving mad, consider this:
The All Blacks are always knocked out of the World Cup by the threat they do not see coming.
Sure, the Wallabies achieved a breakthrough victory over them in New Zealand in 1990 and went on to beat the Kiwis in the semi-final of the 1991 World Cup on the way to defeating England in the final.
But the Wallabies were almost knocked out of the event by Ireland in the quarter-final. No one expected them to beat the invincible All Blacks, not least the All Blacks.
In 1995, the All Blacks trampled over everyone until the underdog South Africa figured out how to negate the Kiwis' main tactic of "throw the ball to Jonah", winning The Webb Ellis Cup for Nelson Mandela's Rainbow Nation.
The All Blacks still complain about how Suzy the waitress gave them food-poisoning. How else could they have lost?
The Wallabies won four of their last five Tests against the All Blacks before the 1999 World Cup, but it was rank outsider France that sunk the New Zealanders in the semi-final.
Maybe if the All Blacks were playing the Wallabies they would not have switched off the way they did against France after establishing what they thought was a match-winning lead.
The All Blacks beat the Wallabies twice in the 2003 Tri-Nations before they were bundled out of the World Cup semi-final in Sydney by an Australian team given no hope.
And Les Bleus upset a seemingly unstoppable All Blacks side in the quarter-final of the 2007 tournament in France.
There is no better All Black team to meet in a World Cup knock-out match than one that thinks it cannot lose.
Imagine, the All Blacks entering the World Cup next year on home soil as unbackable favourites with the weight of expectation of four million Kiwis on their shoulders.
So what is really at stake in this dead rubber in Hong Kong?
After 10 straight wins, the All Blacks will be looking to maintain their psychological advantage over the Wallabies, while Australia is desperate to end the losing streak.
To be sure, a win against the All Blacks would be good for the Wallabies in a lot of ways.
It would boost their self-confidence and self-esteem, but it would guarantee nothing in Auckland next year should the Wallabies meet New Zealand in the final.
Every Test, whether it is part of a series or a tournament, is a separate entity.
The road to New Zealand could be paved with gold or pot-holed. It's what you do when you get there that matters.
In the meantime, if the Wallabies beat the All Blacks tonight, they should celebrate the win for what it is - a wonderful achievement in a moment in time.
What it could mean is that the Wallabies - a work in progress since Robbie Deans took over as coach in 2008 - may have finally turned the corner.
There have been glimpses of this talented Wallabies fulfilling their great promise. The win against the All Blacks in Sydney, victory over the Springboks in Durban and Bloemfontein and a win on the road against England.
But there have been inexplicable upsets along the way, too.
The Wallabies need to become more consistent if they are to develop into a truly formidable power.
But if they lose tonight it will not be the end of the world, at least as far as the World Cup is concerned.
It will, however, be extremely disappointing. Painful even.
This Test is all about winning a particular game of rugby for its own sake.
Nothing else matters, at least for now.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...-1225945357738