The Wallabies were uninspiring last week. Australia deserves better
Whatever the ins and outs of the Wallabies' preparations – and Schmidt's statements hint at his unhappiness – this is not a message that can be sold to the Australian rugby public, which has for more than a decade been asked to accept deferred gratification as one great plan or another unfolds, only for none to come to fruition.
It's a line that goes way back, to even before the 2011 Rugby World Cup when Robbie Deans was granted a contract extension before the tournament and indicated afterwards the performance of younger players at that event pointed to a brighter future.
The points made here would be much more muted had it not been for the performance of the First Nations and Pasifika team on Tuesday, and also the Waratahs in their tour game against the Lions.
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Had those games been walkovers, as expected, we could have fallen into the comfortable old excuse about Australia 'not having the cattle', which is so much easier to process than the awkward business of posing hard questions.
But the fact is the First Nations and Pasifika side and the Waratahs rattled the Lions, and the tourists' response on Tuesday was telling: after being punched on the nose by Kefu's troops, they tried to go around them, not through them as needed. They lost the fight, even if their superior class won the evening in the end.
Schmidt poked a hole in their approach by highlighting the number of line breaks they conceded, but it was as clear as day that the Lions were upset by the First Nations and Pasifika's line speed: they were stressed and started looking for the easier options with ball in hand, a concession to Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and Charlie Gamble in particular.
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