am supporting Australia 100% no matter wat am proud to be Australia am staying in cape town thank you joe schmidt for everything dat you are developing the ussies
The breakdancing dig, ouch 😂 But seriously. The amount of potential players, that have exposure to rugby union, that then go on to play other sports professionally in Oz is unbelievable.
I am irish and if i was an aussie i would be feeling very happy with 2024. They eventually came good in the autumn and i think they will get much better in 2025. Joe schmidt is a great coach and he is getting there. I would give them a 7 out of 10.
I'm giving them an 8/10. The players were written off (including by ppl like me), Schmidt was an eyebrow raiser, they're reeling all year. But they just kept going and putting in performances and doing what the coach said! I actually got up at 4am to watch them get a hiding from England but instead got to see the shock of the year. To me, they're playing above themselves, extremely well coached, and put their hearts out on the field. Re props, watch out for Aiden Ross who's moving to Queensland from Chiefs. He'll qualify for wallabies and he's been a very effective scrummager in nz for years
You’re right about the wallabies being the 4th football code in Aus and also the ARU’s utter mismanagement since the last WC victory really. As a former rugby player, I had totally given up on rugby in Aus and I also agree that hurt the quality and interest in rugby worldwide. It just looked very bad for the game in general. Ireland were a little lucky to get away with the last game although they deserved the narrow win; Scotland look very good but the wallabies looked like they had an off day in conditions they’re not so used to. Schmidt and home ground advantage will make the Lions series interesting. By the end of the year, the Aussies are probably stronger than the 2024 results indicated. 6.5 is a fair call. Schmidt will now be keen to get results and not just see improvements in all areas, which were noticeable even in the losses. I kinda hope that he’s more long term, because Aus rugby needs an extended rebuilding from a neglected grass roots up.
Considering the all-time low to which Eddie Jones dragged them in 2023 - I give them a B- .... In terms of score, say 6.75/10. Let's just consider previously-capped players whom Jones ignored, and neglected to take to the RWC: Wilson, Gordon, Lolesio, Ikitau, Tom Wright, Paisami, Daugunu, etc. 🤔 plus he didn't start Kellaway until the second-last RWC match (and not to mention eg Michael Hooper).
And then there are players in Jones's starting XVs at the RWC who were so disillusioned with the experience, that they have since left the game and switched to other codes: Mark Nawaqanitawase and Carter Gordon (both NRL) and Jordan Petaia (NFL). 🫤
Based on where they started the year and where they have finished , they are worthy of a 7 - Schmidt has already made a huge impact , yes they have played wales three times but you only need to the difference in the margin of victory and quality of rugby played in Cardiff in November against their performances / results in July Admittedly, Wales may have actually regressed over the course of the year but nevertheless Australia do now look much more cohesive and harder to beat principally because they are always like to score a few tries
I put numbers similar to these out a lot but it's worth putting them up again because I don't know if a lot of people realise what the sporting environment is like in Australia. 1. The NRL has revenue something like $600-700m, equivalent to the Top 14 and Pro D2 combined. The AFL is twice as big as the NRL at $1.2b. RA has revenue of around $100m similar to the A-league (soccer/football league), but posted a $10m deficit in 2023 and have an $80m loan. 2. The NRL has 17 teams with talk of adding an 18th. AFL has 18 teams with a 19th coming in 2028. A-League has 13 teams. Super Rugby has 4 Australian teams down from 5 last year. 3. The NRL TV deal is roughly $400m/y, the AFL has recently signed a new deal worth $650m/y from 2025, up from $450m/y in 2024. A-League has just signed a deal worth $50m/y. Super Rugby is $30m/y, about the same as AFL's *surplus* last year. And that's without considering things like cricket, (Big Bash League has revenue around $90m) or some of the bigger women's leagues (AFL pumped $60m into the women's league last year up from $45m the previous year) RA has definitely mismanaged things for a long time but Rugby has been losing ground to League and AFL in this country for more than a century. Many of the legends of League played Rugby as schoolboys but got lured away by the cash and RA has never been able to compete really, even in the glory days of the late 90's, early 00's.
Just to update these figures, the NRL revenue is on track to surpass 720 million dollars this year. You also overestimated the AFL figures by a bit. It's around 1.05 billion dollars.
@@B-tr9kz Thanks for that clarification, I find it tough to find consistent figures, people quote different numbers all over the place and aren't always clear about which year (or even currency) they mean, I think the 1.2 came from the 1.065 + 12% increase in 2023 but that was already included in the 1.065, if trends over the last 3 years continue (no guarantee) I think they'll be close to 1.2 this year. Either way, the point is that rugby is, financially, very much a minnow of the Australian sporting landscape. The TV deal is
Good comments and very useful to share those figures ... I still feel like most people who don't live here in Au just have no idea about such things ... But sharing numbers like this can only help educate them I guess.
They have progressed… a bit. In the autumn, their battering by Scotland was reminder of just how much they still have to do. The first couple of games were decent performances, but also very flattering given the poor opposition. 8th in the world feels right for them right now. Hopefully we can see them progress a bit more from there.
6. But a much needed 6. After the literal 0 from Eddie last year, they needed to improve. It was rough in the rugby championship but the tour has shown the progression. Still not so much on the results but they’re closer and improving and the signs are good. The improvement needs to keep up
At the start of your vid I said 6.5 - 7, so I agree with 6.5. Personally I feel the biggest problems with 2023 were purged, with Eddie and Hamish McClennan being dumped. The dumping of Dave Rennie was ridiculous, and pretty much spelt the end of any realistic chance Australia may have felt they had, going into 2023 RWC. However I always felt with a good coach, the Wallabies could put a good 23 out on the pitch. The Wallabies biggest issue will always be not losing players to injury, as they just don't have the cattle to cover like for like. THAT will be the problem going into the Lions next year. Getting their best 23 out on the pitch.
I'm a saffer living in Sydney and I'd absolutely love for a Wallabies return to form. The world needs a strong Aussie side and all the foreigners in Australia would love a strong home side to root (yes I said root) for.
As an Australian I’d say a solid 6.5/10. Definitely the bones of a quality team are starting to come together. If we knocked off either Scotland or Ireland in the spring tour or SA or NZ in the RC we would have had a solid rebuild. I think against the lions we will be competitive, with the lions being strong favourites. But this squad if managed well are legitimate home RWC contenders in ‘27. Edit, I agree with your rating. 😂
Wish Marky mark Nawaqatanase and big Joseph get to play for Wallabies ! Lethal! For props , I reckon the 2 Aussie born kiwis are going to be a massive boost, Alex Hodgman and Aidan Ross! Schoup, when fit, is a weapon! Is big Cabous Eloff an Aussie yet? Kailea,Amone,Nongorr,Massimo, etc need a season or 2 in pro D2, learning tradecraft, the dark arts! Yep agree, massive improvement but 6/10!
Not good, but not good I was going to say not bad. But we definitely had some bad games that as you said showed our weaknesses If we could just remember, like our old teams new well, good kicking for field position and score board points can improve it will go a long way to helping our pigs stay competitive and allow the backs to maybe put a greater score board impact on opposing teams Would be great if we could get South Africa back in the super rugby competition, oh a wallabies fan dreaming again
7/10, well done Australia, it's not your national sport and yet, other teams including the All Blacks have to play at their very best or the Aussies will surprise you..
6/10. Rugby Championship was disappointing,but some goods signs in the Bledisloe.End of year Tour was good,you could see there is improvement, hopefully this team will continue their form in Super Rugby.
They have gotten better over the year but they looked so bad for most of their games, I can't give them more than 5/10. 6 wins, including 3 against a terrible welsh squad and 1 against Georgia is atrocious.
Schmidt gets a 4. Good technician but in refusing to select OS players and aligning with European clubs a huge mistake. He has also failed to develop props and locks. The hardest positions to select for given % of populations. With Sio, Ainsley, Latu, Skelton, Arnold, Philip, Kerevi, Samu, Hodge, Perese, Tua if eligible, Kerr Barlow etc the side is far more competitive and able to absorb injuries. Similarly he has not developed props like Pone who could have done with time in France. Will continue to see more of the likes of Meafou going direct to France and losses if they don’t select OS players and align the comp dates with Europe so he loses major points for that.
Our lock depth was one of the highlights of the season, Frost, Williams and Skelton were all immense. Bell had a breakout international season and Kailea's developing really nicely. Not sure if we watched the same games lol. Besides Ker Barlow and maybe Latu and Sio due to our lack of depth there I wouldn't select any of the others the you just mentioned. Giving Schmidt a 4 is baffling
Based on where they started the year and where they have finished , they are worthy of a 7 - Schmidt has already made a huge impact , yes they have played wales three times but you only need to the difference in the margin of victory and quality of rugby played in Cardiff in November against their performances / results in July Admittedly, Wales may have actually regressed over the course of the year but nevertheless Australia do now look much more cohesive and harder to beat principally because they are always like to score a few tries
am supporting Australia 100% no matter wat am proud to be Australia am staying in cape town thank you joe schmidt for everything dat you are developing the ussies
The breakdancing dig, ouch 😂
But seriously. The amount of potential players, that have exposure to rugby union, that then go on to play other sports professionally in Oz is unbelievable.
I am irish and if i was an aussie i would be feeling very happy with 2024. They eventually came good in the autumn and i think they will get much better in 2025. Joe schmidt is a great coach and he is getting there. I would give them a 7 out of 10.
Im happy to see Australia back on the road to the top and yous have a legend of a manager from an irish fan
7/10. Aus rugby is back. They’re only going to get better as well
I'm giving them an 8/10.
The players were written off (including by ppl like me), Schmidt was an eyebrow raiser, they're reeling all year. But they just kept going and putting in performances and doing what the coach said!
I actually got up at 4am to watch them get a hiding from England but instead got to see the shock of the year.
To me, they're playing above themselves, extremely well coached, and put their hearts out on the field.
Re props, watch out for Aiden Ross who's moving to Queensland from Chiefs. He'll qualify for wallabies and he's been a very effective scrummager in nz for years
You’re right about the wallabies being the 4th football code in Aus and also the ARU’s utter mismanagement since the last WC victory really. As a former rugby player, I had totally given up on rugby in Aus and I also agree that hurt the quality and interest in rugby worldwide. It just looked very bad for the game in general.
Ireland were a little lucky to get away with the last game although they deserved the narrow win; Scotland look very good but the wallabies looked like they had an off day in conditions they’re not so used to. Schmidt and home ground advantage will make the Lions series interesting. By the end of the year, the Aussies are probably stronger than the 2024 results indicated. 6.5 is a fair call.
Schmidt will now be keen to get results and not just see improvements in all areas, which were noticeable even in the losses. I kinda hope that he’s more long term, because Aus rugby needs an extended rebuilding from a neglected grass roots up.
As an Aussie I agree with all this - but especially the comment re "utter mismanagement" by the ARU/RA (over many years).
Considering the all-time low to which Eddie Jones dragged them in 2023 - I give them a B- .... In terms of score, say 6.75/10.
Let's just consider previously-capped players whom Jones ignored, and neglected to take to the RWC: Wilson, Gordon, Lolesio, Ikitau, Tom Wright, Paisami, Daugunu, etc. 🤔 plus he didn't start Kellaway until the second-last RWC match (and not to mention eg Michael Hooper).
And then there are players in Jones's starting XVs at the RWC who were so disillusioned with the experience, that they have since left the game and switched to other codes: Mark Nawaqanitawase and Carter Gordon (both NRL) and Jordan Petaia (NFL). 🫤
Based on where they started the year and where they have finished , they are worthy of a 7 - Schmidt has already made a huge impact , yes they have played wales three times but you only need to the difference in the margin of victory and quality of rugby played in Cardiff in November against their performances / results in July
Admittedly, Wales may have actually regressed over the course of the year but nevertheless Australia do now look much more cohesive and harder to beat principally because they are always like to score a few tries
I put numbers similar to these out a lot but it's worth putting them up again because I don't know if a lot of people realise what the sporting environment is like in Australia.
1. The NRL has revenue something like $600-700m, equivalent to the Top 14 and Pro D2 combined. The AFL is twice as big as the NRL at $1.2b. RA has revenue of around $100m similar to the A-league (soccer/football league), but posted a $10m deficit in 2023 and have an $80m loan.
2. The NRL has 17 teams with talk of adding an 18th. AFL has 18 teams with a 19th coming in 2028. A-League has 13 teams. Super Rugby has 4 Australian teams down from 5 last year.
3. The NRL TV deal is roughly $400m/y, the AFL has recently signed a new deal worth $650m/y from 2025, up from $450m/y in 2024. A-League has just signed a deal worth $50m/y. Super Rugby is $30m/y, about the same as AFL's *surplus* last year.
And that's without considering things like cricket, (Big Bash League has revenue around $90m) or some of the bigger women's leagues (AFL pumped $60m into the women's league last year up from $45m the previous year)
RA has definitely mismanaged things for a long time but Rugby has been losing ground to League and AFL in this country for more than a century. Many of the legends of League played Rugby as schoolboys but got lured away by the cash and RA has never been able to compete really, even in the glory days of the late 90's, early 00's.
Just to update these figures, the NRL revenue is on track to surpass 720 million dollars this year. You also overestimated the AFL figures by a bit. It's around 1.05 billion dollars.
@@B-tr9kz Thanks for that clarification, I find it tough to find consistent figures, people quote different numbers all over the place and aren't always clear about which year (or even currency) they mean, I think the 1.2 came from the 1.065 + 12% increase in 2023 but that was already included in the 1.065, if trends over the last 3 years continue (no guarantee) I think they'll be close to 1.2 this year. Either way, the point is that rugby is, financially, very much a minnow of the Australian sporting landscape. The TV deal is
Good comments and very useful to share those figures ... I still feel like most people who don't live here in Au just have no idea about such things ... But sharing numbers like this can only help educate them I guess.
Beat england and ran ireland close. I think they have improved significantly since the WC
Tim, what would your selection look like assuming that all the Aussie players are fit for the first test against the Lions?
Eagerly awaiting the Wales episode
It's mind boggling how you manage to produce so much interesting content in such a short time👍
Started on a 2 finished on a 7
Huge improvement. Hoping they improve even more before the Lions
They have progressed… a bit. In the autumn, their battering by Scotland was reminder of just how much they still have to do. The first couple of games were decent performances, but also very flattering given the poor opposition.
8th in the world feels right for them right now. Hopefully we can see them progress a bit more from there.
Opening few seconds were fantastic 😂
They are slowly recovering, the path is quite long to reach the top teams. They are not as dull as Wales but...5/10.
6. But a much needed 6. After the literal 0 from Eddie last year, they needed to improve. It was rough in the rugby championship but the tour has shown the progression. Still not so much on the results but they’re closer and improving and the signs are good. The improvement needs to keep up
6.5/10 prediction for 2025. 5/10 for 2024
At the start of your vid I said 6.5 - 7, so I agree with 6.5.
Personally I feel the biggest problems with 2023 were purged, with Eddie and Hamish McClennan being dumped. The dumping of Dave Rennie was ridiculous, and pretty much spelt the end of any realistic chance Australia may have felt they had, going into 2023 RWC.
However I always felt with a good coach, the Wallabies could put a good 23 out on the pitch. The Wallabies biggest issue will always be not losing players to injury, as they just don't have the cattle to cover like for like. THAT will be the problem going into the Lions next year. Getting their best 23 out on the pitch.
I'm a saffer living in Sydney and I'd absolutely love for a Wallabies return to form. The world needs a strong Aussie side and all the foreigners in Australia would love a strong home side to root (yes I said root) for.
Good one my friend. Now be honest here: how many NRL games have you ever attended? 😉
Support Aus ya mug
7 from myself
Real 1's watched the first one 😂,
love the videos as always Tim 🔥
😂 A real head scratcher it was 😅
I'm glad to see Aus starting to get there and building up to some sort of team like they once were, I'd go 5/10
As an Australian I’d say a solid 6.5/10. Definitely the bones of a quality team are starting to come together. If we knocked off either Scotland or Ireland in the spring tour or SA or NZ in the RC we would have had a solid rebuild. I think against the lions we will be competitive, with the lions being strong favourites. But this squad if managed well are legitimate home RWC contenders in ‘27.
Edit, I agree with your rating. 😂
6, up from 3 after the EJ debacle
Wish Marky mark Nawaqatanase and big Joseph get to play for Wallabies ! Lethal!
For props , I reckon the 2 Aussie born kiwis are going to be a massive boost, Alex Hodgman and Aidan Ross!
Schoup, when fit, is a weapon! Is big Cabous Eloff an Aussie yet?
Kailea,Amone,Nongorr,Massimo, etc need a season or 2 in pro D2, learning tradecraft, the dark arts!
Yep agree, massive improvement but 6/10!
Super rugby will be very interesting next year
We are so back
4/10 on results but 8/10 for guts and improvement
Not good, but not good
I was going to say not bad. But we definitely had some bad games that as you said showed our weaknesses
If we could just remember, like our old teams new well, good kicking for field position and score board points can improve it will go a long way to helping our pigs stay competitive and allow the backs to maybe put a greater score board impact on opposing teams
Would be great if we could get South Africa back in the super rugby competition, oh a wallabies fan dreaming again
As a WB fan I give them 6 out of 10. Well up from 1 from 10 in 2023. Lions tour in 2025 will still be a 3-0 whitewash
I got deja vu
Totally 😂
7/10, well done Australia, it's not your national sport and yet, other teams including the All Blacks have to play at their very best or the Aussies will surprise you..
Solid 6
410 but on the climb up
I think Sualii is being paid $1.6m
Is he worth it.
6.25/10.0 👍
5.5. Max 6
5/10
Hi Tim
Angus Bell didn’t play in the Ireland game
Nawanganitawase going to NRL was also a big L for Wallabies last year
And Carter Gordon
Huge recency bias on this one. The argentina loss was historically bad and they weren't particularly competitive until the end of season tour.
😀
5
3
6/10.
Rugby Championship was disappointing,but some goods signs in the Bledisloe.End of year Tour was good,you could see there is improvement, hopefully this team will continue their form in Super Rugby.
They have gotten better over the year but they looked so bad for most of their games, I can't give them more than 5/10.
6 wins, including 3 against a terrible welsh squad and 1 against Georgia is atrocious.
Australia over performed in November. Their depth of talent is poor and the Lions could destroy them. Their best bet is to focus on 2027.
Basketball in Australia is more popular than rugby union
I give us 4/10
Only positive is we have a young team and a decent coach with experience we could be a force by 2027
Schmidt gets a 4. Good technician but in refusing to select OS players and aligning with European clubs a huge mistake. He has also failed to develop props and locks. The hardest positions to select for given % of populations.
With Sio, Ainsley, Latu, Skelton, Arnold, Philip, Kerevi, Samu, Hodge, Perese, Tua if eligible, Kerr Barlow etc the side is far more competitive and able to absorb injuries.
Similarly he has not developed props like Pone who could have done with time in France.
Will continue to see more of the likes of Meafou going direct to France and losses if they don’t select OS players and align the comp dates with Europe so he loses major points for that.
Our lock depth was one of the highlights of the season, Frost, Williams and Skelton were all immense. Bell had a breakout international season and Kailea's developing really nicely. Not sure if we watched the same games lol.
Besides Ker Barlow and maybe Latu and Sio due to our lack of depth there I wouldn't select any of the others the you just mentioned. Giving Schmidt a 4 is baffling
6/10 for me
Based on where they started the year and where they have finished , they are worthy of a 7 - Schmidt has already made a huge impact , yes they have played wales three times but you only need to the difference in the margin of victory and quality of rugby played in Cardiff in November against their performances / results in July
Admittedly, Wales may have actually regressed over the course of the year but nevertheless Australia do now look much more cohesive and harder to beat principally because they are always like to score a few tries
6/10