To become a top side in world rugby, the Wallabies must start behaving like one

July 5, 2026 — 7:30pm

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To take a big step forward, the Wallabies have to take small steps backwards. Stay with me.

A new day dawned on Sunday and yet again the Wallabies, and their supporters, woke up with a confusing grab bag of emotions. There was pride and excitement about much of the team’s performance against Ireland on Saturday night, particularly in a blistering first half during which Australia repeatedly cut the Irish open, and scored four tries via clever attack and midfield line breaks.

Those sights aren’t common in modern Test rugby: Ireland’s mighty defence getting picked apart, and tries being scored that aren’t via battering-ram runs near the tryline.

The Wallabies’ defence was mostly brutal, the attacking breakdown was superb, the scrum (though rarely used) was dominant and the lineout went from poor on the spring tour to outstanding. Of the many Wallabies players who turned in excellent shifts, Rob Valetini was the pick: a granite-hipped colossus with 19 carries.

But then there was the cold reality that the Wallabies lost. A tight one, yes, but another loss.

Such was the binary nature of Ben Donaldson’s hero-or-zero kick to win the game after the siren, the ball sailed wide and the celebration and good vibes on the other side of that sliding door – for........

© Brisbane Times