Have Australia's matches lost their edge?

Monday 7 December 2009
Published By: Ben Welch
International Rugby > Australia

It has been a long while since Australia were last in a great rugby match.

Or at least this appears to be the suggestion of Green and Gold Rugby's Top 5 Wallaby Matches of the Decade list, which does not feature a single game after 2003.

Few will challenge the Game of the Century's right to the top spot, and even most Lions fans will admit that the Sydney Test of 2001 was pure magic and deserves to be up there, but were there really no better games in the last six years than the 2003 Rugby World Cup final, which was fifth?

Sure, it was a great spectacle and had the drama of overtime - the reasons cited by author Noddy for its inclusion - but it was a relatively average match besides and it's hard to believe there hasn't been a superior contest involving the Wallabies since.

Indeed, with the recent 20-20 draw against Ireland still fresh in the mind, you could probably make a strong argument that they've had a better game in the last month.