By Brett Papworth

Australian rugby has a good man at the helm, and it will be Michael Cheika’s decisions over the next three months or so that will have a huge bearing on rugby’s short term future in Australia.

At a time when the ARU seems to have gambled the games future almost exclusively on the success of the Wallabies, the World Cup looms as an important moment in time for the game here – which is where Coach Cheika comes in.

Depth in the squad has never been better, as we have seen in the Wallabies two recent Test victories, where we have fielded quite different teams, and had excellent impact from the bench. Some of the changes were forced by injury, but I suspect the coach was responsible for picking teams to beat the specific opposition.

For example, Argentina are difficult to play against. They have always been a little unorthodox and individualistic. Great scrum, yes, but after that they have often kicked when they should have run, and run it when they should have kicked. The Pumas keep you guessing, and their unpredictability makes it hard to find your rhythm. They rely on this to beat you.

So Cheika picked McCalman, Phipps, Foley and Toomua. Solid as a rock in the 8, 9, 10 and 12. You don’t need ‘fancy’ against the Pumas because you know you’ll get your opportunities at some stage. What you need against Argentina, are calm decision makers to help you capatalise when the chances come. In the end, 34 points to 9. Job done.

All of which tells us what, as we approach the World Cup? Well, our opposition in the UK will be far more predictable, which makes Cheika’s planning an interesting study. We need to get out of our pool, which means beating England and Wales on their home turf. Not easy!

What we know (I hope) is that both of our pool opponents will come at us hard at the set piece. They will be happy to play little rugby – lots of scrums and lineouts, plenty of kicking, and try and bash us physically at the breakdown with bigger bodies – just like the All Blacks do. The English don’t care that we find it boring, as long as it works for them.

So how does Cheika prepare for what he knows is coming, while still getting the job done here against the All Blacks? He is lucky in a way because our blokes play so often against Kiwis and South Africans, they could almost do it with their eyes closed (sometimes it appears they do!!). Might win, might not, but it won’t really tell us anything either way.

Does he simply decide on his best 15, and let them play in the hope they can get it done at the World Cup? Or does he prepare a team that can get out of their pool? In my mind, our best team includes Quade, Kurtley, Giteau, Higginbotham, Pocock and Hooper. I don’t know where you fit them all, but throw everything we have at them. Speed and Flair, and let’s win the Australian way!

However I don’t think that is a team that can win the Cup. Too many errors and penalties would play right into the hands of the enemy and lead to scrums, lineouts and penalty kicks. If it comes off, it would be brilliant, but do we gamble on it coming off on the big stage?

The scrum is key, and our World Cup campaign may begin and end right there. Cheika has recruited the Argentinian, Ledesma, to make us better, and we simply must be or we will be whistled off the park in the UK. I am no genius when it comes to the set piece, but I do know the scrum is an eight man thing, working as one. Higginbotham and Skelton (just to name two) are terrific footballers, and we love them with ball in hand creating tries or breaks, but that will be irrelevant if the scrum doesn’t hold. So, do we have forwards who are happy to do the thankless, unnoticed work at scrum time, and are happy to never get the ball in the open field? I don’t know either, but it will be that sort of player we need.

In the Backs, let’s assume Folau and Kuridrani are locked in. Perhaps Ashley-Cooper as well. Who we choose at 9, 10, 12 will depend on how confident we are in our scrum, and how big a gamble Cheika is prepared to take.

Michael Cheika’s great strength is that he is not interested in doing things to keep his job. Improvement in the team, and the individuals, is everything. It will be fascinating to watch it unfold in the months ahead, because rugby in Australia really needs him to get it right.

Brett Papworth is a former Wallaby and ABC commentator and the current president of Eastwood.