By Greg Mumm

If you are like me and are following anything remotely linked to rugby on social media at the moment, you will have been bombarded with the #strongerasone campaign.

Add to that the mainstream motto ‘Believe’ and you get the hint that our team are looking for us to get behind them.

What’s more, it’s working and we’re responding not just with a raised eyebrow, but with a full heart and big dreams of Australia winning their third Northern Hemisphere Rugby World Cup.

So what is it that is bringing us together, making us stronger as one?

Firstly, it is the coach.

Much to the sponsors demise, you never hear of the Qantas Wallabies or the Castrol Wallabies at the moment…they are Michael Cheika’s Wallabies, such is the impact he has had in a small time.

An unassuming man, this has far less to do with the personality of the coach and more to do with the powerful persona he has bought to the team. He has rid the team of excuses, rewarded talent from around the globe, and forced players to earn their jersey through sweat, blood and commitment.

For a nation that has such proud rugby traditions at this tournament, that is the first box ticked…if it is hard fought and it’s fair – its Australian.

The second reason is the tactics.

Gone are the one pass plays, the hit-drive-drop mentality of some recent squads. In are the out the back plays, the wide-wide attack and the run from anywhere dare. Yes it scares the proverbial out of us when it doesn’t go right, but we’re Australian, and often set our mates on fire for the thrill of it – so this hardly seems much to take for the sake of excitement.

Even better, it is being done without forfeiting the mongrel that we love. Nathan Grey has installed the same front foot; think of your body later defence that he was famous for. The Sydney test was proof of the benefits of this with some of the New Zealanders looking whiter than an Invercargill tan at the sight of Hooper, Kuridrani and others rushing in their faces.

And for the purist’s, the scrum’s not going backwards and the mauls are going forwards. Enough said!

Then finally there are the players themselves, the real reason we can believe.

Now the tall poppy in us all still finds faults in certain blokes, in their pass, their step their skills compare to far more fancied foe, but as a country we have never been too worried about the tassels on your coat, but the engine beneath the fabric and the heart that makes it tick, and in this group we have some beauties.

What makes me believe in this group is that they have collectively experienced loss and are strengthened by the experience.

Loss may sound like a negative, and individually it can be left unmanaged, but if a leader can draw on this heartache and use it as fuel to ignite one fire, it can burn brighter than talent alone ever could.

Within this group, with this coach and this captain, it may very well be a case of ‘Find a man’s wounds and you find his worth’. Amongst them they have shared personal loss, injury and the perceived loss of careers. There are those who never thought they would wear the jersey again, whilst some have endured public scrutiny many times over both of their own cause and at the hands of others.

And for those who’s well of inspiration may not be as deep as others, a training regime which pits them against each other in bloodied battle creates fresh wounds for them to rise from.

It is within this personal soul searching that these men of gold have found their voice, and knowing they have shared their stories, shown the vulnerability from whence their venom now comes. It is this collective drive they creates this teams identity.

Standing in their huddle tonight, looking in to the eyes of their teammates, they will know the pain that drives the passion and they will carry it shoulder to shoulder as brother do.

It is a team whose coach has removed excuses and unshackled expectation, exposing the men within to themselves and each other.

Together they travel from adversity, journeying towards a common purpose in the belief that they are stronger as one.

As a brother, a rugby fan and an Australian – that’s good enough for me, I’m in!