Saia Fainga’a and Benn Robinson go through their paces at the captain’s run before
the opening clash of their Grand Slam tour against England at Twickenham

by Paul Cook (Rugby News exclusive) –

“It is our intention to win all five games and nothing else will be satisfactory. For us as players, we’re trying to win a Grand Slam and we’re going into it with that mentality, that’s our goal. Anything less won’t be acceptable.”

Wallaby hooker Saia Fainga’a

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Ah, the elusive Grand Slam. It’s not something that has been talked about much this time around as the new look Wallabies continue to find their feet and their form under coach Ewen McKenzie but a side that has gone through the mill in the last six months and suffered criticism from many quarters for the Lions series loss and the lacklustre performances in the Rugby Championship – at least for the first four games – actually has a damn good chance of finishing the year on a high by stamping their names in the annals of Wallaby history.

Only once has an Australian side managed to conquer all four nations that make up Great Britain and Ireland on the same tour, and that was 29 years ago in 1984. Such is the uniqueness of that achievement that the players involved are still held aloft as deities of the Australian game, a band of brothers that succeeded where all others had tried and failed. None more so than the legendary Mark Ella, who scored a try in all four tests.

Given that it has only ever been attempted 26 times by the combined trio of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and for a record of nine successes (four apiece to the All Blacks and Springboks), the Grand Slam retains it’s status as an iconic summit in Southern Hemisphere rugby and one that would be a significant boost to the game in this country if this Wallabies side were able to conquer.

Incredibly, this is only the second time since 1984 that the feat has been attempted by a Wallaby touring side. The last was in 2009 under Robbie Deans when a squad that left with much expectation got off to a flying start against England at Twickenham, only for a dogged Ireland to spoil their chances by holding them to a draw a week later in Dublin. Then came the ignominy of the 9-8 defeat to Scotland at Murrayfield.

The 1984 Wallabies stand alone as the only touring Australian side to achieve the ‘Grand Slam’

The Wallabies start at Twickenham again in the early hours of tomorrow morning, before taking on the Azzurri in Italy and completing their Slam attempt with matches against Ireland, Scotland and Wales respectively.

With their Grand Slam opponents coming into the November series a tad rusty given that their last competitive hit-outs as a unit were in the final round of the Six Nations back in March (the squads which toured Argentina, South Africa, USA and Japan in June were shorn of their British & Irish Lions representatives), the Wallabies may well have a leg-up due to the fact they arrive on the back of seven matches in the last three months, five of which were against the top two ranked nations in the world.

However, given their record of only three wins from ten tests in 2013, the pre-tour talk has revolved more around what would be an acceptable win-loss ratio than any genuine belief that a Grand Slam is on the cards. But as hooker Saia Fainga’a told Rugby News before the squad set-off for Europe, there is a growing positivity amongst the players and a belief that things are starting to click into place.

“We play for each other and we play for our country and we’ll go out there and do our best and we’ll come away with five good wins if we stay positive and keep playing the way we’ve shown we can in the last two games,” he said. “You can tell that we’ve got a lot of hunger now. Those last five minutes against the All Blacks in Dunedin, three of which I think were in overtime, we were just continually running the ball and showing that we were hungry to score tries and I think that was indicative of where we stand at the moment, which is that we’re never going to die trying.”

Quade Cooper was back to his magical best against the All Blacks in Dunedin

Having lost heavily to the All Blacks in Sydney in Ewen McKenzie’s first game in charge, the final Bledisloe test was a chance to measure their progress across the preceding eight weeks and despite the lingering defensive frailties in the 41-33 loss, there were plenty of positives to take away from the game.

It was the highest amount of points ever scored by a Wallaby side in New Zealand and it came off the back of a blistering return to form by Will Genia, Quade Cooper’s best performance in the green and gold since before the 2011 World Cup and the exciting promise of more to come from young stars such as Matt To’omua, Tevita Kuridrani and the ubiquitous Israel Folau. Indeed, a better bounce of the ball for Bernard Foley from Folau’s grubber in the final minute and we could well have been talking about a 1pt ball game.

“I think the performance was tremendously different,” agreed Fainga’a. “When we played them before I just don’t think we had combinations ready and to be honest, I don’t think we’d found our bond at that point. Over these last couple of games you can see that we’ve got something special building within this group.

“You can see that our running game and kicking games are developing and we’re playing a good combination of both, we’re not favouring either of them,” he continued. “We’re developing well as a team and as a group but in saying that, we can’t keep playing week in and week out and conceding twenty or more turnovers, that’s just not good enough.”

He feels that the Wallabies are closer than people may think to being a side that turns those gallant losses into wins but he admits there is still plenty to work on. “I think we’re very close. It’s about taking your opportunities, the All Blacks take theirs, we need to do the same. We had chances in that last game in both halves but a dropped ball or knock-on cost us whereas the All Blacks just need a turnover and they can score points. Whenever they were inside our half, they tended to come away with either three points or a try and I think that’s where we need to really lift our game when we get the same opportunities.”

Clean slate: Ewen McKenzie has promoted a return to the traditional Australian running game

The change in the coaching box from Robbie Deans to Ewen McKenzie has given Fainga’a and his fellow Queensland Reds team mates the opportunity to continue working under a coach and a man they know well and trust in very much. Has that made the transition any easier?

“I wouldn’t say easier,” said Fainga’a. “He’s come in with a clean slate and he obviously knew where we stood within the group but he didn’t know how the group would react to him coming in and he didn’t know much about some of the other players. The good thing about Ewen is that he looks for solutions, he doesn’t look for problems, it’s something he does really well.

“He hasn’t changed as national coach at all,” he observes. “He’s still a straight-up person who tells you how it is and communicates with the players really well. As a player, you just want good communication and an honest opinion. Are you playing well? Are you not playing well? What’s happening with the team? What journey is he taking us on?”

During his time at the helm, the perception outside of the dressing sheds amongst some sections of the media and Wallaby fanbase, was that Deans was possibly not the greatest communicator but Fainga’a was happy to dispel that notion.

“No, not at all, Robbie was a great coach who understood the players and communicated really well but I think that, for me personally, when Ewen says stuff I can relate to it because I’ve had a lot more to do with him. When you’ve had four years under a coach in Super Rugby, you start to know when they’re angry or when to talk to them or when not to and also when you’re training well!

“The way Ewen has started and the way we are developing as a group is very positive. When he first came in, he wanted us to play in an Australian way and he has faith in the team that he’s picking to do that. I knew it would take a couple of games to get his ideas across and this Spring tour now gives us all a chance to keep learning and improving together. The longer he has with the team, the better the Wallabies will be for it, the more games we will win and the more consistency we will get into our game.”

2013 John Eales Medallist Michael Hooper was in fine form
in last year’s Cook Cup triumph over England at Twickenham

Looking at all five upcoming matches, Fainga’a sees different qualities and challenges in each opponent. “All five teams have strong attributes. I think England will be tough up front, they’ve got a big pack and Italy are always strong at scrum time as well. Scotland and Ireland, we’re not quite sure what the conditions will be like but they’re always tough to play, especially Scotland whose defence has improved of late.

“Wales play a nice running game and with it being the last game of the tour, both sides will be fired up to end on a high. They also had the majority of players on the Lions tour so we’ll be quite keen to do well against them this time round.”

With Tatafu Polota-Nau still making his way back into contention from a troublesome hamstring, Fainga’a is currently vying for the starting hooker role with Stephen Moore. When fit and firing, all three could lay justifiable claim to that no.2 jersey and it is a position where Australia is blessed with depth.

“I think for all of us, competition’s good, it’s healthy and it makes you try harder,” says Fainga’a. “If you didn’t have competition I don’t think you’d be pushing each other. The three of us know where we stand and we get the best out of each other and try to do the best job we can for our country and for the team. I look forward to every test match and while I’m not starting at the moment, it’s about making sure I push my case every time I come off the bench and just keep performing to the best of my ability.”

No matter who takes to the field on game day, they all have one mission, to get Australia back to the pinnacle of the world game. A Grand Slam would be a pretty good way to set about doing so.

“It would be a real sign that this last four or five months of hard work is starting to pay off,” Fainga’a ended. “We’re definitely in it for the long haul but it would be a clear indicator that we’re moving in the right direction. It would be an amazing feeling to do it and it would be a great way to finish the season.”