Attacking rugby is winning rugby. It’s time for the Wallabies to follow suit

The Hurricanes’ 60-5 destruction of the Chiefs in the Super Rugby Pacific final on Saturday confirmed a global trend that is now unmistakable: attacking rugby delivers trophies. Look at the teams who have been successful this year: the Hurricanes, Northampton (English Premiership winners), Bordeaux-Begles (Champions Cup winners), Kobe Steelers (Japan Rugby League One champions) and Leinster (United Rugby Championship winners). They have a common thread – they are either all-out attack merchants or, in Leinster’s case, at their best when they take off the shackles.

Not one team based on structure, set-piece and defence has won any silverware, which leaves Australian rugby with a big decision to make. The Brumbies, in particular, were wedded to structure this year, but the Wallabies have to change that mindset, and quickly. Nothing summed up the game’s current direction more than Rieko Ioane’s try for Leinster in their final hammering of the Bulls over the weekend.

A quick lineout throw, an inside pass to the flying Hugo Keenan, and Ioane scored against a disorganised defensive line. Risky? A bit.

But the rewards are huge. Len Ikitau’s Exeter were denied by Northampton in the Premiership final this weekend – all four of Northampton’s tries were scored by their talented backline – but the Wallabies midfielder got through the 80 minutes unscathed. He has to play against Ireland in a fortnight.

The Ireland game will define the Wallabies’ Nations Championship series in July – and it could do likewise for the Irish. All hands on deck are required for the Wallabies, and Ikitau is clearly one of their best midfielders. There has been some reticence from the Wallabies in the past about rushing overseas-based players back into the lineup, but Ikitau is a class act that needs to be in the mix.

Ireland lost two big players in Leinster’s win against the Bulls – captain Caelan Doris and in-form winger Tommy O’Brien. The loss of the latter will be keenly felt, as Ireland are already without the injured Mack Hansen and the unwanted James Lowe, who is leaving for Japan in somewhat acrimonious circumstances. On the face of it, this is good news for the Wallabies.

However, coach Andy Farrell showed during the Six Nations that he is capable of regenerating this team by introducing different players. Ulster’s Robert Baloucoune will be a dangerman to watch on the edge, but the main man remains halfback Jamison Gibson-Park, who controls so much of their tempo. Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt got some good news out of France over the weekend as Taniela Tupou’s Racing 92 were knocked out in their semi-finals.

Tupou got through 35 minutes off the bench in his side’s 71-17 loss to Toulouse, and his return to Australia will allow the Wallabies to assess his fitness levels. Tupou, Allan Alaalatoa and Zane Nonggorr are an experienced trio of looseheads, and they won’t have to face injured Ireland powerhouse Andrew Porter in the opening Test. But the omission of Reds tighthead Massimo de Lutiis is a tad surprising, because his ceiling is so high.

The Reds’ prop wasn’t named as unavailable in the official Wallabies squad announcement, although that list did include some intriguing names: Langi Gleeson, Ethan Dobbins, Kadin Pritchard and Henry Robertson. That quartet, three of them uncapped, are clearly in the picture. It passed under the radar somewhat, but Bernard Foley narrowly missed out on a Japan Rugby League One title after losing to Dave Rennie’s Kobe a few weeks ago.

But Foley’s performance in the final suggested that the veteran still has something to offer if he finds his way back to the Waratahs. At 36, his legs aren’t as sprightly as they used to be, but Foley’s tactical smarts were evident in the final as he used his kicking game well. He certainly didn’t look out of place in a contest of good quality in hot conditions, with the physicality far in excess of what people associate with the Japanese league.

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