​Is The Current Wallabies Team Really "The Worst Ever?"

They have a saying in New Zealand when it comes to the Wallabies. It goes: everyone has a bad…decade. Former All Blacks coach and head of the 2011 World Cup winning squad, Sir Graham Henry has taken that a step further, labelling the current Australian rugby union team the worst he's "ever seen."

"It's a concern…We haven't played South Africa yet, but they got beaten by Australia and they are woeful. I think it's probably the worst Australian team I have ever seen and that's a real worry for the game," Henry told kiwi radio station Newstalk ZB.

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika hit back over the weekend following his team's win over Argentina, saying, "I don't care what Graham Henry says."

"I didn't know he said that, but when you tell me, I couldn't care what he says. He's got no relevance to me. Maybe in his mind we are, that's good for him. He doesn't need to tell me and I don't need to listen to him," he told reporters following the win.

The win was Australia's first in seven games, having suffered a humiliating three nil series whitewash at home against England to start the year, followed by the biggest defeat on home soil in 113 years against the All Blacks in game one of the Bledisloe Cup. They were beaten comprehensively in game two, meaning Australia hasn't won a test series against the All Blacks in 15 years. The All Blacks, meanwhile, are sitting on 15 straight test wins, just two short of the world record.

There was a time when Australia was a powerhouse in world rugby. All up we've won two world cups, four Super 15 Championships, three Tri Nations titles and, up until 15 years ago, enjoyed a history of going tit for tat with the All Blacks in our annual trans-Tasman contest. Australia also came runner-up in last year's World Cup (to the All Blacks), which would seem to dismiss Henry's claims, except for the fact most of the rugby world now acknowledges Australia should have lost out in the quarters to Scotland but were it for a crucially incorrect refereeing decision.

Sir Graham Henry isn't the only one claiming the game is in disarray in Australia. Former Wallabies player and aboriginal great, Mark Ella has been similarly scathing, calling for Australia to learn from New Zealand's coaching and talent identification systems and do away with the sport's traditional "colonial structure."

"The ARU needs to embrace New Zealand's centralised system so Australian rugby has a cohesive strategy to achieve success at Test and Super Rugby level in order to lift the code's commercial and competitive edge," he wrote in a column for The Australian.

"In New Zealand, the All Blacks jersey comes first, yet their Super Rugby teams are successful, too. It is all about creating a high-­performance culture that permeates the whole system, unlike the colonial structure, which inhibits the game's growth in Australia," he wrote.

The "colonial structure" Ella speaks of is a reference to the elite private school system that makes up the vast majority of Australian rugby's talent pool. It is the only mainstream sport that relies on wealthy private schools instead of clubs to provide the bulk of its talent. You only have to go to a Wallabies game to see the difference. With sponsors like BMW and HSBC it's clear which strata of society the Wallabies belong too.

"For many, rugby union is still a class-based game – and it hasn't been able to break these shackles," writes Steve Georgakis Senior Lecturer of Pedagogy and Sports Studies, University of Sydney.

"Since the rugby split – when rugby league emerged – a class divide occurred. Union became a preserve of the middle and upper classes, so much so that its supporters were known as the "rah-rahs".

"When rugby union professionalised in 1995, the sport's administrators failed to broaden its appeal. Many held onto and advocated for the sport's "unique culture". While sports such as Australian Rules encouraged Indigenous and other minority group participation, and the A-League welcomed Anglo-Celtic-background Australians to the fold by de-ethnicising the sport, Australian rugby has been reluctant to broaden its appeal."

That reluctance is proving very damaging to rugby's brand in this country. Not to mention the brands attached to it.