Rugby year in review: Wallabies suffer tough year on and off the field

Story of the year: The Wallabies in decline

Listing badly: 2018 was an agonising year for the Wallabies – and even worse for their fans.Credit:AAP

It started with a belter of a Test win against Ireland in Brisbane but finished with a broken coach and team in the Twickenham sheds. The Wallabies' 37-18 loss to England capped a poor season for the gold jersey: 13 Tests, nine losses, four wins and a festering feeling of malcontent among fans. Rugby Australia heaped insult on injury with some dithering late doors. Why wait two weeks to haul Michael Cheika before the board and longer still to dot the 'i's and cross the 't's? The answer was “process” and "good governance", but all Wallabies fans wanted was high performance. Maybe next year?

The Winners: Waratahs fans

On the up: The Waratahs had a successful season, and will look to improve further in 2019.Credit:AP

Notwithstanding a regrettable final-round loss to the Brumbies, the Waratahs put together a solid season, turning the horror of 2017 into a respectable semi-finals appearance at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. Their exit at the hands of the Lions smacked of the "if-onlys", which is not a bad way to leave your fans. They go into 2019 without try-scoring machine Taqele Naiyarovoro but an otherwise settled roster and, if Adam Ashley-Cooper and Karmichael Hunt join the group, some genuine depth. Off the field NSW took some games on the road and fans will be rewarded with more of the same next year. Then there was Nick Phipps in a cow suit, a surprise mid-season gift to anyone who thought the season was dragging on a bit.

The Losers: James Stannard

Ugly incident: James Stannard was forced to retire after being punched after a night out in Sydney.Credit:AAP

There were few incidents as cruel as the punch that ended 'Chucky' Stannard's career in March. The veteran Australian sevens captain was forced to retire after Englishman Sam Oliver punched him outside a kebab shop in Coogee in the early hours of March 30. After a two-and-a-half-day hearing with 16 witnesses, a magistrate found he could not sustain the “very serious charge” of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm. Stannard spent two days in hospital and missed Australia's Commonwealth Games and Sevens World Cup campaigns after announcing his retirement. The much-loved figure joined the Australian women as assistant coach in June.

The Big Controversy: Israel Folau

In the spotlight: Israel Folau’s religious views took centre stage in 2018.Credit:Wolter Peeters

This was the year rugby and Izzy looked each other in the eye and wondered if they had a future together. Folau’s controversial response to an Instagram user on the subject of homosexuality was short but explosive and it provided the first real test of new Rugby Australia chief executive Raelene Castle. Is there room in a professional sport for conservative religious views that are out of step with secular Australian society? Castle said yes, walking a tightrope between sponsors, young fans, older fans, the LGBTQIA community and the game's sizeable – and generally religiously conservative – Pacific Islander community to push past the flash point and into dialogue. Folau said he had no regrets after confirming he had signed a deal to stay in rugby for a futher four years.

Performance of the year: Sydney Sevens

Australia's men's and women's sevens teams gave the game a head start for the ages this year, winning both titles in front of packed crowds at the Sydney Sevens way back in January. For the women it was the moment they let New Zealand know they were not ready just yet to hand over the "world's best" mantle, going on to claim the World Series title when the season wrapped up in Paris five months later. For the men and their then-coach, Andy Friend, it was a heady home-soil triumph – not to mention their first World Series tournament win in six years – that will go down as a career highlight.

Quote of the Year

"HELL.. unless they repent of their sins." Israel Folau responding to a question on Instagram.

Crystal ball

Under the pump: Rugby Australia chairman Cameron Clyne and chief executive Raelene Castle.Credit:AAP

If rugby administrators thought 2017 and 2018 were tough, they should brace for impact in 2019. The World Cup is bearing down, the southern hemisphere Test nations will announce their plans for a potential Super Rugby shake-up, and the Aussie Sevens teams face qualification for the 2020 Olympics. If any of the above go awry, there will be drama. Chairman Cameron Clyne, under pressure for the organisation's botched handling of the Western Force saga, faces the polls (the Rugby Australia annual general meeting) in April.

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