The Real Winners and Losers of the 2021 Rugby Championship

Thus ends a wild six-weeks of Southern Hemisphere rugby. After an impromptu ‘tri-nations’ style tournament last year that left the Springboks on the sidelines, the Rugby Championship returned in 2021, albeit in strange circumstances with all 12 matches played on Aussie soil. Regardless, the turbulent six rounds of action has left us with plenty to mull over going into what looks to be a quiet summer season. While the All Blacks came away with another title (their 7th since the series added Argentina in 2012), as always, the true results go far deeper than the point totals on the final table. Here are some of your real winners and losers from the 2021 Rugby Championships. 

 

BOTH WINNERS & LOSERS: The All Blacks and Springboks 

The best way to summarise the much-hyped two-match battle between the two top teams in the world; a stalemate in almost every way. While the All Blacks had to fancy themselves coming in after watching the Boks drop back-to-back games against the fledging Wallabies, the two test couldn’t have been more evenly matched. The All Blacks drew first blood with a cagey two-point win in Townsville, only for the Boks to return the favour by exactly the same margin in the far, far more watchable rematch on the Gold Coast. The AB’s walk away with yet another piece of Southern Hemisphere silverware, yet the Springboks snag back the coveted world number one ranking, which the All Blacks owned briefly following the win in the first test. Two years removed from RWC 2019 and two years away from the big trip to France in 2023, the mantle of world’s top team seems unsecure in the hands of either team and neither will feel satisfied this result, setting the stage fascinating next two years in international rugby. 

 

WINNER: Jordie Barrett

I think we can officially say that Jordie Barrett is finally out of the shadow and into the spotlight. For several years best known to the public as Beauden Barrett’s less dashing, less dynamic younger brother, Jordie looked like a star in every way in this series (excluding his dubious and later overturned red card for an accidental dangerous kick-out against the Wallabies), particularly in the back-to-back wars with the Boks, one of which was won on his boot and the other so nearly the same. Barrett looked more than at home in the number 15 jersey, looked frequently dangerous in the open field and consistently came through with the boot after being handed goal-kicking responsibilities midway through round 3. At 24-years-old and clearly coming of age as a player, the past six weeks have gone a long way in establishing Jordie Barrett as one of the most reliable and exciting figures in the All Blacks backline going forward. 

 

 

WINNERS: Quade Cooper, the Wallabies and Southern Hemisphere Rugby in general

What a remarkable turnaround this was by the Wallabies. Australian rugby union has seemingly been in a freefall for several years, consistently proving less and less competitive in international and club competitions, with the Australian public rapidly losing interest in favour of other codes. Three straight home defeats to the All Blacks (surrendering 57 points in the final match) and the Wallabies were in absolutely dire straights, particularly given their disastrous series loss against a depleted French side earlier this year. When it was announced that former star (and New Zealand public enemy no.1 circa 2011) Quade Cooper, who had been out of the side for over four years, would be returning at first-five for the first test against the Springboks, it seemed at best a desperation play, at worst a gimmick to capture some kind of morbid public interest. Instead, the Wallabies completely flipped the script and reeled off four straight wins, including two stunning victories over the World Champion Boks, this first of which on a storybook last-gasp penalty from Cooper himself. Whether the Wallabies have truly turned a corner or not, it was encouraging to watch a Wallabies side with real life and flair again. As much as All Blacks fans love to watch them lose, it’s hard to deny that the game is in better shape when the Wallabies are worth talking about.  

 

LOSERS: The Pumas 

Spare a thought for the Pumas, who travelled a long way from home just to walk away with nothing to show for it other than some undoubtedly bruised bodies as a result of the tireless defensive spirit they always bring. No match symbolised Argentina’s tournament more perfectly that the first test against the All Blacks, where the Pumas held the Kiwis off valiantly for the first 30 minutes, only to go on to lose 39-0. After what seemed like a real breakthrough in 2020, with a landmark win over the All Blacks and a 2nd place finish in the standings, the 0-6, 0 point showing this year feels like a big setback for the South Americans, who will no doubt be clamouring for a return to regular ‘home and away’ scheduling in 2022. 

 

Image credit to David Molloy Photography.