KEY POINTS:
John Connolly should have been Wallaby coach in 1996, but domestic rugby politics conspired otherwise.
A decade on and with the Eddie Jones era disintegrating into farce and the Wallabies' performances doing likewise, Connolly came from the leftist of left fields to nab the job. It was presumably
because the authorities felt the 2007 World Cup was already a lost cause and it didn't make sense to throw a promising young coach to the wolves.
The team was heading south, so put in a coach who was travelling in the same direction, grit the teeth until the French adventure was over and then get serious again in 2008, once Connolly and some of the team's thirty-pluses were history.
Not known for his whimsical sentimentality nor for an inflated notion of his own abilities, Connolly understood this was the background to his taking on the role and he'd seen enough of the Wallabies' downward spiral in 2005 to realise the thinking of the decision-makers may well have been on the money.
So as he departed Sydney with the Wallaby World Cup squad last week, had his 18 months in the hot seat given him anything to be a touch more buoyant about?
"When I was given the job, if you'd have told me I could have the win-loss ratio we've achieved to this point," he said, "I would have grabbed it with both hands."
That is a surprising comment given the numbers. Twenty matches, 12 wins, seven losses and a draw are not necessarily statistics that would normally have a competitive beast like Connolly "grabbing it with both hands".
Perhaps it is the home record that underpins his enthusiasm. Eleven matches, 10 wins and a single defeat, numbers which include an undefeated 2007 programme on Australian soil.
The away record is not so rosy, with just two wins from nine outings. When reminded that France was outside of Australia, Connolly remained positive.
"You've just got to play well," he said, somewhat stating the obvious. "The facts are that everybody is away from home except France. If you look at results over the past four or five years, every team bar the All Blacks have poor records on the road. We're in a pretty good space now and while we know playing away from home doesn't make it easier, it's not as if we're in that boat on our own."
On that notion of being in a good space, there seems to be universal agreement among the squad that, despite the unsettling episodes which saw a midnight curfew slapped on Matt Dunning and Lote Tuqiri, and the odd nose out of joint due to lack of recognition for some of the more sensitive members of the coaching staff, this is a pretty happy bunch.
There are some straight talkers who aren't into verbal camouflage and while they acknowledge it's not always sweetness and light among the extended group they argue that any competitive bunch of athletes worth their salt aren't going to be all lovey-dovey all the time.
Captain Stirling Mortlock has grown in stature in the past 12 months and leads a side with more spirit than any other he's been involved with since 2003. That spirit was never more in evidence than in the win over the All Blacks at the MCG.
The confidence from success like that can turn mediocre teams into very good ones and that's what Mortlock feels has happened to the Wallabies.
"There is a genuine respect for each other and the direction we're heading, and while we understand we'll need luck, I'd rather be us than anyone else."
Luck will be needed by any team that triumphs on October 21 and the reality is that Australia might need a bigger share of it than the All Blacks or the hosts.
Injuries to key players will affect any side but Wallaby fans know deep down that should Matt Giteau or Stephen Larkham be struck with the curse, it's good night, God bless, for our hopes.
Even without these two the Wallabies would make it through their pool to the quarter-finals, and with the spunk they've shown this year they could even snag one of the sudden death matches but there is simply no way they could win three weekends in a row with a staff which doesn't include Giteau or Larkham.
The question marks continue to hang over the Wallaby scrum but even if it rarely dominates, it seems to survive and Connolly expects survival in France.
If the main men at the ARU were to be completely honest, they'd admit that in February last year they couldn't wait for the 2007 World Cup to be over. With the steady, if not spectacular improvement shown by the Wallabies over the past year, they now can't wait for it to start.
And when it is completed they'll then be able to assess whether their decision to appoint Connolly was commercial common sense or a stroke of genius.
AUSTRALIA
Coach: John Connolly
Backs: Adam Ashley-Cooper, Berrick Barnes, Sam Cordingley, Mark Gerrard, Matt Giteau, George Gregan, Julian Huxley, Stephen Larkham, Chris Latham, Drew Mitchell, Stirling Mortlock (captain), Scott Staniforth, Lote Tuqiri.
Forwards: Alistair Baxter, Mark Chisholm, Matt Dunning, Rocky Elsom, Adam Freier, Sean Hardman, Stephen Hoiles, Greg Holmes, David Lyons, Hugh McMeniman, Stephen Moore, Wycliff Palu, Nathan Sharpe, Guy Shepherdson, George Smith, Dan Vickerman, Phil Waugh.
