Wallabies rediscover their character before stepping into Brisbane cauldron

Before every Test former Australian captain John Eales used to lock eyes with a supporter in the crowd and proudly sing the national anthem with them as a reminder of a Wallaby’s responsibility to fans. On Saturday Michael Hooper’s side will seek the eyes of Phillipa McDermott, daughter of Uncle Lloyd McDermott, the first Wallabies player to identify as a First Nations man.

Wearing jerseys designed by Kamilaroi-Gamilaraay man Dennis Golding to depict the dreaming of the 14 Indigenous Wallabies so far, they will then sing the national anthem in Yugambeh language. And if the moment is anywhere near as spine-tingling as in 2020 when the Wallabies performed the anthem in Eora at Parramatta Stadium with soloist Olivia Fox, the fuse will light on a very special night indeed.

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For coach Dave Rennie such moments are mana – part of a spiritual life force he seeks for his teams. “We put a lot of time into understanding who we play for and who we represent,” Rennie said this week. “The privilege to play for Australia isn’t lost on us.” And yet, until last weekend, it was hard to pinpoint what a Rennie-coached Wallabies side looked like or played like, let alone what it stood for.

When the Kiwi schoolteacher and one-time owner of the Lonely Goatherd pub in Upper Hutt took charge of the Wallabies in November 2019 we were told he was “hard-nosed, doesn’t tolerate fools, is astute, with a deep rugby intelligence”. Australia then won eight, drew three and lost nine of 20 Tests. Sure, he was building a squad with a core age of 25 for the 2023 World Cup. But fans need wins too.

The mana of Rennie’s Australians burst into the light last weekend, and must