Rollo Manning has been a rugby tragic all his life since being named after a Wallaby winger and educated at a private boarding school in Sydney, Australia. Manning has been working in publicity and public relations for 40 years, and during that time has commented on the "game they play in heaven" through radio, magazines and newspaper coverage.
As a correspondent for the Australian Broadcasting Commission, he has broadcast in magazine style programs and live coverage of games. He is currently a regular contributor to www.scrum.com and radio shows in his hometown of Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia.
Manning has been contributing to eSports for six years and relishes the opportunity to express his views on the first of the two rugbies. He is currently completing work on a study of the inter play between rugby league and rugby union over the past 100 years, when league was formed as the professional arm of an otherwise purely amateur game.
Since 1995, both have become professional and the drift of players is going back from league to union. Where will it end? That is the question Manning is now asking himself.
A win for the Wallabies last Saturday against the world champion Springboks provided a warm feeling inside those Aussie fans who were starting to wonder if New Zealand wonder coach Robbie Deans really had the goods.
After losses against both the Springboks and the All Blacks, the Australian Wallabies had nothing to play for on Saturday night in Brisbane except pride. And pride they had plenty.
It was an enthusiastic performance that had a 100% increase in intensity over the previous four lack luster performance in 2009.
Now with the World Cup year just two away, Aussie rugby can hope for a continued improvement over the intervening time.
There certainly are the youngsters with talent to burn. What showed through against the Boks at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium was that a concentrated effort to raise skill levels is possible. In addition, not to give away stupid penalties is also possible, thus denying sharp-shooter Morne Steyn (Boks fly half) any chances for three points to notch up a big score.
In a game earlier this year (Aug. 1), Steyn scored all 31 Boks' points against the All Blacks, kicking nine out of ten shots at goal beating the record for a Tri Nations game previously held by New Zealand's, Andrew Mehrtens.
The standout performers for the Wallabies among the young brigade were full back James O'Connor, who has a ton of courage against the bigger and far more experienced opponents; flanker David Pocock, who at just 20 years of age has a big future and never gives up; hooker Tatafu Polata-Nau, who although injured in the first quarter soldiered on in gallant fashion and threw into lineouts to gain possession every time; and. half back Will Genia, another pocket dynamite, with a past twice the speed of a George Gregan and running game to match.
These players were all in the run on side and now look secure to finish the year in the front line.
One of the most pleasing features of the win against the Boks was the adventure from the backs, which could easily have led to another two tries had the margin for error been just a few centimetres close to the field of play. The try by Adam Ashley-Cooper had all the hallmarks of a brilliantly executed planned move.
Another lesson to come from this game is that Matt Giteau does so much better with more room, and on those occasions when he played at inside centre, the spark was there. At inside, he should stay ALL the time.
It was a great result, and although fair to say the Boks had an off night, this did not deter from the enthusiasm of the young Wallabies who's average age was just 23 years.