Painfully modest as it sounds, a realistic aim for Australia would be to finish sixth in the world rankings, ahead of Scotland, Argentina and the increasingly solid Fiji.
On the evidence of last weekend, the Rugby Championship will be a two-tier tournament, with South Africa and New Zealand at the top and Australia and Argentina at the bottom.
About three ranking points separate England in fifth and Scotland in sixth, and the improving English are 7.51 ranking points ahead of the Wallabies. Selling the No.6 ranking as an achievement to success-starved Wallabies fans will be hard, with many regarding the 1991-2003 period as the natural order of things rather than anomalous. However, if the point of Australian rugby this year is to reattach itself to the real world, then it is the message that needs to be conveyed from the board and executive downwards.The win against Wales was worthy, but highlighted the fact that this Wallabies squad is light on top-tier quality.
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