In Australia at the moment this is the state of the game of rugby union.

The man to make the statement is none other than the CEO of the Australian Rugby Union John O’Neill, who has just returned to the job after an absence of three years.

O’Neill will need to inspire confidence in the teams that front up again in two weeks time for the 2008 Super Rugby competition.

Last year was only the second time in the 12 year history of Super Rugby that there was not an Australian side in the top four. The previous time was 1998. The challenge has been laid down by the CEO of the ARU and he has warned that changes will have to be made in the scheduling of representative fixtures if that is what it takes to bring the crowds back to the game. The axing of the fledgling Australian Rugby Championship after just one year is an indication of the lengths O’Neill will go to get things right. That tournament was developed during O’Neill’s absence from the top job and there is little doubt that it will be replaced by another tournament that will bridge the gap between Club and Super Rugby in the same way as the NPC in New Zealand or the Currie Cup in South Africa.

Aussie Super Rugby 2008 has a lot resting on its shoulders as the new breed come through from the junior ranks with experience in either the Wallaby Under 19 (World Champions in 2006), the Under 21 (fourth in 2006) to show the way to the next World Cup year. The successful Australian Schoolboys ranks, who were delighted to inflict a defeat on the old rivals from across the Tasman, New Zealand, in 2007, has produced its usual run of stars who may have slipped under the Under 19 and 21 radar due to school commitments. Kurtley Beale and Quade Cooper have come straight from school to Super Rugby ranks and already have a season of Super Rugby to add to their credits.

The Queensland Reds have a new coach in Phil Mooney, who was coach of that Wallaby U19 side that won in 2006. From those ranks he has half back Will Genia, backrower AJ Gilbert and prop Ben Daley. A lot will be expected of these young guns together with Quade Cooper (from schoolboy’s rugby) and Berrick Barnes, star flyhalf replacement at the World Cup in France.

There is also a solid core of young players who have come on in the last two years in Stephen Moore, Rodney Blake, Hugh McMenamin, James Horwill and Greg Holmes. The veterans in the Reds lineup are Captain John Roe, David Croft, Chris Latham, Sean Hardiman and Morgan Turinui from the Waratahs and former rugby league player and brilliant goal kicker Clinton Schifcofske. All in all the players are there and it will be a matter of whether coach Mooney can pull it together to spark at the right time and hope not be plagued with the injuries that beset Eddie Jones and Jeff Miller as Reds coach.

The Waratahs have a squad of 33 players and 11 of these are from the premiership winning club of Sydney University which has taken out the flag for the past three years in the Sydney metropolitan competition. If that experience and combination can be carried through with sensible selections for the combinations and a game plan to match the Tahs could be in for a better year. Coach Ewan McKenzie, predictably overlooked for the top Wallaby coaching job, will be looking to these new players to lift his own flagging reputation after the dismal showing in 2007 when the Tahs finished second last ahead only of the Reds.

The Waratahs have young talent coming through from the junior ranks. These are headed by Kurtley Beale, Lachlan Turner and Dean Mumm who each played in 2007.  Another emerging star could be winger Alfi Mafi who impressed with his speed and will
balance the wing position well with Lachie Turner. As for Lote Tuquiri, he might have to put in some top performances to even make the starting lineup. Everyone knows Lote is capable it is a matter once again of well drilled performances on the field.
The real star performer for the Waratahs could be the rugby league convert after eight years in the ”other” rugby and now switched from the Parramatta Eels after a long stint with the Newcastle Knights rugby league teams. The 28 year old Tahu was born in Melbourne and comes to rugby union from a record of 102 career tries and eight of them being for New South Wales in the rough and tumble of State of Origin football.

The biggest loss for the ACT Brumbies is the departure of Gregan, Larkham and Jeremy Paul. These are hard boots to fill but nonetheless a challenge for youngsters like half back Josh Holmes and flyhalf Christian Lealiifano – both together on the Australian Schoolboys tour to Great Britain in 2005. The Faingaa twins – Saia (hooker) and Anthony (centre) – also in the Brumbies lineup were in the victorious U19 Wallaby team the same year and both look set to be permanent features of the run on side.

A surprise packet in the Brumbies squad is Tyrone Smith, the younger brother of Wallaby George Smith and just returned to Australia after a three year stint with the London Broncos rugby league team which followed two seasons with the Sydney City Roosters in the NRL. Tyrone has good rugby grounding from St Edmunds College in Canberra from where he represented Australian Schools Rugby in 2002. He is a strong running centre and will compete with the likes of Mortlock and Fairbanks for spot in the run on side.

The big question that should be answered this year is how good a coach is Laurie Fisher. He has now presided over the worst run for the Brumbies in the 12 years of Super Rugby with the team having missed the top four for the last three years – its longest period out of the finals after nine years when it won twice, was top of the table three times and number two, three and four in the other years. If Fisher has aspirations for a Wallaby coaching spot in the coming years he will have to prove it on the paddock for the talent abounds still in Brumby land. The Brumbies hierarchy is a hardened bunch and Fisher needs to be reminded of the sacking of former coach David Nucifora after winning two Super 12 trophies.

The remaining Aussie team, the Western Force, has shown an improvement since entering the competition in 2006, finishing last in its inaugural year but seventh last year. If this improvement continues the Kiwi (John Mitchell) coached team made up of players from the eastern states will be a starter for the final four. The Force has a hard core of brilliant players lead by Matt Giteau, Cameron Shepherd and Drew Mitchell balanced in the forwards by the guile of leader Nathan Sharpe, hooker Tai McIsaac and youngster David Pocock who is a rising star from the Wallaby under 19 winning team of 2006. Two other youngsters to watch for the Force will be Sam Wykes, lock, also from the 2006 Wallaby U19 side and Nick Cummins who comes across from Randwick in Sydney from where he was selected for the Australian 7s team for 2007 and was the top try scorer. Sevens Coach Glen Ella described Cummins as the best prospect since Matt Giteau. Some sparkling rugby can be expected from a backline boosted where needed by Ryan Cross, Scott Staniforth, Junior Pelasasa, James Hilgendorf and Lachlan McKay.

This will be a make or break year for the Australian teams and John O’Neill will be watching closely to see which turn in the road it takes at the crossroads leading to World Cup 2011 across the Tasman in New Zealand.

This scribe tips that the Reds will get better and finish 7th or 8th; the Waratahs and Brumbies will have an unimpressive year and finish just out of the top four; while the Force will continue its improvement and just scrape in to the finals on bonus points from all the tries the exciting backs will score especially under the Experimental Law Variations (ELV).

This season will be an interesting and absorbing year for Aussie rugby fans and their can be no excuses – the ELVs should suit the running rugby style Australians have always prided themselves on for maximum entertainment – and that is just what El Supremo John O’Neill wants to see.