Clarkie's 2012 Wallabies report card

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Job done ... The Wallabies will return in 2013 without the retired Nathan Sharpe. Source:AP

The Wallabies' 2012 season is finally over and now we can all move on and hopefully look ahead to bigger and better things next year.

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Let's face it, things need to improve or 2013 will be even more frustrating for fans.

The Wallabies receive a 'pass' mark from me simply because they won more than they lost. But the form wasn't good enough to win the Bledisloe Cup yet again, or the inaugural Rugby Championship. Their overall effort certainly won't be good enough to beat the British and Irish Lions next year either.

The Wallabies had nine wins, a draw and five losses. They started the year in second spot on the IRB rankings but finished one place lower in third. The gap between them and the All Blacks didn't narrow and they lost the Bledisloe series for the 10th year in a row.

Just like last season when they lost the opening Test to Samoa, the Wallabies fell at the first hurdle this year when they lost to Scotland in Newcastle.

Sure, there were some excuses. Key players were either injured or rested and it was a short preparation with a make-shift team, but I certainly didn't expect a first-up loss to a team that didn't win a match in the Six Nations.

The 3-0 series whitewash over Wales in June wasn't convincing with eight points separating them in Brisbane, two in Melbourne and just one in Sydney. There was no James Horwill, James O'Connor or Quade Cooper.

Kurtley Beale was injured for two Tests, but the side still had a reasonable look about it - on paper at least.

The two losses to the All Blacks were followed by two hard-fought victories at home against the Springboks and Pumas, but they were blown off the park in Pretoria when the Boks thumped them 31-8.

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Argentina is not an easy place to play, so the six-point win in Rosario gave us some hope for the third Bledisloe Test in Brisbane. By that stage the casualty ward was filling up. Horwill, Pocock, Genia, Kepu, Moore, Ioane, O'Connor, Alexander, Barnes, Horne, Cooper and Ashley-Cooper were all unavailable.

An 18-all draw with the world champions felt like a moral victory. At long last there was some well-earned optimism and new captain Nathan Sharpe challenged his men to remain unbeaten on the northern tour.

But as we've seen too many times now, the only consistent thing about the Wallabies is their inconsistency. Any hope of a clean slate on tour disappeared when a fired-up French team pulled off their second-biggest winning margin ever over Australia, 33-6.

For the fourth time in 2012 the Wallabies failed to score a try in a Test match. They scored just one try in each of the next three games and despite beating England, Italy and Wales; they were held scoreless in two halves of the four Tests.

Australia had a very lean year in the try-scoring department, managing just 15 in 15 Tests. They failed to score 30 points or more in a Test for the first year since 1981. Yes, 31 years. They averaged 17.3 per game while conceding 20.2 per game.

But despite plenty of negatives, there were positives. With over 40 players used and 13 making their debut, our depth will be much better next year. Players like Michael Hooper, Sitaleki Timani, Kane Douglas, Liam Gill, Mike Harris and Ben Tapuai enhanced their reputations.

Nathan Sharpe's leadership and form in his swansong season was outstanding and he deserved to win the John Eales Medal for the second time. He led the stats in runs, lineout wins, tackles and minutes played. Not bad for a 34-year-old.

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No Wallabies were finalists for the IRB Player of the Year and realistically, only Sharpe would have been considered if they were picking a World XV.

Digby Ioane topped the charts for metres, tackle Busts and linebreaks, while Wycliff Palu averaged the most offloads. Five players shared the try-scoring honours with Rob Horne, Nick Cummins, Pat McCabe, Scott Higginbotham and Digby Ioane all getting two apiece. The rest could only manage five tries between them.

So as you check out my 2012 report card, remember that there was an unprecedented amount of injuries and debutants this year. With a bit of luck next year the Wallabies will be at full strength and ready to win back the support of the Australian sporting public. A series win over the Lions is not out of the question.

Overall rating: 6.5/10

Positives

The 18-all draw against New Zealand in Brisbane, four wins on the trot against Wales, back-to-back wins on home soil against South Africa and Argentina, and three in a row to end the spring tour.

Negatives

Lack of tries and inconsistency.

Coach rating: 7/10

Robbie Deans copped plenty of flak and yes some of it was warranted. But you have to remember that of the five Tests he lost, two were to the All Blacks and one each to the Springboks and France. They all finished the year in the top four on the IRB rankings.

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No other coach of a major rugby nation had to compensate for the amount of injuries the Wallabies suffered this year. It's hard to cover for the loss of three captains, the best scrumhalf in the world and James O'Connor who has more x-factor than anyone in the Wallabies squad, in my humble opinion.

Deans was in a no-win situation against Scotland. With just one serious training session to mould a new combination that was missing big names through injury or rest, he was expected to win no matter what. Torrential rain in Newcastle didn't help his cause. I had never seen weather like it at a Test match.

2013 is his final year in the current contract. There has to be more tries scored or there will be no extension through to the next World Cup in 2015. Beating the Lions and winning the Bledisloe is a must.

Star performers

Seemingly out of favour at last year's World Cup, Nathan Sharpe bounced back to become Australia's most capped forward and the most capped lock in world rugby. He was voted the Players' Player of the Year and topped the stats in key categories. His leadership of an under-strength squad was outstanding.

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Adam Ashley-Cooper ended up in his best position at outside centre and while he didn't find the try line, he was "Mr Consistency" in the backline. He was second in metres, third in tackle busts and only Sharpe played more minutes than him. He's now played 53 of the last 56 Tests.

Berrick Barnes played his 50th Test in Cardiff and coming off a horror 2011 when he suffered his share of head knocks, he managed to play 13 of the 15 Tests this year. He showed his versatility playing 10, 12 and 15 and also scored 110 points. A good effort considering there weren't many tries scored and he didn't kick in Cardiff.

Emerging talent

Flanker Michael Hooper has to top the list. The 21-year-old featured in all but one of the 15 Tests and was a standout in most of them. He was third in metres, second in tackles and his work on the ball was impressive.

David Pocock showed his class with a top performance against Wales after a long injury break, but Australia now has another top-notch flanker.

Others that deserve a mention are Sitaleki Timani, Kane Douglas, Ben Tapuai and Nick Cummins.

Reinforcements

It's been a horror season on the injury front as I've already mentioned above, but I'll list them again because I can't wait to see them back in the gold jersey. James Horwill, James O'Connor, Will Genia. I'd like to say Quade Cooper and Israel Folau, but that might be a bit premature.

2013

The British and Irish Lions will be tough to beat as usual. England's win over the All Blacks at Twickenham and Wales' effort against the Wallabies will give them plenty of confidence. They'll be well coached by Warren Gatland and the Wallabies will need to be at full strength and at their best if they're to succeed.

The Lions will have a match against the Barbarians in Hong Kong on the way Down Under, and they'll have plenty of warm-up games before the first Test. The Wallabies won't have the luxury of a long preparation or a trial, so they'll need to hit the ground running.

The Lions tour will be huge and provide good revenue for the ARU. That series should have the Wallabies primed for The Rugby Championship and another crack at winning the Bledisloe.

All in all, it's shaping up to be a big year and I'm predicting that Rugby will regain some of the ground it lost in 2012.

Thanks for watching our coverage on Fox Sports and I look forward to your company in 2013.

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