5 debutants (including Roberts because I don't count that farce of a test over in England last year). No Wiki, Webb, Stacey, Kidwell, Vagana. It was a pretty tough ask from the start. I said last year that the Kiwi's need 3-4 years before they should expect to consistently challenge and beat Australia. When the likes of Roberts, Asotasi, Benji, SBW, Mannering etc are in their mid twenties with a fresh batch of young Kiwis coming through then there's every reason to believe the Kiwis can challenge every match.
On paper there's no comparison. Every Australian player is close to an automatic selection in their clubs starting 13. The Kiwis have Inu, Roberts, Halatau, Rapira etc who are either bench players or haven't even cemented their first grade spot. Once NZ have experienced players in key positions they'll be a tougher team to beat. It'd help if NZ had a chance to get together more often. It might not be much, but there has to be some extra benefit to Thurston, Lockyer, Hunt, Smith etc combining in SOO as well as tests.
I still think Australia are playing with fire when it comes to selections though. How hard is it to play well when you've got Thurston, Lockyer and Smith controlling the rucks off the back of guys like Bailey, Mason and Hindmarsh? It's hard to imagine what sort of a shocker a player would need to have to be dropped. It could come back to haunt them in future.
