The Wallabies have the chance to revive their tour against Ireland in Dublin this weekend, but the sense that a slow-motion car crash is unfolding in the north is not unfamiliar to the Wallabies faithful.

Since 2013, only two of the Wallabies’ end-of-season tours against Six Nations opponents have yielded more wins than losses. The first was in 2013, when new coach Ewen McKenzie guided the Wallabies to an impressive 4-1 record in what would turn out to be his only northern tour, and the second was in 2016, as Michael Cheika’s side went 3-2 in a tough tour that finished with losses to Ireland and England.

The Wallabies slumped to a demoralising defeat in Udine. Credit: Getty Images

Such successful tours were relatively commonplace in the first part of the new millennium. To provide a

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