The announcement of the British and Irish Lions squad during the week for the tour of New Zealand drew plenty of comment, perhaps more for the players that were left out. They did appoint the same captain, Sam Warburton, just the second player to skipper the Lions twice, yet debate about selection is always a matter of opinion.
What it did remind me was just how important consistency is to success. Sixteen of the 41 players in the Lions squad were on the tour of Australia in 2013. That's nearly 40 per cent. In the context of a four-year cycle, that is a massive advantage.
Teams that can stay together for longer are invariably more successful. They work and thrive off each other.
My old teammate Ben Darwin reckons he has a way to quantify the success of a team using analytics. He talks of interactions, relationships and levels of trust that he boasts can predict a team's success. He calls it cohesion, and has pinpointed the success of various sporting teams around the globe by means of an indicator called the "teamwork index".
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How things have changed. In the old days that was called getting together and having a drink at the pub. The challenge for Lions coach Warren Gatland and his crew is to get this group of four nations to find that cohesion: four nations that are steeped in history with a deep-seated hatred of each other, now having to play under the one banner and beat the best team in the world.
What style of rugby will the Lions adopt? Will it be the England way, emulating their style in winning this year's Six Nations, or something different to have a chance to win where not many teams have before.
In stark contrast, the Wallabies outfit that played the Lions in 2013 has had a massive turnover; it is barely recognisable.
Of the team that ran out for the opening Test against the Lions in Brisbane, Berrick Barnes, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Christian Leali'ifano, Digby Ioane, James O'Connor, Wycliff Palu, Ben Mowen, James Horwill and Benn Robinson are, for various reasons, out of the national picture. Bench players Liam Gill and Kurtley Beale have also moved on.
Add to that Kane Douglas, Ben Alexander and Stephen Moore, who are all getting on and their form has been patchy.
And the list could go on. That's just the first Test team.
Of that 2013 Brisbane run-on team, only Israel Folau (who was playing his first Test), Will Genia and Michael Hooper are "certainties" to take part in the Wallabies' June Tests, if fit.
Darwin's teamwork index now seems even more pertinent for the selection of the Wallabies for the upcoming June Tests.
So the question for Wallabies coach Michael Cheika is: Does he stick with those who are tried and tested in the international arena, or does he pick a largely new team based on Super Rugby form?
Some of the tried and tested, however, have been playing below their best this season, but I know that when the opportunity comes to wear the national colours, a spark is lit and some – hopefully all – will rise to the occasion. It shouldn't have to come to that. Consistency is the trait all coaches are looking for.
This is why cohesion is so important when you throw a group together to form a team; a group of players who have been playing and training for the past eight months for various states under different structures. To come together in a relatively short period of time and become one is a difficult task to manage. It sounds easy, and some will say they're all professionals and should be able to adapt, but it's a challenge for Cheika and his assistants to mould a team in such a short time.
The goal for 2017 should be to regain the Bledisloe Cup. The long-term goal should be success at the Rugby World Cup in Japan in 2019. So that means the Wallabies have to have a big look in the mirror, because what has gone before hasn't worked.
I understand the Wallabies hierarchy want to play a fast-paced, ball-in-hand game, just as they did when they beat England at the 2015 World Cup. That was the team's best performance under Cheika but, really, what came before and after that game has been scratchy; good in part, but not enough to win the big games.
The three Tests against Fiji, Scotland and Italy in June should be used to build a team that can stick around for some time and gain that cohesion. That may mean bringing in some new faces, and there could be a phone call or two to some of the older players to say congrats on a stellar career but …
The talent is there for sure.
Perhaps an invitation should be forwarded to Ben Darwin to come up with a Wallabies outfit and just see how close he gets to the Test team that will face Fiji on June 10.
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