Wallaby coach John Connolly's dream of winning all seven northern hemisphere tour matches is over.
The Welsh leg of the tour has brought no wins from two games: a tour-opening 24-16 loss to the district side the Ospreys mid last week, followed by a 29-all draw with Wales at Millennium Stadium on Sunday morning.
Man of the match Chris Latham was brilliant against Wales, securing the fullback spot through to next year's World Cup in France. But most of the other 14 cup places remain open.
League convert Mat Rogers played poorly at flyhalf, virtually ending his prospects there. Unfortunately for the gifted league convert, players are lining up for his natural position, which is wing.
Another former league player, Lote Tuqiri, was moved from the wing to outside centre, but he is still learning and will make way for super-centre Stirling Mortlock, who was injured.
Brilliant Wallaby flyhalf Stephen Larkham was moved to inside centre to make room for Rogers. And the million-dollar-man Matt Giteau was shifted from inside centre to halfback, with the aging incumbent George Gregan left at home to rest for the World Cup.
The big question – apart from, when will the Wallabies win – is whether now is the time for experimentation. Or for consolidation.
In the forwards, the problems are greater. The Wallaby pack is under-performing still. But, that said, there is much room for improvement. And the basis is there.
The second-rowers, Nathan Sharpe and Daniel Vickerman, played well, as did openside flanker and captain Phil Waugh. Blindside flanker Rocky Elsom was imposing, tempering his tendency to be over-aggressive with impressive discipline.
Though Gitea played well at halfback, it is hard to imagine what the experiment proved. After all, even if he is sensational on tour, who will play inside centre? And how will Connolly convince the Western Force to play him at halfback in the Super 14 next year, leading up to the World Cup.
The draw in Wales was the first between the two countries in 98 years. And it was an exciting game, with six tries scored. The Wallabies controlled play for long periods, with Wales barely touching the ball in the first 32 minutes.
The problem was that they let a 17-6 lead disappear in the final eight minutes, going to the break ahead 17-16.
In the second-half Gittea was moved to the centres and Josh Valentine came on as halfback. Two tries quickly followed, the first largely due to Giteau's incisive timing and exciting running. The second was a spectacular solo effort by Latham, who beat six players in a 40-metre display of match-saving brilliance.
This Sunday morning the Wallabies play Italy in Rome. The following week it is Ireland in Dublin and a week later, Scotland in Edinburgh.
Feeds