The blows keep coming. An ankle injury to captain Michael Hooper towards the end of Saturday’s match capped a bad two weeks. Rennie lost his two tight head props Taniela Tupou and Allan Alaalatoa to head injuries and called up the last of the so-called Three Amigos, Kurtley Beale, after a hamstring injury ended Jordan Petaia’s tour. If Australia can make it unscathed through the Wales clash, it will be a small miracle.

The Christmas break will offer the chance to review and reflect. There will be many items on the list but one of the most important for Rennie to consider is his long-term choice at No.10.

Quade Cooper and Noah Lolesio must be the top two candidates after this season. There were pleasing aspects to Australia’s defensive efforts against England and Scotland, but the attack was non-existent at Twickenham.

There were no bad players in the back line but they did not function together. Notwithstanding the cobbled together nature of the line up, this must be a worry for Rennie and attack coach Scott Wisemantel.

What do they do? We know there were players who might have had a run this year were it not for COVID-19. The likes of Will Harrison and Ben Donaldson, for example. Rennie had to work with who he could physically use, which is why Cooper’s offer of help was taken up.

No one expected that gesture to form the foundation of Australia’s success, but now that he and Kerevi look like the best attacking combination the Wallabies can muster, more important questions follow.

Can Rennie build a World Cup campaign around two players based overseas? Will he be allowed to by the Rugby Australia board’s powerful football committee, who are reviewing the Giteau Law? Should he?

These questions assume both players want more to do with the Wallabies. In Kerevi’s case, in particular, that is no foregone conclusion.

There are two seasons of Super Rugby and one full international season left between now and the 2023 World Cup in France. It is an important 18 months for everyone.

Cooper will be in physical preservation mode, while Lolesio will be trying to turbocharge his development. Dan McKellar, about to enter his final season as Brumbies coach and Rennie’s senior second in command, will be integral to this.

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James O’Connor will be fighting hard to press his claims from Queensland and his goal kicking under the pressure of a packed Twickenham will not be forgotten. There is also serious excitement around teenager Tom Lynagh, who will make his debut with Queensland next season.

Matt Toomua has gone unmentioned recently but is working his way back in Melbourne and has been one of Rennie’s first picks on the team sheet over the past two years.

In all these scenarios, what is apparent is there is vast experience down one path and precious little down the other. Does he bank on the Coopers, Toomuas and O’Connors holding up physically over the next two seasons and being in a position to produce their best in a World Cup? Or does he back Lolesio to come good, hope that Harrison plays the house down under new NSW coach Darren Coleman and that Lynagh will sorely tempt him with just one season of Super Rugby under his belt.

It’s an awkward spot for Rennie and an unsettling one for Wallabies fans, with the clock ticking on 2023.

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