The Wallabies are licking their wounds after the worst spring tour since 2005, but they've got 10 months to prove their first trip with Michael Cheika was not a complete disaster.

Cheika has an unwavering belief that the Wallabies can turn their game around in time to be a contender.

But the road will seem much longer after seeing the scrum dismantled and opportunities passed by resulting in three losses in a row.

The scrum is the biggest concern. It was a weak link in every game and never was it dominant over an opposition.

At scrum time there's blood in the water and Test rivals will see it as the best way to disrupt Australia's game plan.

The Wallabies conceded a penalty try against Wales and would have conceded more had England been given more opportunities at Twickenham.

Most teams wince when they see Australia's back line. Kurtley Beale, Quade Cooper, Israel Folau, Tevita Kuridrani and Adam Ashley-Cooper. They'd give any team nightmares if the forwards give them time and space to work with.

But the way teams are beating the Wallabies is by taking the back line star power out of the game by bullying the pack.

Too much flare and not enough grunt? Does there need to be a mass personnel change?

The front-row shouldn't cop all of the blame, but that's where Cheika will attempt to inject new blood in a bid to turn the set piece into a weapon.

Imagine if the Wallabies could get forward muscle to match their back-line talent?

The attack was superb in the middle of the field, but then stuttered and spluttered in the 22-metre zone when tries appeared to be on offer.

No one can doubt captain Michael Hooper's tireless work rate and his impact in attack.

But one thing Australia missed against England was a breakdown expert capable of pinching possession when the team desperately needs it.

That's where David Pocock re-enters the frame and why Matt Hodgson shouldn't be written off because both possess the ability to disrupt other teams when the Wallabies need it most.

It is the only slight knock on Hooper's game. Other than that the 23-year-old has been outstanding in rising to a new challenge of taking the leadership reins.

Cheika hadn't met two thirds of the Wallabies squad a day before the team flew to London in October.

He used 32 players in five games to test those he didn't know.

Three – Josh Mann-Rea, Kyle Godwin and Tom English – didn't get on the field. And now he has to add a host of returning stars – Pocock, Stephen Moore, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Wycliff Palu, Scott Fardy, Scott Higginbotham, James O'Connor and Karmichael Hunt – into a World Cup squad of 31.

Then there's the players who are yet to emerge and have a Super Rugby season to press their claims.

Some players have already cemented their spots - Hooper, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Simmons, Folau and Nick Phipps included.

Sean McMahon was undoubtedly the find of the tour to Europe. But at 20 years old how does he fit into a back-row World Cup squad of Pocock, Hooper, Hodgson, Liam Gill, Fardy, Higginbotham and Ben McCalman?

McCalman was probably the most unheralded player of the tour, stepping into No. 8 and doing an outstanding job. So does he keep the spot ahead of the bulkier Palu?

Kuridrani continues to stamp himself as one of the best outside centres in world rugby. He was struck down by injury before the last game but will be a weapon for the Wallabies next year.

"James Slipper has grown, Ben McCalman has delivered and has been dogged," Cheika said.

"I've been happy with Will Genia and the halfbacks learning a new game, it's not easy because they played a totally different system previously.

"Kuridrani has huge natural ability and that impressed me. Phipps was outstanding he made a few small mistakes but his energy and the ground he's covering has been brilliant."

It shouldn't be forgotten that Ewen McKenzie won four Tests in Europe last year, although Ireland was the only team that reversed last year's result against the Wallabies. He quit last month after seemingly losing support from the dressing room following the Kurtley Beale-Di Patston incident.

Cheika's now had a month to make his mark on the team.

His next job will be employing his coaching staff and lobbying the ARU for funding in certain areas to ensure the team is best equipped to be a World Cup contender.

He said there's now a "slightly different values system" than in the past. But only time will tell if that transfers to results.

There are only four Tests before the World Cup and Cheika is also concentrating on NSW Waratahs duties. But in 10 months we'll know if the Wallabies are contenders or pretenders.