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Wednesday night will see the revelation of Michael Cheika’s first Wallabies squad for 2018.
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Despite the announcement being just one day away, selections for several key positions still remain unclear.
One of the most significant positions on the field is at No. 10. This position also asks the most of Australia’s talent pool. Bernard Foley is the clear-cut number one choice, but this is almost by default. After Foley, Australian rugby has next to no depth at fly half.
While other top international sides competing next month seem to have a wealth of talent at 10, the same can’t be said for the Australians.
Australia’s June tour opponents Ireland will carry Johnny Sexton, Joey Carbery and an uncapped Ross Byrne, while the All Blacks have a formidable trio in Beauden Barrett, Richie Mo’unga and Damian McKenzie for their series against France – and that’s without considering top class departing talent like Lima Sopoaga.
England will head to South Africa for their series with Owen Farrell, George Ford, Alex Lozowski and Danny Cipriani, – and before his ACL injury, Cameron Redpath – all of whom can or have played 10 at the international level. The South Africans will have the likes of Handre Pollard (26 tests), Elton Jantjies (23 tests) and uncapped Robert du Preez at their disposal.
So what about the Australians?
Outside of Waratah Bernard Foley (55 tests), international-level talent at 10 is sparse. Not only is this immediately alarming for the upcoming June test series, it’s alarming as we are just over one year out from the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
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Of the three starting fly-halves for the other Australian Super Rugby franchises, two have played for Australia previously: Brumbies playmaker Christian Lealiifano (19 caps) and Melbourne Rebel Reece Hodge (24 caps).
Lealiifano has played in the No. 10 jersey just five times this season – and said a return to test rugby in June was too soon given his recent recovery from leukemia – while Hodge has started in the 10 jersey at Super Rugby level just once, taking the reins from Jack Debreczeni in week 15.
The remaining logical candidates are all uncapped – Queensland Reds duo Jono Lance and Hamish Stewart, Rebel Jack Debreczeni and Waratah Bryce Hegarty – Kurtley Beale has also spent time at flyhalf, so don’t rule him out as 10 cover. Wharenui Hawera has started for the Brumbies on seven occasions but won’t yet be eligible for Australia on residency grounds.
At this stage, despite his limited time in the jersey, Reece Hodge is the best bet to back up Foley during the June series.
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He’ll have one more chance to get reps at 10 before the break, with the Rebels set to take on the Blues at Eden Park in week 16.
Despite his small sample size in the position, Hodge makes the most sense as the backup because of his prior experience at test level. Primarily used as a winger or inside centre – ending 2017 as Michael Cheika’s first choice on the left wing – Hodge has made one previous start at 10 for the Wallabies in a 63-30 beating of Japan last year.
Hodge’s versatility makes him an asset to any team at test level. He has previously stated that he is comfortable playing anywhere in the backline (“maybe not halfback” he said, but that’s still a maybe).
At just 23 years old Hodge could also make a play to usurp Foley as the first-choice 10 long term, which would benefit both parties as Foley is in need of someone breathing down his neck so as to avoid the complacency he has been accused of at times during his career. Foley said earlier in the year that he doesn’t need external pressures to motivate him, but at this point and heading into a World Cup year it couldn’t hurt.
The next area of concern is the Wallaby halfback stocks.
Again there is a clear number one choice in Rebels No. 9 Will Genia, but the 30-year-old has missed the last three weeks of Super Rugby with a strained MCL.
After Genia it’s likely down to Waratahs pair Nick Phipps and Jake Gordon, with Brumbies scrumhalf Joe Powell and Rebel Michael Ruru also in the hunt for a Wallabies nod.
If Genia can’t make his way back in time for the Rebels’ next match against the Blues or the Ireland Test series Michael Cheika will have a big decision to make.
He’ll have to decide whether to stick with Phipps, who has experience on his side but has only appeared in six games this season – starting twice – or blood someone new and have them gain international experience ahead of the World Cup.
Powell picked up three caps at the end of last year, but both Gordon – who was called in as injury cover for the Wallabies last year – and Ruru are uncapped internationally.
If Genia is available it makes thing a lot easier for Cheika as he can ride with his number one option and have 61-test Phipps to fall back on.
If not, Cheika’s hand may be forced and we could see two new Wallaby halfbacks and a new first five-eighth as the coach looks to nail down his halves pairing moving towards the Rugby World Cup.
Comments on RugbyPass
After their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
2 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
29 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
3 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to comments