The two Wallaby openside flankers dominating Super Rugby Pacific

Two genuine contenders to wear the Wallabies’ number seven jersey have continued to stand out in Super Rugby Pacific, with the Queensland Reds’ Fraser McReight and Western Force’s Carlo Tizzano among the best performers in round two.

After Michael Hooper’s shock omission from Australia’s squad for the Men’s Rugby World Cup in 2023, McReight has emerged as a key within the national set-up. McReight has also won Australia’s Super Rugby Pacific Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons.

In the Queensland Reds’ season opener against Moana Pasifika on Friday evening, McReight hit the ground running with a game-changing impact during the hosts’ 20-point win at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, with the backrower scoring a try during the second term.

McReight also had a try assist, was involved in multiple other plays that led to points, ran for more than 70 metres, carried the ball a team-high 10 times, and made the second-most tackles out of any player with 20 behind only Harry Wilson.

While McReight was yellow carded just before half-time, that didn’t stop former Wallaby Nick Phipps from recognising the openside flanker as the top performer from round two. Phipps also highlighted the efforts of Force’s Dylan Pietsch and Brumbies’ Charlie Cale.

“I think he’s just getting better and better every week,” Phipps said on Stan Sports’ Between Two Posts. “You don’t even discuss him being in [Michael] Hoops’ or [David Pocock’s] shadow anymore, like he’s in his own right one of the best sevens in the world at the moment.

“I love watching him play. He plays a very football style of rugby, it’s like he’s playing touch out there, he knows where he’s going, he knows where to turn up, he’s a link man, he’s not just all argy-bargy.

“He’s going to be integral to the Reds’ season this year.”

McReight is widely considered the front-runner to wear the Wallabies’ No. 7 jersey under coach Joe Schmidt, but the elite-level performances of Tizzano haven’t gone unnoticed, with Australian rugby blessed with depth at openside flanker.

Tizzano set a new standard in Super Rugby Pacific by setting the competition’s all-time record for most tackles in a match with 34. The Western Force’s star backrower also didn’t miss any, finishing with 100 per cent tackle accuracy on a famous night for the team.

With the Force beating the Brumbies in Caberra for the first time in 5,060 days, Tizzano’s efforts went a long way to making that result happen. The five-Test Wallaby also scored a try, which was his third of the season after scoring a double in the opening round win over Moana Pasifika.

“Three points for me, Carlo Tizzano,” Turinui explained. “Officially 34 tackles on Super Rugby stats, I think we might’ve had him a couple more. Scored a couple of tries but carried big as well.

“What I love is a little bit like we’ve discussed with Fraser McReight over the years, being a little bit better around decision-making at breakdown, not putting his head in dead rucks which means he’s in the line a lot more picking his time.

“I thought it was an outstanding individual performance in the best performance of the weekend by an Australian team.”

McReight and Tizzano will likely go head-to-head in round three when the Western Force host the Queensland Reds out west. Tizzano was a class above during the win over the Reds in Perth last season, and it’ll be interesting to see if history does indeed repeat.