'We can pick anyone': Dave Rennie name drops youngsters in line for potential test debuts against All Blacks
Wallabies coach Dave Rennie has flagged fresh blood for next Saturday’s Sydney test despite the Bledisloe Cup series on the line.
The Australians need to win the third test at ANZ Stadium to keep the four-game series alive, and their hopes of wresting back the trans-Tasman trophy after 18 years.
Rennie had hoped to give some players in the 44-man Wallabies squad a run in a NSW outfit against Argentina on Saturday but the Pumas cancelled the match citing soreness amongst their players.
But the coach says he won’t hesitate to throw new players in as the Wallabies look to rebound from their disappointing performance in the 27-7 loss in the second test in Auckland.
He showed his hand after the 16-16 draw in the first test in Wellington, making four changes.
“We’ve worked everyone really hard even though we’ve had 40-odd at training and a lot of moving parts,” Rennie said on Friday.
“We’ve got a lot of work into these guys so we are pretty confident we can pick anyone from the group and they’ll be ready to go.”
Rennie said up to a dozen players could be released to form part of an Australia A side which will also give the Pumas a warm-up match before the South Americans open their Tri-Nations against New Zealand on November 14 at Bankwest Stadium.
Inside centre Matt To’omua underwent specialist scans on Friday to confirm the seriousness of his groin injury that is likely to sideline him for the remainder of the year.
While Noah Lolesio played at 12 for the Junior Wallabies side in their successful under-20s World Cup campaign, Rennie said he primarily saw the 20-year-old as a five-eighth.
An ex-All Black has leapt to Ian Foster's defence after the New Zealand boss fell under heavy criticism in the opening stages of his tenure at the helm of the national side.https://t.co/agabnn7jJj
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He said Lolesio’s Brumbies teammate Irae Simone was in the selection mix and could make his test debut.
“We primarily see Noah as a 10 who can play 12 so he’s very similar to James O’Connor
“We have a lot of options at 12 – there’s Hunter (Paisami) who filled in there really well for the majority of that test,” Rennie said.
“Irae Simone was very strong for the Brumbies and is a very a good communicator so he’s a strong option as well so we’ve got a bit to pick from.”
Despite the “step backward” after their rousing opening test performance, which was their first under Rennie, the new coach felt optimistic about the Tri-Nations campaign.
Upon reviewing Auckland he said they needed to improve their individual tackling and game management such as kicking more effectively.
But there was plenty of upside.
“The first test showed there’s a lot of character in this group and I reckon we’ve got a massive upside,” he said.
“We’re going to get better with time and that’s what excites us about having a lot of tests in quick succession.”
Comments on RugbyPass
late hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
4 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
24 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
24 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
24 Go to comments