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The final Wallaby squad has been announced and there is no Quade Cooper, no Bernard Foley and no Matt Toomua.
You might ask why am I putting Foley and Toomua in the same sentence as Quade Cooper.
Well, it is simple really, these are the three players who played as first choice fly-halves for the Super Rugby franchises for the entire season. They are the only three players to have played more than six matches at fly-half in the season and have played more than 1000 minutes of rugby in the pivotal number 10.
A breakdown of the season for the Australian franchises revealed the following (based on starting the match at fly-half.)
Quade Cooper – 15 matches – 1200 minutes
Bernard Foley – 15 matches – 1168 minutes
Matt Toomua – 14 matches – 1070 minutes
The selected players who potentially could play at 10:
James O’Connor – five matches – 343 minutes
Kurtley Beale – three matches – 235 minutes (hasn’t played since Round 3)
Chrsitian Lealiifano – one match – 80 minutes
Kurtley Beale, Berrick Barnes, Christian Lealiifano, James O’Connor are in Deans’ squad. None of the three regular fly-halves of their Super Rugby franchise has been called up.
In my view this is no longer about Quade Cooper, that has been done, dusted and beaten to death. The main question here is why have not one of the regular starters made the cut?
Matt Toomua has been controlling territory for the Brumbies all season. Granted, he hasn’t been the first choice kicker for the Brumbies, but considering O’Connor and Beale are likely to get a spot in the match-day 22, what’s the problem?
Considering the suspected game plan of Robbie Deans, is that not what he wants? A dependable fly-half that conforms to his structured game plan?
I know very few rate Foley, and his tactical kicking is questionable at the best of times. The biggest challenge the Waratahs face this season is not being able to win a kicking contest against one legged sparrow with a limp. However Foley has been one of the leading playmakers in the Super Rugby this year.
Without negating the debate surrounding Quade Cooper (it has run its course) I want to include Foley and Cooper in this part of the reasoning.
Both Foley and Cooper are in the top 20 for metres gained in the Super Rugby, yet neither are in the top 20 for number of runs, which suggests to me that both are rather effective with ball in hand.
Foley, Cooper and Toomua are all in the top 20 for try assists. Granted Cooper has thrown a fair few misdirected and no look passes during the season, but is the risk not worthy of the rewards?
Bernard Foley is in the top three for line breaks during the Super Rugby season. Once again, is that not what we expect from a fly-half, being able to get past the gainline and putting support runners into space?
Again, both Cooper (1st) and Foley (16th) are in the top 20 for offloads. In fact Cooper has three times the number of offloads of Bernard Foley, and even when considering he has curbed his recklessness to some degree this season, it seems not effective enough or perhaps too risky for Deans.
Perhaps the negative in all this is the number of times Cooper has been turned over. He leads the turnovers conceded in Super Rugby.
The question for me is this: is Deans not taking a bigger risk by selecting his potential fly-halves on reputation and individual skill, rather than looking at those who have consistently performed during the season?
No matter how talented you are, you don’t just rock up against the British and Irish Lions and slot into the pivotal position with ease. It takes time to gain confidence and be comfortable in a specialist position such as fly-half.
I am fine with an explanation that suggests to me Deans isn’t prepared to play risky rugby. If that is the case he can justify that Cooper is not accurate enough in his offloads, takes too many risks and is a defensive liability.
I can accept if his justification not to select Foley is due to his inexperience, inability to control territory and his error rate is too high due to his turn overs.
What I don’t understand is why Matt Toomua has not received a call up. He looks, smells and plays pretty much in tune with what I think Deans wants from his fly-half.
Instead Deans has selected Kurtley Beale, who hasn’t played a competitive match of Super Rugby for more than two months, and James O’Connor who does not always play well with others.
Surely Deans is not planning on using Berrick Barnes or Christian Lealiifano as his starting ten?
It is all a bit of a mystery to me.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.