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Recall the stink the ex-Wallaby coach Robbie Deans caused when he overlooked first choice Quade Cooper for James O’Connor as fly-half against the Lions?
After an uninspiring draw and a record flogging by the All Blacks, current Wallaby coach Ewen McKenzie has done basically the same by ignoring first choice fly-half Bernard Foley for both Tests and giving the 10 jumper to inside centre Kurtley Beale.
The Cooper omission cost Deans his job. The Foley omission, however, won’t cost McKenzie his because he has the chance to correct it against the Boks on Saturday week.
Yesterday the 30-man Wallaby squad to meet the Boks and the following Saturday against the Pumas was same old, same old, with two exceptions due to injury.
Hooker Nathan Charles is out with a pectoral tear, as is hapless winger Pat McCabe with a third neck injury that looks likely to end his career.
In comes Tatafu Polota-Nau for Charles, and the only uncapped member of the new squad, Force centre Kyle Godwin, who would have been recognised far earlier if it hadn’t been for a spate of injures. but where is prop Benn Robinson?
So the squad is virtually the same, but as a result it leaves selection questions to be asked after two non-winning performances against the men-in-black.
The Wallabies should have won the 12-all Sydney result, but didn’t have the bottle to do it. The least said about the record 51-20 loss in the second the better.
McKenzie’s quote yesterday – “We don’t hide from the fact that our performance was well below our expectations, which was especially disappointing considering the momentum we had created since last year’s Spring Tour”.
Understatement of the year, except for the fact that losing to England first up on that tour, then beating Italy, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales isn’t in the same breath as taking on the All Blacks.
No argument winning is important, and the Wallabies can only beat the opposition in front of them.
But to align the Spring Tour last year to trying to beat the All Blacks last week is very different.
Next up the Boks who haven’t been too flash themselves in just finishing over the top of the Pumas in their two games. But a win is a win.
Now it’s up to Ewen McKenzie to pick a team that deserves to be there.
Apart from skipper Michael Hooper, the other 22 in the yet to be selected squad to meet the Boks all have good cause to be looking over their shoulders.
We’ll see what happens, and who is standing, when the 30-man squad assembles in Perth next Sunday.