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It might be time to reduce the number of meaningless rugby games. I’ve written here before that injuries are one of the worst and most disappointing aspects of sport.
Some have suggested that’s too obvious to even bother writing about. But this week has proven it worthwhile again, just days before a World Cup – the mass around which our rugby world revolves – is due to kick off.
Australia appear to have escaped their final World Cup fixture without any injury concerns, which is probably the most important thing to take from a game they were expected to win comfortably and did in the end.
The same cannot be said for Wales, who are as a national collectively lamenting the pre-World Cup warm-up schedule. Their fantastic fullback Leigh Halfpenny suffered a knee injury that ruled him out of the tournament during their final tune-up against Italy.
It’s a cruel blow for a nation facing both Australia and home team England in the pool stage of the World Cup. He is surely their best player and on his day might be the second or third best fullback in the world – depending on how you weight the various rugby skills.
The question has to be asked, why was such an important player on the field during the closing stages of the last meaningless match before the real stuff?
The Wallabies fielded three players outside their 31-man World Cup squad in the match day team against the Eagles in Chicago.
When Michael Cheika’s selections reached my screen through the interwebs I was immediately miffed that he went outside the cup party for players. Taqele Naiyaravoro, Sam Carter and James Hanson all secured bench places ahead of bodies that would head to England.
Naiyaravoro was arguably chosen to stop him representing another nation in the future, but at least he rewarded his selection with a try and general energy. However my feeling was picking him and not giving more time to Henry Speight on a wing spot was wasting the 80-minute opportunity at Test rugby level given one man wouldn’t be playing at the World Cup anyway.
Speight played at 13 in the end, but that experience is almost useless to his future performance at the World Cup, because he will not play that very specific position there. If a real 13 was selected perhaps it wouldn’t have been Wycliff Palu trying to tackle Taku Ngwenya on the flank giving him room to turn Joe Tomane around and set up the Eagles’ lone try.
However, given the sight of Halfpenny clutching his knee on the Millennium Stadium turf, the decision to forgo extra minutes with key players feeling each other out is probably vindicated.
Cheika’s selections were a textbook example of risk management.
Would it have been worth risking Tevita Kuridrani? Or the Wallabies’ Mr Fix-it Adam Ashley Cooper? No way. What about trying Israel Folau at 13 for the first time in a Test? Gotta be kidding.
Selecting three hookers in a World Cup squad is one thing, but picking captain Stephen Moore on the bench for a game at Soldier Field two weeks before Wallaby boots are due to take the field in Britain would be ludicrous. Although a useful lesson from the game was Scott Sio should not be trusted to throw lineouts and bringing in a third hooker is a great idea.
Picking Sam Carter is a little different but the likes of Rob Simmons and Kane Douglas have always had more to prove than others due to time out due to injury and selections this year. If Cheika felt he’d seen enough from Will Skelton and Dean Mumm, running them out was silly.
Scott Fardy, Michael Hooper and David Pocock all sat, leaving all other mobile forwards to battle for one or two reserve spots in the gameday 23 at the World Cup. Not running out the certainties was again a good move.
The next step – given all the defensible decisions to rest most players who will play meaningful roles at the World Cup – is to wonder why the games are played at all.
If you have to pick three players that can’t even make the top 31 to run out in your final warm-up match, the risk is becoming greater than the reward. If Warren Gatland selecting Halfpenny was such an obviously poor decision – and you could add Alex Cuthbert, George North, Toby Faletau and Sam Warburton to that obviously-don’t-pick list – what’s the point?
If there was one fewer round of warm-ups would that actually provide the same useful information given the final round of such games should be treated with contempt?
The Wallabies were rusty in the first half as they worked to overcome to the Eagles’ tenacity and their own mistakes, with a halves pairing that has limited tactical acumen that other top tier teams would have used to keep the hosts at arm’s length.
The second half was more fluid and Will Genia gave a pleasing performance as the Wallabies pulled away to a 47-10 win.
I was planning to write a smart list of lessons the Wallabies learned from this match, but that seems kind of useless now after considering just how much of an exercise in risk management it turned out to be. There are few lessons that can be extracted cleanly from that context.
Really, the best takeaway is simply that no Wallabies were injured. Cheika still has all his options; an important fact going into game one with a tough pool to progress from.
Wales also won their match, 23-19, but the price was enormous.
Questions are already being hurled at Gatland and rightly so. But sometimes you have to wonder why the games are even on when injuries strike like that.
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.