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Wallaby halfback contenders are nicked

11th May, 2016
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Nick Phipps. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Expert
11th May, 2016
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Halfbacks Nick Phipps, Nic Stirzaker and Nick Frisby have three Super Rugby games to impress Wallabies coach Michael Cheika before the three-Test series against England.

The Waratahs’ Phipps has the Bulls at Allianz, the Crusaders in Christchurch, and the Chiefs at Allianz, three tough games that are must wins if the Waratahs are to top the Australian Conference to automatically qualify for the finals.

Rebels captain Stirzaker, born in England to South African parents, qualifies to play for all three countries, but a Wallabies berth tops his bucket list. The Rebels have the Brumbies and Force at home, with the Chiefs away in between.

The very talented Queensland Reds’ Frisby has the Crusaders and Hurricanes away, and the Sunwolves at home.

A fourth Nic, as in White, is playing at Montpellier with his former Brumbies coach Jake White in charge, but with only 22 Wallabies caps is well short of the “Giteau rule” 60 caps to be recalled.

But the only non-Nick halfback – Will Genia – has 66 caps and is well to the fore in Cheika’s thinking to be in the Wallabies squad to meet England at Suncorp on June 11, AMMI Stadium on June 18, and Allianz on June 25.

Genia’s changed his mind, having called halt to his international career after the World Cup.

“I’m only 27, and I was really impressed with Michael Cheika and the way he had the whole World Cup squad working as one – I want to be a part of that again,” he recently said.

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Cheika has tough decisions to make with the No.9 jersey.

All things being equal, Phipps would have the inside running with his long-term pivotal partnership with Bernard Foley, who will definitely be the No.10.

Phipps has the natural ability to cement the berth, providing he stops being a traffic cop organising his backline, and chirping with referees.

Just get in there and service the backline with speed and accuracy, and stop the referee from regularly calling “use it”.

Stirzaker and Frisby are genuine contenders, giving Cheika alternatives if either Phipps or Genia are injured. But it’s a Phipps-Genia, or Genia-Phipps combination which will bring back memories for Genia.

When he first cracked the Reds halfback job in 2007, Eddie Jones was his coach, now coaching England.

And while the Wallabies halfback head-to-heads will prove interesting, nothing could possibly match the coaching head-to-head between Cheika and Jones – two hard-nosed Randwick orientated mentors.

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Fireworks come to mind. Don’t be surprised if one tells the other to get nicked.

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