The potential Wallabies for the upcoming three-Test series against England have been announced, with Michael Cheika continuing the infuriating habit of selecting a squad.
What happened to picking a team? When was it decided that rather than the 23 blokes you’re going to actually play, you select an extra 16 people to come along on camp?
Okay, so there’s obviously an argument to be made for bringing along a couple of extras – rugby’s a physical game, and injuries are inevitable.
» WALLABIES SQUAD FOR ENGLAND TEST
» WE HAVE 39 WALLABIES, BUT WHO MAKES YOUR XV?
But why the hell does there need to be 39 people in camp? Are they expecting the entire starting XV to break down in the next ten or so days?
Frustratingly, Cheika himself admitted at the squad unveiling that he didn’t need all the extra mouths to feed, saying, “We’ve been working with an initial squad of 60 players we identified, which has been reduced to 39 for this camp. We’ll trim that number down to 30 for each Test, so competition for spots is everything.”
So nine guys are picked just to be surplus to requirements, before an extra seven per Test will also be cut.
We’ll give Cheika the extra seven – again, there’s no telling who the injury curse could strike down – but what about the nine guys who ultimately have no purpose?
Nine guys who could spend this time recuperating and realigning ahead of the second half of the Super Rugby season, a competition in which none of Australia’s five provinces are performing particularly well, and two are stinking the joint right up.
This tells us that plenty of Australian players aren’t in form at the moment, so why give them the easy let-down of naming them in an extended squad? It’s not as though performance in camp is going to take precedence over form or past experience.
Maybe Australian rugby would benefit from a bit of tough love at the top. The nation’s head coach sending the message that only 30 – 26 if we count the four guys selected who play overseas (although James Horwill’s selection is another kettle of fish) – are good enough to even get a tracksuit, let alone a Wallabies jersey.
But no, it’s important that they head to Caloundra so the Wallabies can “focus on building depth within the squad”. I’d argue 30 decent players is plenty of depth within a squad.
As for the idea Cheika wants to “build on the identity we’ve worked hard on establishing”, how about ensuring people earn the right to be there before you worry about indoctrinating them into an identity you’re yet to fully establish?
Are you actually going to play Joe Powell to play a match , with his four games and 50 minutes of Super Rugby experience? What about Leroy Houston? Dragged all the way back from the UK – granted, he’s also signed with the Reds – is he going to start ahead of the embarrassment of back-row riches we already have?
It just feels like the kind of ‘everyone’s a winner’ attitude that has become so prevalent in this day and age – give as many people as possible a big cuddle by way of selection, even if you have no intention of playing them.
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