- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Ahead of the Wallabies team being announced tomorrow, we’ve decided to do Michael Cheika a favour in helping him pick the Wallabies team for Bledisloe 1.
A few weeks ago, we put out a poll asking you to pick the side you’d like to see play for the Wallabies in the Bledisloe opener against the All Blacks this Saturday night.
With close to a thousand responses, there were some interesting suggestions for who should line up in the green and gold at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium. Here’s the team that you guys settled on.
Fullback: Dane Haylett-Petty
This was the closest vote across all the positions. It was a two-horse race between Dane Haylett-Petty and Israel Folau, with less than one per cent in it.
Across 923 votes, Petty had 354 and Folau 349 with almost nothing to split them. Kurtley Beale, listed as the third option, was a distant last on 212.
Given Folau played fullback during the June Tests and survived the axe for the match against Italy after the loss to Scotland, Cheika may decide to keep him there.
Wingers: Israel Folau and Henry Speight
According to Roarers, Folau’s best position is on the wing. With Haylett-Petty getting just 36.4 per cent of the vote, Folau (51), Henry Speight (43.6) and the injured Sefa Naivalu (36.8) were all listed as preferable options.
Folau claimed 471 votes on the wing, with Speight also breaking the 400 mark to take the other position. While Folau played all three games at fullback during the June international window, Speight missed the last two Tests due to injury after playing in the opening fixture against Fiji.
Another one to keep an eye on is Marika Koroibete, who received 20 per cent of the vote.
Outside centre: Samu Kerevi
This was a pretty easy decision for Roarers. Kerevi missed the Tests earlier this year with an ankle injury after being named in the original squad. More than half of Roarers want to see him return in the 13 jersey.
Inside centre: Kurtley Beale
Another pretty simple selection for Roarers. Beale picked up 45 per cent of the vote, with only Reece Hodge (22%) going close to getting half of what Beale got, the raw numbers reading 422 against 205.
Fly-half: Bernard Foley
After playing all three June Tests in the No.10 jersey, Foley has been heavily backed by Roarers to retain his position.
With Quade Cooper and Jono Lance as our alternatives, neither of whom were included in Cheika’s Wallabies squad, Roarers were pretty keen on sticking with the vice-captain.
Scrum-half: Will Genia
Like Foley, the scrum-half position belonged to Will Genia during the internationals played during the middle of the year, and that’s a trend likely to continue.
Genia racked up 74.9 per cent of the vote – or 691 out of a possible 923. Joe Powell was a distant second, but it’s barely worth a mention unless Genia goes down with injury.
Number 8: Lopeti Timani
Despite only coming into the Wallabies team after the debacle against Scotland, Timani has been elected to hold his spot for the Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship.
Scott Higinbotham, the man Timani replaced in the No.8 jersey, received just 16.8 per cent compared to nearly 70 for Timani.
Openside flanker: Michael Hooper
The new Wallabies captain received the second most votes out of all players for The Roar‘s team. After playing all three internationals in the No.7 jersey, he was appointed captain with Stephen Moore standing down.
It led to him receiving 78 per cent of the vote and given he is now the side’s skipper, the chance of him not being there on Saturday evening is next to none.
Blindside flanker: Sean McMahon
It was a closer battle for the No.6 jersey, but still a comprehensive victory for McMahon. Despite missing the June internationals through injury, with Ned Hanigan playing in his place, Roarers want to see McMahon in the side.
He received 42.5 per cent, well ahead of Scott Higginbotham (24.6%) and Hanigan (20.6%).
Locks: Adam Coleman and Rory Arnold
We may as well have put two options and forgotten about the rest when it came to the locks. Adam Coleman was included in 93.7 per cent of teams (the most of any player) and is likely to play his 13th Test in Sydney.
Rory Arnold, who missed the first two Tests of the June internationals but returned for the match against Italy, was the other obvious inclusion for Roarers, receiving 750 votes of a possible 923.
Props
Three main options dominated voting for the prop positions. Allan Alaalatoa came out with the most votes at 69.9 per cent, while Scott Sio takes the other position with 60.9.
Sekope Kepu was the other player in the reckoning, but fell well short receiving 51.5 per cent of the vote.
Both Alaalatoa and Sio were sighted earlier this year in the starting line-up, with Kepu playing from the bench.
Hooker
The obvious immediate replacement for Stephen Moore, Tatafu Polota-Nau has been selected by Roarers to fill the hooking position for the first Bledisloe match.
After starting there for two of the three Tests earlier this year, Polota-Nau received 57.2 per cent of the vote for the No.2 jersey. Roarers want Moore (19.3%) to come off the bench, while Tolu Latu pulled in 18.5 per cent.
The Roar’s Wallabies for the first Bledisloe Cup Test
15. Dane Haylett-Petty
14. Israel Folau
13. Samu Kerevi
12. Kurtley Beale
11. Henry Speight
10. Bernard Foley
9. Will Genia
8. Lopeti Timani
7. Michael Hooper
6. Sean McMahon
5. Adam Coleman
4. Rory Arnold
3. Scott Sio
2. Tatafu Polota-Nau
1. Allan Alaalatoa
Roarers, do you think this should be the team to face the All Blacks in Sydney on Saturday? Drop a comment and let us know ahead of the official announcement tomorrow!
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.