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Australian rugby coaching has demonstrated a bias going back beyond the Michael Cheika era, of worshipping the ‘cult of the wunderkind’.
In this cult, young players who are lavishly gifted in attack and succeed at Super Rugby level are promoted into the cauldron of the Test arena too early, then subsequently flounder.
Quade Cooper and Kurtley Beale were high-profile victims of this poor selection strategy, being picked as regular Test starters in their early 20s at the expense of more experienced players like Matt Giteau.
Consequently, they both produced rocks and diamond performances for much of their careers.
The approach contrasts with the development of similarly gifted New Zealand players like Beauden Barrett, who had to wait until he was 25 to get his starting All Blacks gig.
We are seeing the mistake repeated with the Wallabies’ two outside centres, Tevita Kuridrani and Samu Kerevi.
Kuridrani, who was incumbent in the position between 2013 and 2015, is a world-class player. He is a big, fast ball-runner, who is almost unstoppable if he gets within 15 metres of the opposition try line.
The 26-year-old also has a knack for popping up in the right place at the right time in close matches. The Wallabies vs Springboks match in Brisbane in 2015, and the matches against Scotland in 2015 and 2016 all matches would have been lost but for a Kuridrani special, while his try in the 2015 World Cup final put the Wallabies within four points of the All Blacks and a chance of an upset.
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As importantly, Kuridrani is an absolute predator in defence. His work rate can be phenomenal, his reads are excellent, and his physicality smashes attackers coming down the hard-to-defend 13 channel. He is also strong at the ruck, acting like another a loose forward to hit both attacking and defensive breakdowns.
At worst, Kuridrani can be quiet during the Super Rugby season – as he was in 2016 and 2017 – and may have an anonymous Test match, like in June’s loss to Scotland. He can also be a little selfish, chasing tries when he really should pass.
But this does not justify dropping him to the bench. If the All Blacks had adopted that approach Ma’a Nonu would not have been supported to become one of the best centres in history, because he demonstrated the occasional fade like Kuridrani.
Moreover, Cheika’s obsession with creating competition for every spot isn’t always the answer. Kuridrani became world class over the course of two years when he essentially owned the 13 jersey, so clearly he has the internal motivation, which can be tapped without holding the selection gun to his head.
He actually appears to have got worse after the World Cup, with Kerevi and Israel Folau vying for the spot. Last year he sometimes appeared reluctant to pass to Folau – not a good thing. People respond differently to incentives, perhaps Kuridrani needs a degree of security to flourish.
In Kuridrani’s place on Saturday night we saw Kerevi struggle. The 23-year-old is an outstanding player, given his age and experience, with his blockbusting attacking performances in Super Rugby clearly marking him for future Test honours. But he isn’t Test standard yet.
His defence isn’t up to scratch, something which should have been apparent to Cheika had he watched Kerevi drop off tackles in Reds games this year. In Saturday’s game, Kerevi also failed to make a corresponding impact in attack.
In addition to him starting tough Tests too early, both the Reds and Wallabies heaped additional expectation on Kerevi through leadership roles in the squads. If a young player has been more clearly set up to fail, I cannot remember it.
It is a damn shame and completely unnecessary. The Wallabies already have an exceptional 13, who just needs the occasional reminder to stay focused and pass, so there was the opportunity to develop Kerevi at a more leisurely pace.
For the benefit of both players and the team, the Wallabies must stop sacrificing Kerevi’s development to the cult and let him develop, while backing Kuridrani to play the game that we all know he is capable of.
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.