- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The Wallabies have just finished their Rugby Championship campaign on a high, beating Argentina away from home, and therefore finishing second on the table, then following it up with a win over the All Blacks in Brisbane.
It was a rare highlight in recent memory as the squad has been criticised for a lack of depth with players not fearing for their places and some very poor performances. Michael Cheika has tried a number of different players and combinations, but you feel neither him nor anyone else really know the strongest starting 15.
It is time for Australia to get rid of the rule that prevents them from picking overseas-based players unless they have at least 60 caps. This was only brought in to allow Drew Mitchell and Matt Giteau play in the Rugby World Cup in 2015. Both players made a huge impact on the squad, which made it all the way to the final only to fall to the All Blacks.
With the money that teams in France and the UK can offer players compared to the Super Rugby franchises, more and more players will be heading over to the Northern Hemisphere. Unlike New Zealand, where rugby is the main sport, in Australia rugby uUnion has to compete with league, AFL and football and is currently falling behind all of them with regards to numbers of players.
Preventing players being selected by the Wallabies is cutting off the nose to spite the face. While it’s understandable that the ARU wants to keep the best players playing in Australia, it clearly isn’t working.
Currently there are over 20 players who have Wallabies caps playing overseas. Some of these, such as James Horwill, Dave Dennis, Peter Betham and Ben Tapuai, probably wouldn’t be considered for selection, but others, such as Matt Toomua and Rob Horne, would add some much-needed quality and experience to the squad.
(Image: Tim Anger)
The match-day squad for the most recent test against as New Zealand was as follows:
15 Israel Folau
14 Marika Koroibete
13 Tevita Kuridrani
12 Kurtley Beale
11 Reece Hodge
10 Bernard Foley
9 Will Genia
8 Sean McMahon
7 Michael Hooper
6 Jack Dempsey
5 Adam Coleman
4 Rob Simmons
3 Sekope Kepu
2 Tatafu Polota-Nau
1 Scott Sio
The replacements were the following players:
Stephen Moore
Tom Robertson
Allan Alaalatoa
Lukahn Tui
Ned Hanigan
Nick Phipps
Samu Kerevi
Henry Speight
(Image: Sportography)
A few players in that squad are arguably not quite good enough to play top international rugby. Should the selectors allow for players who are not playing in Australia to be selected, that squad suddenly becomes a lot stronger and players could move into positions that may suit them better.
The match day squad could look something like this:
15 Kurtley Beale
14 Rob Horne
13 Israel Folau
12 Reece Hodge
11 Marika Koroibete
10 Matt Toomua
9 Will Genia
8 Sean McMahon
7 David Pocock
6 Michael Hooper
5 Izack Rudder
4 Adam Coleman
3 Sekope Kepu
2 Jordan Uelese
1 Scott Sio
Replacements available would be the following:
Tatfu Polota-Nau
Tom Robertson
Allan Alaalatoa
Will Skelton
Jack Dempsey
Nic White
Bernard Foley or Christian Leiliafano
Henry Speightm, Joe Tomane or Jesse Mogg
There are other players not included in that squad, such as Liam Gill playing for Lyon, who could also come into the reckoning as well. With the selection criteria opening, players not included in the squad who were in the squad for the All Blacks test are waiting in the wings and will have a point to prove.
The 13 shirt has been a problem for a while, with Tevita Kuridrani very out of form and Samu Kerevi struggling to reproduce his Super Rugby form on the international stage. The Waratahs moved Israel Folau to 13 this season with great effect. He got his hands on the ball earlier and was able to create holes for other players to run off him.
Reece Hodge has been in superb form, but his power can be used from the 12 position. He is already used there defensively, with Kurtley Beale moving to fullback, where he can have a bit more time to use his nomadic brilliance to get Australia on the front foot.
While this will not change any time soon, for Australia to be competitive they have to throw away the rulebook that they currently live by and embrace the 21st century.
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.