- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Presumably like everyone was, including the man himself, I was absolutely stunned to see Blake Enever’s name on the Wallabies’ spring tour squad announcement media release.
Enever’s Brumbies and Canberra Vikings teammate Rory Arnold’s persistent knee injury was enough to rule him out of the tour, with Wallabies coach Michael Cheika explaining in the statement, “Rory has a tear in his muscle and it’s come away from the quad, so he will have an operation to fix that and he will be out for about four to five weeks.”
All makes logical sense. Perth Spirit and now ex-Western Force lock Matt Philip was included as well, which helps his quest to find a Super Rugby home for next season.
Philip’s inclusion was pleasing not just because plenty of people have been calling for it for bloody ages now, but because there hasn’t been a better second rower in the NRC this season – including Lukhan Tui.
It was pleasing to see Tui’s injury from Saturday wasn’t as bad as first thought too, even if it keeps him out of the first game or two.
AAP Image/Craig Golding
Of Philip and Enever’s inclusion, Cheika said, “We could’ve gone with the tried and true guys, but I wanted to give the opportunity to two new younger guys who have had good Super Rugby seasons, and I think Matt Philip has improved out of sight from game one to the final round.”
Philip had an excellent 2017 at all levels, and certainly didn’t look out of place when he came on for the Barbarians.
Enever also had a good Super Rugby season, and he carried that through to the NRC, but he only started a handful of games for the Brumbies, so I wonder how he’s suddenly slipped ahead of his skipper, Sam Carter.
Carter was one of the Brumbies’ most consistent forwards in 2017, form which he’s also carried through to the NRC and Barbarians as well. And he regularly played 80 minutes in whichever jersey he was wearing at the time.
I’m happy for Enever, but if you were looking for a consistent lock who had a strong season, Carter would’ve been the guy.
Regardless, the inclusion of Philip and Enever is another nod to the NRC, allowing the players on the fringe to keep performing at a higher level than would otherwise have been available. We’ve had conversations about whether the Wallabies should take the best performing NRC players on tour in years previous, and it is good to see that kind of recognition.
This applies to the selected development players, too; Reds and Queensland Country flanker and Australian Under-20s Player of the Year Liam Wright – who also didn’t look out of place in his cameo on Saturday – and Melbourne Rebels and Rising young-gun Jack Maddocks.
[latest_videos_strip category=”rugby” name=”Rugby”]
But at this point, the reasoning given behind Maddocks’ inclusion is more than a bit puzzling.
Cheika explained his entry into Super Rugby this year impressed him, and that there “is just something about him”. That is certainly true; in less than a season, he already looks like he’s going to be a handy player.
But Israel Folau’s absence from the tour is where things take a curious turn.
“We’ve got Dane [Haylett-Petty] who’s out and Israel who’s not coming, and I wanted to start getting another genuine fullback,” Cheika told rugby.com.au on Sunday.
“[Maddocks has] got that little bit of x-factor. Everyone else in that backline, we’ve been working with this year and I feel like I wanted to continue that.”
So he’s effectively saying he wants to look at blooding another specialist fullback, despite the squad also containing Kurtley Beale, Karmichael Hunt, and Reece Hodge.
Maddocks is going be a very good player, but if another ready-to-go fullback really was required, then Tom Banks is really stiff for missing out.
Cheika even admitted as much: “Banks trained with us and is definitely in calculations. He had a fine game [on Saturday, for the Barbarians] and will look forward to Super Rugby next year.”
Worryingly, there’s still no obvious back-up flyhalf, though Cheika suggested to rugby.com.au that Beale and Hodge are the likely deputies at 10.
I don’t quite get this, just as I don’t get that Cheika wants to have a chat with Queensland about where Duncan Paia’aua plays next season. If Paia’aua genuinely is in the long-term plans, that would be an easier case to make to th Reds by taking him on tour as the backup 10!
Regardless, and realistically, these are minor quibbles about a squad that looks solid on paper, and which is definitely moving in the right direction two years out from a World Cup.
And while it’s great to see these players all being recognised, it’s also nice to be talking about players being unlucky to miss out on selection. The more ‘unlucky’ players we have in Australia, the deeper the talent pool gets.