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The 2018 Super Rugby season is almost upon us. While you keep up with all the excitement try and keep an eye out for possible future Wallabies stars.
Here are four relatively inexperienced players – one from each Australian Super Rugby team – who show a lot of potential and may be required by the Wallabies in 2018.
Jordan Uelese – Melbourne Rebels
Australian stalwart Stephen Moore has retired, while Wallabies great Tatafu Polota-Nau has moved to the United Kingdom. Australia is thus looking extremely short on experienced hookers of international quality.
Although Polota-Nau, who must surely be in close to career-best form, qualifies under the foreign eligibility rule, given his age, his propensity for injury and the extremely high injury rate in the Aviva Premiership, Australia cannot be certain that he will be available for the Wallabies throughout 2018 and 2019.
made his debut for the Wallabies in 2017 and has played two games for the national side, one fewer than his three for the Rebels. In his few appearances for the Wallabies he demonstrated himself as being strong in the scrum, having power both carrying and in defence, and being capable of pilfering.
There are some questions around his line out throwing, so hopefully he practices and improves his throwing in 2018.
No-one is expecting Uelese to show Malcolm Marx-like abilities, but with his size and strength, along with the fact he is probably Australia’s back-up hooker after Polota-Nau at this point, Australia needs a strong season from Uelese in 2018.
(AAP Image/David Moir)
Tolu Latu – New South Wales Waratahs
As with Jordan Uelese, Australian fans must hope for a great season from Latu in 2018. He started 2017 brilliantly and was surely Australia’s best hooker for much of the Super Rugby season. He is extremely difficult to move over the ball, possesses good skills and appears solid in both the scrum and the line out.
Unfortunately his discipline must be improved upon at times as well as his decision-making, as he gave away too many penalties at times in 2017. Michael Cheika also said that there were questions over his fitness.
If Latu is able to improve his fitness and discipline, he could be extremely valuable for the Wallabies moving forward. In recent years Australia has struggled to turn the ball over when David Pocock has been absent. At such moments Latu could provide an alternative to Pocock. Should he play alongside Pocock, the Wallabies would be extremely threatening at the breakdown.
Unless Andrew Ready has a massive improvement on his 2017 season it can be expected that Latu will likely be the next choice hooker after Polota-Nau and Uelese. With a very good season under his belt it is not outside the realm of possibility that he overtakes Uelese in the order of preferences.
(AAP Image/Paul Miller)
Samu Kerevi – Queensland Reds
Samu Kerevi is an attacking freak with the ball in hand, probably second only to Israel Folau among current Wallabies. He can bust tackles and break the line with ease, his footwork is wonderful for such a big man and he is not at all selfish when it comes to passing. He also possesses a sweet offloading game.
His defensive positioning at outside centre is not quite good enough yet. He is better at defending at inside centre, but it seems that Kurtley Beale has that position locked down. Kerevi seems likely to play outside centre again for the Reds.
Tevita Kuridrani is one of the world’s elite defenders at outside centre. Unfortunately he is not offering as much on attack as he once did. His distribution game has never been a strength, he is not particularly fast for an international centre and he is no longer making the line breaks he once did.
While he is by no means a poor option at outside centre, it would be nice if pressure was put on his position by a player who offers international-quality defence and attack.
Perhaps Reece Hodge will do this if played at 13 for the Rebels, but it would be nice to also see significant defensive improvements from Kerevi in 2018. He has a new coach in Brad Thorn, who was a ruthless defender when he played the game, and it can only be assumed that he will emphasise defence just as strongly in his coaching.
If Kerevi can improve his defence to an international standard, he would allow for a far more threatening Australian backline in attack.
(Matt Roberts/Getty Images)
Joe Powell – Brumbies
Will Genia is world class when in form. He is now, however, 30 years old. There are no certainties that he will remain injury free or be able to maintain top form, especially given the number of minutes he is forced to play by Cheika.
If we want to give Genia the best possible chance of making it to the 2019 Rugby World Cup in top form, his workload must be carefully managed until then, and if Genia is injured, we need somebody steady and reliable to start for the Wallabies. This could equally be Michael Ruru or Jake Gordon, but Cheika has thus far shown less interest in them.
Powell has a very quick and accurate pass. He is very fast, gets to a lot of breakdowns and is speedy to make a decision and clear the ball.
Joe has a number of issues in his game that can be worked upon. First, he is untidy with the ball at the back of mauls and at breakdowns a bit too often. He needs to really treasure the possession and ensure he minimises the number of times he knows the ball on.
Second, it would be nice to see Powell offer a little more in terms of a running threat in 2018.
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.