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There’s no argument: Quade Cooper is the Wallaby fly-half against the Lions, but only if Will Genia is the half-back. No other number 9 in the country can get Cooper to strut his stuff.
The two Reds’ pivots were pivotal in the nail-biting 12-11 success over the Blues last night at Suncorp, both around the park and with Cooper’s boot, landing four from five penalty attempts.
Genia was the General for the Reds to get out of jail. He made things happen in a mighty tough night at the office.
They knew they were in for it when the Blues put together 22 phases from the kick-off. It was four minutes before the Reds touched the ball, and eight minutes before they touched it a second time.
Both times they kicked it away immediately they were under the pump
But for a side that has scored 11 tries in their last three games, this was hardly the Reds we know.
Sure they moved the ball along the backline very smoothly, but they went nowhere as the swarming Blues defence consistently mowed them down, more often than not behind the advantage line.
Looking at the stats, you wonder how on earth the Blues lost.
They scored the only try, enjoyed 54% possession, won the rucks and mauls by a staggering 129 to 73, while the Reds missed 22 tackles to 3.
Go figure.
It just goes to prove any side can have an off night, but when push turns to shove, the top sides find a way to win.
It was pure guts and determination in this case, with another bumper crowd of 31,050 proving inspirational.
The result added another record to the Reds’ credit as the only Australian side to win all four Super Rugby games against the New Zealand Conference in the one season – 18-12 against the Hurricanes away, 34-33 against the Highlanders away, 31-23 over the Chiefs away, and last night’s 12-11 home success, scoring 10 tries to 6.
But from a Wallaby standpoint, only Genia, Cooper, winger Digby Ioane, skipper James Horwill, and flanker Liam Gill would have caught coach Robbie Deans’ eye, even though Gill had a quiet game by his normal standards.
So the Reds top the Australian Conference momentarily, depending on how the Brumbies fare against the Force tonight.
There’s little doubt the Reds and the Brumbies will dominate Wallaby selections, and providing there’s not a spate of injuries like last year’s horrendous 35, the Lions are in for a real workout in the three-Test series, and so are the All Blacks and Boks in the Rugby Championship.
There’s an air of confidence building among the top Wallabies that’s been missing for sometime. And about time.
There’s also a competitiveness and hunger that’s been missing since the Rod Macqueen days when the Wallabies won the World and Bledisloe Cups, and beat the Lions – the lot.
Current coaches, Ewen McKenzie (Reds) and Jake White (Brumbies), and to be fair Michael Cheika (Waratahs) as well, are all keen to let the ball do the talking and not the boot, so it’s up to Deans to keep that momentum going and unleash his backline against the Lions.
This can be Robbie Deans’ most successful season if he dumps safety-first rugby for flair.
The jury is out, but waiting to give a thumbs up verdict.