Why the Wallabies will win the next World Cup

For the first time in years, I am excited to be a Wallabies fan. It may have something to do with having an Australian provincial side (at least as I write this) being a fair chance of taking out the Super Rugby final this weekend.

Or perhaps it has something to do with the appointment of a coach who on appearance will assemble a form-based squad with a serious attacking intent.

However, the greatest reason is the level of depth that has suddenly emerged, with game-changing players emerging right across the park – though to avoid waxing on for hours, today I’ll just focus on the backs.

(In the interests of full disclosure, I’ll start by saying I’m an unabashed Reds fan.)

Scrumhalf
Realistically it doesn’t even need to be discussed as Will Genia is clearly the best nine in the world, but the emergence and blistering form of Nic White may start to pose some very welcome headaches for McKenzie and co in years to come.

Both men posses great vision, passing and running games, and White has a kicking game to rival the men outside him.

Genia will be the champ for at least the next few years, but as a number one contender White is young and feisty and will be a very useful replacement if the man main goes down with injury.

Throw in the likes of Nick Phipps, Nick Frisby and Ian Prior as apprentices and the state of the famous gold number nine jersey looks to be in fantastic hands.

Dark horse: the impact of Luke Burgess’ return to Australia remains to be seen, but if he can regain the form that once made him George Gregan’s replacement he could push White for the spot on the bench as Genia’s understudy.

Flyhalf
The position where our depth really surfaces. It’s an absolute oddity to think that last month we played against the British and Irish Lions without a specialist number 10 and now there are three genuine contender’s in McKenzie’s first squad who each have a very good claim at the spot.

First and foremost, there is rugby’s ultimate enigma – Quade Cooper.

On his day, QC is arguably the best player in the world.

On other days, you’d rather have Sekope Kepu.

Quade has undoubtedly the best long pass in international rugby, a serviceable kicking game and some of the most elusive feet this side of the code war.

The big drawback in his game is his consistency, but he’s always played much better under Link than he did for Dingo, so it will be interesting to see if the effects of his mentor’s rise to the top job rub off on Quade’s on-field performances.

Has greatly improved his defence as of late, but still won’t exactly scare opposition ball runners.

Which is exactly what Matt Toomua will do.

As the first man to be contracted to an Australian Super Rugby franchise right out of high school, Toomua has always been destined for international football, but after finally putting together an injury free year he looks to have made the step up in 2013.

A much more rounded number 10 than Cooper, Toomua plays with the kind of directness that opens up opportunities for the (extremely talented) men outside him.

Throw in the fact that he’s an absolute monster in defence, regularly flattening his opposite numbers, and you have a complete ball player who would look right at home in a gold jersey.

And then there’s the man who I hate to love, but I love him anyway. As a Reds fan, it gives me a stomach ache to heap praise onto a Tah, but Bernard Foley might just be the best long term flyhalf prospect in the country.

This year, after making the switch from fullback, Foley has hit the ground running, piloting the stuttering Waratahs backline through some of the most eye-catching football in the competition.

Kicks and passes as well as his rivals and has brilliant field vision and game awareness honed through his time playing sevens and his past deeds at 15.

At the moment, I’d look at him more as a bench option because of his greater versatility than the other two, but in a couple of years he could be the clear first choice.

Dark horse: Zack Holmes. Yet to be determined whether he will walk straight into the starting 10 role at the Force, but has showed enough in the brief glimpses of football he has played for the Brumbies so far to suggest that he’s a very talented footballer.

Runs like a small, white Usain Bolt.

Wing
Another area where Link is spoilt for choice. Digby’s decision to ply his trade overseas opens the spots right up for the first time in years, though Israel Folau’s play during the Lions tour looks to have sewn one up.

In rugby league, Folau always resembled a poor man’s Greg Inglis, but his short-lived stint in aerial Ping-Pong seems to have made him far lighter on his feet as well as greatly improving his kicking game and general vision.

A real star for the Wallabies going into the next World Cup, provided he puts pen to paper for the Waratahs in the next couple of weeks.

The other wing spot belongs to Henry Speight the minute his is eligible, which unfortunately won’t be until the end of year tour.

Speight looks like the closest thing Australia has had to Jonah Lomu – a menacing behemoth who will legitimately scare his opponents. I for one can’t wait to see him running on the end of a Wallabies backline.

But in the mean time, Joe Tomane looks the man most likely to warm his boots. Tomane too is a big, strong winger in the Lote Tuquiri mould. Just need to work on his ball handling and use of his size.

Dark horse: Nick Cummins. Never mess with the honey badger. Arguably the hardest runner in Australian rugby and a very solid defender. Could also be a candidate for the outside centre role.

Other candidates:
Peter Betham (Wallabies squad)
Cam Crawford
Dom Shipperly (Wallabies experience)
Rod Davies (Wallabies experience)
Luke Morahan (Wallabies experience)
James O’Connor (Wallabies experience)
Adam Ashley-Cooper (Wallabies experience)
Jesse Mogg (Wallabies experience)

Inside centre
Two words. Kyle Godwin. As a passionate hater of the Force I’ll admit that I didn’t see much of Godwin throughout the year, but after hearing all the hype and reading through some stat comparisons I went back and watched some highlights packages.

The kid is a wizard. Has both the running game and ball playing to fit into the Tim Horan/Matt Giteau mould as a 12 and could be a great creative foil for whoever gets the nod in the flyhalf hotseat.

Add in the fact that he runs and tackles like a backrower and can kick goals, and we’ve got ourselves a genuine inside centre for the next decade.

One of the few people who won’t be excited by Godwin’s emergence is our incumbent 12 – Christian Lealiifano. Lilo has yet to really fire for the Wallabies in his two and a bit Tests, but has all the skills to put fear into an opposition defence.

The area in which he does take a points victory over his Western Force rival is goal kicking (where he’s probably second only to Mike “Radar” Harris in the country). The competition between these two will be great for Australian rugby.

Dark horse: Among the other contenders are the solid but very much unspectacular Pat McCabe (who, I’m calling it now, will never play another Test), goal-kicking wizard Harris and tackle machine Anthony Fainga’a.

The most exciting of the bunch however is Rob Horne (as much as it pains me to say it) who is ever improving and could be the straightener in a Quade Cooper led backline.

Outside centre
My selection here is sure to be a contentious one. Let’s start with stating the obvious, Adam Ashley-Cooper is a tremendous player and has been a stalwart for the Wallabies for a number of years now.

He’s a big, quick, hard-running tackle buster with a great pair of hands and an even better thirst for hard work.

However, he’s no longer my first choice in the 13 jersey.

The reason for this is that at 29 years of age, Adam Ashley-Cooper is entering the twilight of his career.

History has shown that age does weary men in the numbers 12 and 13, with Tim Horan and Jason Little both retiring at 30.

While 2013 has been a great year for Ashley-Cooper to date, to my eyes there are signs that he may be starting to lose a yard of pace and not quite be hitting the line as hard as he did in the past.

Make no mistake, he is still a magnificent centre and could well go on playing for another four or five years, but declining physical attributes should only be ignored when there is a lack of talented youth coming through to replace them.

Which brings me to my next point. In Tevita Kuridrani, Australia may just have unearthed our answer to the kind of barnstorming role that Nonu plays for New Zealand.

Kuridrani is a weapon is both attack and defence, and as a ball running option in a highly skilled Wallabies backline, he could punch holes in opposition defences like we haven’t seen since Stirling Mortlock retired.

Dark horse: Ben Tapuai. Allow me a second of Reds-tinged bias for a second, but I think Benny Taps is a player of genuine match winning potential.

Has been short on form this year, but he’s a strong runner, a solid defender and has the ball playing skills to link well with the creative heads inside him and the brilliant finishers outside him.

Showed on the spring tour last year that he’s not out of his depth at the international level.

Fullback
This is a position that really excites me.

As I discussed earlier, if Folau stays in rugby he will be a shoe-in for a gold jersey for the foreseeable future, however I think his best position at an international level will be on the wing.

Even then, there is a couple of truly awesome candidates.

For mine, the pick of the litter has to be Jesse Mogg. In only a couple of years, Greyhound has emerged as a tour de force at the back of the park for the Brumbies, and his blinding speed and great field vision look tailor made for higher duties.

Throw in some classy ball playing, adequate goal kicking abilities and solid if not spectacular defence, the former Brisbane boy represents the full package.

And that’s without even mentioning his booming left foot, which will be an immense asset in the territory fuelled international game.

The clear Wallabies 15 going forward in my opinion.

In saying that, Link’s assertion that James O’Connor is being looked at primarily as an outside back could see him emerge as another candidate.

While I have never been a huge fan of JOC, I will readily admit that he is an X-factor player and at 15 he can use his extraordinary footwork to rip opposition teams to shreds on the counter attack.

As with Mogg, he possesses a huge kicking game (perhaps not quite as huge as Greyhound’s) and is an accomplished goal kicker. Wouldn’t look out of place. Nor would his Tahs bound amigo Kurtley Beale.

Very similar type of player to James O’Connor and has proven in the past to be a sparking influence from the back of the park.

Beale will probably push Folau onto a wing for NSW next year and that alone speaks to his quality. Both men are more than handy utility options off the bench.

Dark horse: Let’s say dark horses for this one. Luke Morahan will be kicking himself for leaving the Reds now that Ioane and Lance are also heading off, and his path to the Western Force 15 jersey may be blocked by one James O’Connor.

However, he has the skillset to succeed at the back of the park and proved this year against the Lions (vs. Reds) that he’s not overawed by a big match. Link may also look at Mike Harris as a fullback option if goal-kicking options don’t line-up in other positions.

That means my Rugby World Cup 2015 backline lines up as follows.

9. Will Genia (Reds)
10. Matt Toomua/Quade Cooper (Brumbies/Reds)
11. Henry Speight (Brumbies)
12. Kyle Godwin (Force)
13. Tevita Kuridrani (Brumbies)
14. Israel Folau (Waratahs)
15. Jesse Mogg (Brumbies)

And I know I said I wouldn’t talk about the forwards, but I know I won’t be the only one in Australia whose mouth is watering at the prospect of a Higginbotham, Pocock, Mowen backrow. My forwards would line-up like this.

1. Benn Robinson (Brumbies)
2. Stephen Moore (Brumbies)
3. James Slipper (Reds)
4. James Horwill (Reds)
5. Hugh McMeniman (Force)
6. Scott Higginbotham (Rebels)
7. David Pocock (Brumbies)
8. Ben Mowen (Brumbies)

I fully expect Tahs fans to cry foul at my inclusion of only one of their players (as well as my exclusion of Adam Ashley-Cooper), however that’s just the way I see it. But the real point is, no matter how you look at it, it’s an exciting time to be an Aussie.