The experience of former Wallaby Luke Burgess is set to give him a head start in his race against Nic Stirzaker to be the Melbourne Rebels’ starting halfback.
Taking on the Waratahs in their first Super Rugby trial in Albury on Saturday February 1, Rebels coach Tony McGahan said his best line-up was far from settled.
Burgess joined Melbourne after a stint in France and is looking to reclaim a Wallabies jersey.
He has 37 Test caps, 59 Super caps and more than 50 appearances for four-time Heineken Cup champions Toulouse.
But first the 30-year-old must get past Stirzaker, who was deputy for Nick Phipps who will line up with NSW in 2014.
Speedy Stirzaker, who has a bullet pass, impressed with his chances in 2013.
What could swing selection Burgess’ way is the Rebels’ lack of depth and inexperience at five-eighth, with their first choice rookie Bryce Hegarty, who has only five Super caps.
With the Rebels losing star playmakers Kurtley Beale and James O’Connor from their backline, Melbourne’s other option is to play veteran Kiwi centre Tamati Ellison at 10.
McGahan, who has taken over as head coach from Damien Hill, had been impressed with Burgess but said he would still have to earn his spot.
“Luke’s come back in fine fettle from his time in Toulouse; he’s come back with a lot more experience in how the game’s played differently over there and he’s been a real constant source of information for the younger players,” he said.
“He’s driven himself well, he’s driven the other players well, he’s fit and keen to play.”
As well as the halves, there’s stiff competition in the front row with new loosehead recruits Max Lahiff and Kiwi Toby Smith in the mix.
Lahiff, who qualifies for the Wallabies through his Australian father, was recruited from London Irish while Smith was born in Queensland.
He spent four years at the Chiefs and helped steer them to the 2012 and 2013 Super titles.
McGahan intends to give all of his squad members a run in Albury, including former Waratahs Lopeti Timani and Tom Kingston.
McGahan said winger Kingston, who will cover the loss of Cooper Vuna and Richard Kingi, had settled in well at Melbourne.
“He’s been terrific for us; his professionalism, the way he trains, the way he talks, the way he conducts himself has been terrific.
“He’s really keen and Lopeti is of the same mind set.”
The Rebels have a first round bye and then open their season against the Cheetahs on February 28.
Chuck
Guest
Well Barnes does need impeccable service to enable him to kick it straight back to the opposition
Magic Sponge
Guest
Gregan was crap for years but was too powerful to get dropped
Markus
Guest
It's not exaggerated at all. Even his passes that didn't go behind the player were regularly over the head, and he is still the only Wallaby scrumhalf I've seen pass the ball over his own dead ball line on more than one occasion.
Markus
Guest
Hard to compare the two though, as by all accounts Gregan was the epitome of professionalism when it came to his fitness regime. And while we lament the two-step that snuck into his game in his later career, his passes hit their target, something Burgess has struggled for way too long with for a supposedly Test level scrumhalf.
Stray Gator
Roar Rookie
More importantly, who is Tony Smith and why is he not playing instead of Toby?
Stray Gator
Roar Rookie
30
Squirrel
Guest
Burgess will be the walk in reserve wallaby half back, roarers should get real an accept the inevitable and stop over emphasising his poor passing game that is over exaggerated.
TommyM
Guest
Burgess got a fair few minutes at the tail of last season for the Rebs, and looked to me to have greatly improved his passing game from the bad old days. Will be good to see how he goes, as his running and particularly defense are outstanding. Having said that, really like Stirzaker too- he always added some spark when he came on last season.
Fair go
Guest
Lets hope McGahan is building a back division at the pace he has gathered a pack. The rebels forwards are quite likely to surprise.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
As far as I know I wouldn't say its common practice to have 9 and 10 who can play both positions. Sure guys like Parra, Michalak or Doussain have done it but all in all I think it remains the exception rather than the rule ( amore frequent exception than here though!). IMO one of the reason for this is that our 10 are usually poor/average while we have many good nines hence the temptation to switch them to 10 after a while. Plus usually our 9 can kick so it probably makes more sense. I don't think Burgess has played 10 there though (they didn't really like him as a 9 so I don't think they would have switch him to 10 considering they had McAlister).
kunming tiger
Guest
As well as the halves, there’s stiff competition in the front row with new loosehead recruits Max Lahiff and Kiwi Toby Smith in the mix. Lahiff, who qualifies for the Wallabies through his Australian father, was recruited from London Irish while Smith was born in Queensland. Kiwi Tony Smith?? If he was born in Australia with one parent being an Australian citizen then he acquires citizenship automatically or if neither parent was an Australian citizen but he had lived in Australia for a period of ten years or more then acquires citizenship in his own right. I assume from your article that neither of Tony Smith's parents were Australian? Furthermore they didn't reside in Australia long term. It's coming to the stage where you would need to be well versed in immigration law to figure the legal status of some of our Super players. On this note what exactly is Tony Smith's claim to New Zealand citizenship? If he wasn't born in the country then his claim would be by descent through one or both parents.
Magic Sponge
Guest
Lucky the tahs have passed one ,Burgess ,east beasts half to another easts beasts half Mckibben . Cmon Mckibben secure that 9 spot and send Phipps to the bench. I have my tricoloured glasses on.
Magic Sponge
Guest
Jez Spring chicken, plenty of years left just look at Gregan. The Rebels need a strong robust half
jutsie
Guest
didnt they also try parra at 10 but he didnt go so well there? went as poorly as willy g at 10 for the reds
Markus
Guest
Is interchanging 9 and 10 common practice in French rugby? I'd seen it with guys like Freddie Michalak, I'd assumed it was just that they had some players who happened to be talented enough to play in either position.
Billy Bob
Guest
I hope for Burgess' sake that he has developed an all round 9 game. I was always a fan of him being on the field, just could not shine to him as a 9. His passing was the issue. Tough handy player but I will be looking forward to see his current skill set.
30 mm Tags
Guest
Burgess is the only half back that I have seen who could consistently pass the ball above , behind , left or right by at least 2 metres away from the target point. Possibly Australia's most consistent half back capable of doing this. Berrick Barnes is reputed to have asked Burgess to forget about passing the ball just to run with it and ensure he was held in the ruck,such that anyone even TPN , would have to go deputise and pass trhe emerging ball from the ruck base.
jeznez
Roar Guru
29
Blueberry
Guest
After Stirzaker's stint in the ITM Cup with Manawatu, I reckon he's matured a fair bit, so I don't think Burgess can get by with the veteran card for that long. But after playing in France Burgess could be a 10 as well. I've never heard of him playing there but in France they do treat 9 and 10 as sort of interchangeable, maybe he's had some training. With him and Ellison swapping in and out I'm starting to think Rebels might not be so short in that position after all. The more I think about it the more excited I get about the Rebel's squad this season and their prospects...are we in for another improved season?
Who Needs Melon
Roar Guru
At the Tahs he had his supporters and his detractors. I remember some good snipes but a not-so-strong passing game - which is obviously the first and foremost requirement from a scrumhalf by a mile. It's tempting to say that he played for the Tahs during one of their more clueless periods and perhaps our perceptions are influenced by that. But I think he was a contributor to that cluelessness rather than a victim - he'd kick when he should run, run when he should pass, etc. Ultimately though I haven't seen a single minute of his play since he left Australia so who can say he is the player he was at the Tahs? Time will tell. I'm happy he is back to put a bit of pressure on some of the others.