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Noting that the first week of the Super Rugby season was a bye for all Australian sides, it’s been 10 weeks now that I have been posting my weekly articles on the Australian Super Rugby Team of the Week.
Someone asked me to do some sort of wrap up of who has been selected most often in each position so far this season. That appealed to me, so here it is.
As an added twist I wanted to distinguish between players who just scraped in being the best of a terrible bunch and those who had outstanding performances. I reviewed every time I had picked someone and ranked their performance from one to three in terms of quality.
Below I have shown the winners of this scoring system. Where I chose to overturn my own system and nominate who I think should be the Wallaby in each position, I have indicated the player in brackets who actually won the scoring.
1. Scott Sio
I have selected James Slipper and Scott Sio four times each in this position. Toby Smith twice and Pek Cowan once. Going to the performance scores, Sio won by a single point over Slipper.
For me that means the choice of loosehead for the Wallabies is Scott Sio and James Slipper is on the bench.
2. Stephen Moore
Stephen absolutely dominated this position. I picked him six times and the next closest was Tatafu Polota-Nau with three. Squeaky also had a good score with 12 meaning he averaged a ‘2′.
Tatafu was not nearly as good.
Moore starting with Tatafu Polota-Nau on the bench for the Wallabies.
3. Ben Alexander
Ben was picked four times in this position. While that doesn’t sound like many over the course of 10 weeks, he benefits from the fact that the four-different props shared the spoils from the other five weeks, with Kieran Longbottom the only other guy I selected more than once.
Ben also scored pretty well in the times he was selected.
4. Scott Fardy (Hugh Pyle)
An interesting one this and counterintuitive for me. Hugh and Scott Fardy were selected three times each by me but Hugh had a higher score with eight compared to five for Scott.
Nevertheless, knowing that Hugh is going overseas next year and because I want a more breakdown-focussed player in the Wallabies, I’d actually pick Scott Fardy over Hugh and ignore my own scoring system.
My impression also is that Fardy started slow and is taking off a bit as the season goes on.
Fardy as one Wallaby lock.
5. Luke Jones
I didn’t expect this. I have selected Luke only three times but he has been outstanding each time he was selected. Carter, Horwill and Douglas were all selected twice and Adam Coleman just the once.
I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest Luke share this position with Horwill in the Wallaby games against France.
6. Scott Higginbotham (Angus Cottrell)
Another surprise. Again I have only selected Angus three times but he has averaged some pretty good performances.
The dearth of really excellent blindsides is highlighted by the fact that five guys were selected in the other seven weeks and one of the guys who came tie second was Dave Dennis.
So should Angus be selected for the Wallabies? A tough one but I think he deserves to be in the broader squad and should at least get a run at some stage.
The guy I think should be selected here has played most of his games at eight and that is Scott Higginbotham.
7. Michael Hooper
Another example of where the scoring system falls over bit in that Matt Hodgson should be more highly scored here than he is. The fact that Michael pipped him to the post so often, winning selection six times to Matts three is what has done him in though.
When he was selected I scored Matt a ‘3′ (exceptional) every time meaning he totalled nine points. Michael scored almost as well though, averaging 2.5 over the six times he was selected.
8. Ben McCalman
Sorry to the Palu fans but he just has not played enough. I only selected him once in this position albeit he scored an outstanding with that one appearance. Ben I selected four times and marked him a ‘3′ every time.
Maybe that’s over the top of me but the next best was Higginbotham who I selected three times with one ‘exceptional’ and two ‘good’ scores.
The other Ben (Mowen) I think is a very good player but since he has removed himself from the Wallaby World Cup picture, should not be selected for the Wallabies. And I say that as a fan of his and of the Brumbies.
I think Ben McCalman has earned another run in a Wallaby jersey and as, mentioned above, I think Scott should be also selected albeit at blindside.
9. Nic White
Another clear winner here, I have selected Nic four times this season so far and scored him respectably each time.
The interesting thing is that there are times in the weeks I haven’t selected Nic when I’d probably score him in the negative – he’s that hot and cold.
The next best was actually Nick Phipps who I selected three times but was a scrape-through bare-minimum score each time. Call me misguided but Genia I have selected only once.
10. Quade Cooper
There are those that have criticised my continual selection of Quade during this season and indeed I have selected him six out of the available ten weeks so far. The guy I’ve selected next most often is Matt Toomua but that was only twice.
While happy to argue the toss on a few of the weeks Quade was selected, I think he is still the best option at flyhalf for the Wallabies. Matt Toomua I think is a very good rugby player but as we’ve seen at Wallaby level he is more suited to inside centre.
Having Toomua in the team does give you a bit of flexibility though. If he starts at 12 (and I think he should) then he can sub in for Cooper meaning you may not need a specialty flyhalf on the bench.
Having Beale on the bench is then a good option for him to cover a back three position or, in a real pinch, 10 or 12.
11. Robbie Coleman
A bit of a surprise for me this one. I have selected Robbie four times this season, just ahead of Nick Cummins.
There will be the Nick Cummins fans that will think I’m crazy for not overturning my scoring method as I have done elsewhere in this list. And they might argue Robbie is too small for an international winger.
While I’m a huge fan of the Honey Badger, I’m going to stick with Robbie on this occasion. I just think his overall endeavour and finishing ability has been above Nick’s so far this year. He also packs a ton of guts into his very small frame so I’m not worried about his size.
12. Matt Toomua (Kurtley Beale, Mitch Inman)
Well this is where it gets really interesting. The two guys who are neck-and-neck in both the number of times selected and the points awarded were Kurtley Beale and Mitch Inman.
And yet I’ve chosen neither and instead picked a guy not even in the list!
Kurtley I thought started the season really well and I picked him in weeks two and three and then again in round 6. Mitch I picked in rounds 7, 9 and 10. Pat McCabe I also picked three times in weeks 4, 5 and 8 but scored on average very slightly lower than the other two.
Matt I picked because I think if Cooper is at 10, he is exactly the foil needed.
He is a playmaking option having played 10 for the Brumbies to take some pressure off Cooper but he is still robust in defence and able to run good, hard, straight lines. He can also kick well in general play.
McCabe and Inman are better line runners and make more of a dent in opposition defence, but not the playmaking option that Toomua is. Beale is a playmaking option but is currently overplaying his hand and is too much of a liability in defence.
Hence I have opted to retain the incumbent, Matt Toomua, for Wallaby 12.
13. Adam Ashley-Cooper
One of the most shared-around selections was outside centre. Adam wins being selected only three times and second place shared by Tevita Kuridrani and, a shock, Ben Tapuai.
There is still time left in the season for Tevita to usurp Adam and retain his Wallaby 13 jersey but for now I’m pencilling Adam in as the Wallaby 13.
14. Joe Tomane
The most shared-around selection with Joe winning a place on the back of being picked just twice. Nevertheless those selections have both been quite recent and he has scored well each time.
15. Israel Folau
The least shared-around selection with Jesse Mogg the only other contender. Interestingly both have been selected five times but Israel wins on the back of better scoring when selected.
So there you have it. A pretty decent side I think. My only worry is a major one and that is the halves combination. Both very hot-and-cold players and not much experience playing with each other. No time like the present though.
A side without incumbents Will Genia and James Horwill and in fact only one Reds player in the run-on team.
Just because I know there are parochial fans out there who will do this themselves, here is a breakdown by team:
Brumbies: 8
Waratahs: 3
Rebels: 2
Force: 1
Reds: 1
Not a very fair looking distribution. I’m opening myself up to claims of Brumbies bias but there it is – I think I have been fair.
The Force can feel hard done by too but, aside from Hodgson – who was pipped at the post by Hooper – I struggle to think of another candidate of theirs that clearly should be in the team.
I think that shows what good all-round no-stars team performances they have been putting in but I’m sure others will have different opinions.
My selection of captain would be Stephen Moore.
Players who just missed out and that I’d select to make up a squad of 30 are:
James Slipper
Tatafu Polota-Nau
Kieran Longbottom
James Horwill
Rob Simmons
Angus Cottrell
Matt Hodgson
Wycliff Palu
Will Genia
Kurtley Beale
Nick Cummins
Mitch Inman
Tevita Kuridrani
Pat McCabe
Jesse Mogg
These non-selected players themselves form a pretty good team and I’d love to see a probable versus possible between the two.
Wallaby selectors – you’re welcome. My bill is in the mail.
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.