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With the Brumbies, Waratahs and Force all in the Super Rugby finals mix, many a rugby pundit has lauded the growing depth in Australian rugby.
But with the June Tests looming, is it a sign of strength that we’re still arguing over who will play where in our national first XV? Are our disagreements the result of an abundance of world-class players, or a lack there of?
There is no doubt Australia’s depth has improved. But it has not, as yet, resulted in more world-class players, and most importantly, world-class combinations.
Many Super Rugby players have improved from average to good at that level. This is of course a good thing, but doesn’t yet equate to confidence we are going to knock off the All Blacks this year.
The biggest concern for our friends across the ditch is seemingly third string hooker. They talk about ‘locking stocks;, as opposed to wondering who is going to play lock.
And there is some worry about what they’ll do when Conrad Smith retires or gets injured or if Kieran Read doesn’t recover from his head knocks.
Unfortunately for Wallaby supporters, the certainty of All Black selections is less about a lack of good players challenging for spots than it is about their obvious world class line-up.
And those incumbents that aren’t in form have proven they can be relied upon to step up in black – although this year even the perennial Super Rugby underachievers Ma’a Nonu and Israel Dagg are playing well.
And more important than the performance of individual players is their certainty of combinations and mix.
Australia has a problem of both talent and combinations. At lock, there are no standout world-class players, unless you assume James Horwill will return to his best, or the likes of Kane Douglas, Rob Simmons, Will Skelton or Luke Jones will make a step up when the time comes.
I think the Wallaby selectors should gamble on both Jones and Skelton, be prepared to leave out Horwill and consider picking Scott Fardy at Lock.
The backrow is similarly uncertain. The positions of blindside and number 8 are far from settled. Have Ben McCalman and Scott Higginbotham shown enough to be considered world class?
Is Cliffy Palu going to get yet another chance? What about a blotter like Angus Cottrell? For me, McCalman and Higginbotham should get their chance and Fardy should play lock.
Midfield is perhaps the most perplexing. There is no doubt in my mind that Adam Ashley-Cooper is a world class outside centre, but I think he’s yet to play in a world class centre combination.
A odern world-class midfield offers some combination of kicking, passing, bending the line with size and power, offloading, breaking tackles, and defending strongly.
I would argue that Adam Ashley-Cooper does the last two really well, but leaves much of the rest for his inside man.
His lack of size is perhaps the only reason why Tevita Kurindrani was getting picked ahead of him last year. The selectors wanted to be able to pick the likes of Matt Toomua, a skilful but smaller player for inside centre.
Is Kurindrani a better option than Adam Ashley-Cooper if we could find the right combination to pick the latter at 13?
If Scott McCabe could somehow improve his kicking and passing game, I personally think it would be a no brainer to field a 10-12-13 combination of Toomua, McCabe and Adam Ashley-Cooper.
Remember, more important than complete world-class players is a combination that offers a world class skill set in totality. But if McCabe can’t broaden his game then what? There are so many potential options here, all with pros and cons.
Tighthead prop is perhaps our biggest flaw. Despite what I’ve said about the rest, the side that eventually takes the field will have solid players in those positions. The same can’t be said for tighthead.
Who is our best player and will they do at least well enough so that our scrum doesn’t cost us matches? I really have no idea.
In my opinion, the rest is pretty settled, and I would prefer to keep the conversation on the areas above. But in the interests of transparency, here goes:
Back three: definitely Israel Folau and Nick Cummins plus one more, but I’m not worried about who.
Openside: Mike Hooper
Halfback: Will Genia. Sorry, he’s still the best we’ve got by some margin. It’s not a conversation.
Loosehead: Scott Sio has improved this year, enough to be a certainty.
Hooker: Stephen Moore
Fly-half: This is really part of the midfield conversation. But it’s either Quade Cooper or Toomua.
So it looks like lock, backrow (other than Hooper), midfield and tighthead are up for debate. How will the Wallabies win back the Bledisloe?
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.