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The Wallabies are stocked full of talent in the backline

Roar Rookie
7th September, 2014
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Quade Cooper has scored his first try in the shortened format of the game. (AFP PHOTO/GLYN KIRK).
Roar Rookie
7th September, 2014
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Well, amidst all the chatter about the timing of Kurtley Beale coming off the bench, two very nice points should be made.

The first is that wins over the South Africans are historically hard to come by and the one on the weekend came when our guys weren’t at the top of their game.

Nick Phipps and Bernard Foley hadn’t started for a few weeks and it showed. The match will serve to improve them though.

Second, and probably more importantly, the omens are good.

Assuming Quade Cooper and Will Genia return to their potential form, the Wallabies will have two complete Test-standard back lines. Special thanks should go to the Waratahs’ attack and defence coaches for developing a template which should infuse the whole squad over the next few months.

I seriously can’t think of the last time there was this much depth in the Wallabies squad.

In Genia and Phipps, we have two halves who would compete to be in the top three national teams. Likewise Foley and Adam Ashley-Cooper and then Beale and Matt Tomua.

Ashley-Cooper and Tevita Kuridrani are both incisive players of calibre. As for wingers, there are at least two in Henry Speight and Ben Horne with potentially more coming in James O’Connor and Karmichael Hunt.

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True, there is only one fullback in this league. Given his prodigious talents though, Israel Folau is enough if he continues to remain as fit as he’s been. In any case, Beale and O’Connor provide good cover with Christian Lealiifano covering for them. He can kick too.

I think the Wallabies’ stock of backs is as good as it’s been for a long time. Ian’t quite see the same double coverage of the top nations’ quality in the forwards, though.

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