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The Australia versus Barbarians game for 2015 is in the books. Michael Cheika’s men survived by the finest of margins and left all of us with plenty to discuss in the process.
However, it would be remiss of me to dive straight into the details without first acknowledging the spirit in which the game was played.
Hats off to Barbarians coach John Kirwan for pulling out a couple of schoolboy rugby trick plays to get things started. These set the tone for the match, which remained for the full 80 minutes.
Many have also praised the Wallaby decision to risk the game and keep the ball in play beyond the final siren for the same reason. If that was deliberate, it says that my speculation Cheika would put team culture ahead of outright performance was correct, which should give us all a little bit of hope.
The match no doubt left the fans at Twickenham thoroughly entertained. Better still, it allowed the players in Cheika’s experimental squad ample opportunity to showcase their talent and make a case for inclusion in the starting XV. All of this begs the question – what did we learn?
Matt Hodgson’s selection as captain surprised more than a few punters and delighted those who have been calling for this decision since before the Rugby Championship. He played a solid 80 minutes, displaying sound leadership throughout. However, nothing about his game demands the removal of incumbent Michael Hooper.
This is not a knock on Hodgson, he played a fine game but for now he does not appear to be Australia’s best choice in the Test arena.
Hodgson’s back-row partner Sean McMahon is a different story. His try was just the icing on the cake, McMahon seemed to be everywhere at once and played a superb game of rugby.
With Higginbotham’s hamstring injured, McMahon has taken advantage of the chance he was given and management should step up and see him given another to build on that performance and tie down a position in the core of the team as he is showing signs of being something special in a position where the Wallabies are short on stars.
Many of us were hoping that Queenland halves Will Genia and Quade Cooper might show signs of life given the opportunity to return to form against the Barbarians, but in truth neither did.
Genia’s half-back service was a matter of pick up the ball, step backwards, wait a while and then pass all night. It is eerily similar to George Gregan in his final days as a Wallaby and it puts the flyhalf under constant pressure.
Worse still, it gave the enthusiastic Barbarians defence far too much time to get in the face of the Wallaby backline, leaving them constantly on the back foot and behind the advantage line. This style doesn’t work with the current Wallabies and leaves Genia as a clear third choice halfback behind Nick Phipps and Nic White.
Quade Cooper showed moments of promise, and seemed to be more focused on delivery and direction in attack than producing ‘x-Factor’ which is a step in the right direction.
He suffered as the recipient of Genia’s service, throwing some bad passes of his own, but I wouldn’t count him out just yet. Hopefully Cheika will make use of him on the bench and see how he develops.
Out on the wing, much anticipated debutant Henry Speight did not disappoint and looked dangerous on several occasions. He was however completely outperformed by NSW wing Rob Horne.
Since being unceremoniously dropped immediately after scoring the try which gave Australia their only win of the Rugby Championship over a top three team, Horne has been forced to ride the pine while Adam Ashley-Copper and Joe Tomane took centre stage.
What we saw on Sunday morning was nothing less that an emphatic demand to be included in the Wallabies squad and hopefully the coach will listen because right now Horne’s career looks like it could have a sensational renascence.
With all of that on record, what have we learned?
First and foremost, based on current form, the salvation of the Wallabies is not going in the form of the Queensland Reds halves. Secondly, McMahon and Horne are both screaming for an opportunity in the starting squad and form should be rewarded despite neither being the obvious choice.
Finally, Tevita Kuridrani and Israel Folau are both truly world-class players and we must make full use of them to take things to the next level.
With any luck this is the start of something new and exciting from the Wallabies as well as the development of some much need bench depth so lets sum Sunday up as a step in the right direction. Next stop, Wales.
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.