Many Wallabies overlooked for Test selection on the spring tour so far have politely accepted it as being all part of the experience.
Centre Matt Toomua, who gets his chance against Ireland this week, hasn’t found sitting on the sidelines quite so easy to stomach.
“It’s sucked actually, I’ve hated it,” Toomua told AAP on Thursday.
“To say it’s been easy would be a lie.
“If anything, the last few weeks have taught me how much it means to me being in the team.”
Toomua’s tour story so far has been one of the more unlucky among Michael Cheika’s Australian squad.
After making the No.12 his own for the best part of a year, he’s had to play second fiddle to Brumbies teammate Christian Leali’ifano since a concussion ruled him out of last month’s loss to the All Blacks, Ewen McKenzie’s final game in charge.
The 24-year-old played in the tour-opening win over the Barbarians but has since had to bide his time with Leali’ifano retaining his spot for the win over Wales and loss to France.
Toomua is one of a host of players being given an opportunity in Saturday’s Test at Lansdowne Road and he hopes to show he should be retained for the tour finale against England next week.
“I’ve been given a one-week contract at the moment so I’ll be trying to ensure that’s two,” Toomua said.
“There’s a lot of depth there, there’s other guys who can play in the spot but that (selection) can’t be my focus.
“I’ve got to concentrate on the process this week against Ireland and hopefully the outcome will take care of itself.
“Christian probably did play better in the All Blacks Test than I did in the ones before that but I get my shot now, which is cool.”
Meanwhile, Toomua said he had worked on changing his technique in order not to expose his jaw so much in defence and prevent further head injuries.
“But it’s kind of organised chaos out there so while you have an ideal way of trying to defend, it doesn’t always work out that way,” he said.
Play the Game
Guest
Toomua is one of the smartest player in the current squad.He should be at 1st Five with Genia and Lealifano to guide the team . Toomua would certainly make a great captain,he appears calm and goes about his job,but he has some nice skills...if only the coaching staff can see that.
Springs Old Boy
Guest
Ive watched Matty play since he was 13 - he has captained nearly every side he has been in - wait for the end of this Super XX season - he will be Wallaby Flyhalf and eventually Captain - 100 Test Caps to come...
oh dear
Guest
The logic of the selections is extremely puzzling - apart from what you mention, it's strange indeed that the underwhelming AAC is first choice at 14 which isn't his specialty position, but the country's best specialist 14 is starting at 11 - he'll lose some of his sideline awareness and the footwork will be less familiar. I'm beginning to think cheika's appointment is a step backward from mackenzie, he's afraid of upsetting key waratahs like AAC and Foley whose best positions are 16 or higher.
niwdeyaj
Guest
yeah, given we're stuck with Beale for this test, i think it makes far more sense to play the so-called best super xv combo (phipps, foley, beale) first and then run out australias best international combo (genia, cooper, toomua) when the former prove they dont cut it at test level.
cs
Guest
Matt Toomua is another player returning to the starting line up, replacing his Brumbies teammate Christian Lealiifano, who joins McMahon in the stands. The Wallabies’ three-quarter play against France was not good enough and if Cheika was in the mood to experiment he should have bitten the bullet and slotted Quade Cooper into the inside-centre position to give the backline some creativity. I said it many times throughout this season that the combination of five-eighth Bernard Foley and Toomua at inside centre has no fluency and together they struggle to get across the advantage line. I suspect Toomua is just warming the No 12 jersey for Kurtley Beale, who is being eased back into the team after his off-field dramas. - Mark Ella
Antennae
Guest
Oh fffff... not the QC forum orgy again. You all wanted him banned from wearing gold before EOYT last year, now you see Genia and Cooper as the answer to our inconsistent performances That's a joke!! Cooper the answer to inconsistency!!
Hoy
Roar Guru
I think he and foley are like for like, that is why it hasn't worked as well as we all hoped.
DMac
Guest
I'm thinking our defense might all of a sudden look a bit more solid.
Sportym
Guest
I'd love to see toomua with Genia and copper playing at the same time. He just does not work well with foley. I'd prefer Beale to start and later in the game bring on genia, cooper and toomua.
Magic Sponge
Guest
The performance of Toomua is way more important and fascinating than the talk and actions of Beale. Cant wait to see Toomua play and defend.