SPIRO: Are the Reds setting up James Slipper for Wallabies captaincy?

A week or so ago Queensland Rugby Union put out a media statement headed: James Slipper Named St. George Queensland Reds Captain. On top of the statement was a headshot of an unsmiling Slipper, flanked by the equally stern visage of Rob Simmons and Karmichael Hunt with a ferocious Samurai warrior look on his face.

I think the intention of the photo is to create the image of a Reds leadership group that is deadly serious about achieving great results on the field. The word ‘confrontational’ comes mind with the image.

The irony here, and this partly explains the intent of the photo of the grim-faced new Reds leaders I believe, is that Simmons and Slipper are by nature, appearance and the manner of their play somewhat sunny of disposition.

I did notice last season that Simmons tried to invest a hard man element in his play. But Slipper always seemed to play (like Michael Hooper) with a smile on his face.

But if the photo is any test, the days of the smiling Slipper are over. To my mind, this is a good thing for a captain. Captains should leave the smiling and the geeing up to other players. Their task as leaders is to present an unflinching and tough response to the opposition, the officials and sometimes to their own players, on and off the field.

Think Richie McCaw, John Eales and Martin Johnson as examples of the modern and successful rugby leader.

Slipper represents a new generation of captain at the Reds, as coach Richard Graham notes. He has made a commitment to Australian rugby to stay on after the Rugby World Cup 2015 tournament. He is a first choice selection in his position as prop. He started in all 14 Tests the Wallabies played last season. He has often been best on the field for the Wallabies and the Reds. He was voted by the Rugby Union Players’ Association the winner of their Medal for Excellence in Australian rugby in 2014.

The point here is that Slipper is one of the rare players in Australia with leadership potential who is absolutely certain of selection in the starting Wallabies side.

In the media release, the Queensland Rugby CEO Jim Carmichael stated that the decision to elevate Slipper was “very deliberate and considered”. It was, Carmichael noted, based on what would be best for the Reds “in 2015 and beyond”.

The previous long-term captain James Horwill stays in the squad as a “mentor” until he leaves at the end of the 2015 season. Other obvious candidates for the captaincy, Will Genia and the now-injured (shoulder) Quade Cooper were passed over, and are not even part of the official leadership group.

Depending on the success of the Reds and his own performances, Slipper has been given the opportunity, in my opinion, to go on and become the captain of the Wallabies.

Wayne Smith in The Australian has run an interesting interview with John Connolly about the Wallaby captaincy and the 2015 Rugby World Cup tournament. Connolly, going on his experience in the 2007 Rugby World Cup campaign, has opted for Will Genia. But he concedes that Genia is not sure of his place in the best Wallaby XV, ahead of Nick Phipps.

And there is also the fact that although Genia captained the Reds in 2010 when Horwill was injured, he lost the job when Horwill came back. Smith quotes Ewen McKenzie, the then Reds coach was explaining that while Genia was “extra-ordinary” as a team leader on the field, he was not interested in the off-field responsibilities of the captaincy.

Given all this, it is remarkable that Connolly has even made the suggestion of that Genia should or could be the Wallabies captain in the Rugby World Cup 2015 tournament.

Right now, with a few weeks to go before the Super Rugby tournament starts, I would say that the order of likelihood for the captaincy is or should be: Stephen Moore, James Slipper, Michael Hooper, Dave Dennis and David Pocock.

We need to remember that Moore was captain of the Wallabies when they played their first Test in 2014. He was injured right at the beginning of the game. The captain of the Waratahs, Hooper, a youngster was appointed to the captaincy. In turn, Hooper had been appointed the Waratahs captain when the skipper Dave Dennis suffered an injury that put him out for the season.

Hooper, with the Wallabies and the Waratahs, is very much an accidental captain. He was successful in leading the Waratahs to their first Super Rugby title but was much less successful with the Wallabies. His captaincy for the national side was marked by an understandable immaturity, on and off the field.

Hooper needs to consolidate his position in the Wallabies and tighten up his game in the next few years. He will be a fine captain of the Wallabies, possibly for the 2019 Rugby World Cup tournament. But right now he lacks what the Romans call gravitas and New Zealanders call mana to be the authentic Wallabies captain, on and off the field.

Pocock played his first match on Saturday since his second knee reconstruction when the Brumbies went down to the Western Force 31-21. He scored a try from a driving maul and set up a second try.

In my view, there are issues aside from whether he can come back as a dynamic loose forward after his knee reconstruction that should prevent Pocock captaining the Wallabies. I refer to his political activities as an environmentalist.

It is ironic that off-the-field behaviour involving sky-larking that caused some damage to a car is not an impediment as far as the captaincy of the Wallabies is concerned but being part of a protest campaign is.

But this must be the case. The Wallabies are a national side. They have to represent the variety of Australian life. They cannot be identified with a political attitude that is hotly disputed. This means that the leadership of the Wallabies cannot allow themselves to be standard bearers for a political movement or party.

The ARU in December last year made a statement making the point that being charge with trepass is an unacceptable distraction for Pocock:

“While we appreciate David has personal views on on a range of matters, we’ve made it clear that we expect his priority to be ensuring he can fulfil his role as a high-performance athlete.”

The chief executive of the Brumbies, Doug Edwards, was more blunt:

“Although I’m aware of David’s passion and concern for environment issues, he has clearly breached the ARU’s code of conduct and put the Brumbies in a difficult position.”

Pocock is perfectly entitled to be as political as he likes, within the law. But being an activist deliberately risking arrest puts his contract with the Brumbies in jeopardy.

All things being equal, if he is good enough, he should be selected for the Wallabies. But he cannot expect to captain the Wallabies as this is a job that has to be seen as above politics (aside from rugby politics).

Number sevens like Pocock rarely come back with their speed at the same level it was before their injury. Even the great Michael Jones suffered from a loss of pace and agility after his knee injury. Jones converted into a tough, skilful number six. My guess is that something like this, but at number eight, is the best option for Pocock to get back into the Wallabies.

The great strength of Pocock’s game is his tackling. In my view, every pack needs someone with this sort of passion for tackling. Richie McCaw is a tackling machine for the All Blacks. Pocock could do the same, provided he comes back with enough speed and resilience, for the Wallabies.

I could see a Wallabies back row of Michael Hooper at number seven, David Pocock number eight and Scott Fardy-Scott Higginbotham-Dave Dennis (all good lineout jumpers) at number six.

Dennis’ chances of getting back into the Wallabies squad and then the starting XV very much depend on whether Michael Cheika gives him the captaincy of the Waratahs, or at least a high-profile leadership position. We need to remember with Dennis that he kept Ben Mowen out of the Waratahs starting XV. Mowen became the captain of the Brumbies and then the Wallabies.

Having said all this, I would regard Dennis’ chances of leading the Waratahs and the Wallabies as unlikely, at best. But if anything happened to Hooper, what then? Dennis would obviously come back into the captaincy picture with the Waratahs and perhaps the Wallabies.

The case for James Slipper is slightly different from this. He is the captain of the Reds. He will be a first choice selection for the Wallabies. His captaincy chances for the Wallabies (in my opinion) depend very much on how well Stephen Moore returns to the Brumbies, and whether he stays fit and uninjured throughout the season.

Just as a grace note to all of this. It was interesting that Queensland Rugby Union, after investing so much money and politicking in supporting Quade Cooper during his problems with the ARU and Robbie Deans, decided not to appoint Cooper to the Reds leadership group for the 2015 season. Why?

Now Cooper is out of action for some months, so the matter becomes moot.

With the absence of Cooper, who is an 80-minute player every match to his credit, the Reds are left without a playmaker. Come on down, James O’Connor, all is forgiven over your performances at number 10 against the British and Irish Lions.