Opportunities aplenty in the NRC for fringe Wallabies

The NRC marquee Wallabies allocations were announced on Monday, and while there were no great surprises among the names listed, the allocations themselves highlighted why the NRC will be very important for several players on the Wallabies’ periphery.

As we reported on Monday, the allocations were based on the Wallabies as selected for the 2014 Spring Tour, plus injured players including Stephen Moore, Tatafu Polota-Nau and David Pocock.

Moore served as a competition ambassador in 2014 while recovering from his knee reconstruction and it wouldn’t surprise if he reprises that role again in his capacity as Wallabies captain, even if just for the initial few weeks of the NRC.

I would similarly expect this to be the case for numerous Wallabies who weren’t listed among this year’s marquees, for their almost certain Rugby World Cup squad selection. Pocock would certainly fall into this category, as would players such as Adam Ashley-Cooper and Tevita Kuridrani.

Each NRC club was allowed to select up to three marquee Wallabies who would be counted outside their 33-man squad. Last year this number was four, but given the unlikely availability of these players – the Wallabies could easily fly out for preparations in Chicago before the second round of the NRC – this won’t really have an impact on teams either way.

Marquee Wallabies are not counted within the quota of Super Rugby players (down to 14, from 15 or 16 in 2014), unless a team selected more than three, as the Greater Sydney Rams and Sydney Stars did. In their cases, the extra player will count within their contracted player quota, but neither the Rams nor the Stars will field anywhere near the full quota of contracted players.

In the Rams’ case, they will at least get some good game time out of Benn Robinson, whereas the Stars’ four Wallabies – Nick Phipps, Bernard Foley, Israel Folau and Will Skelton – will almost certainly all be in the Rugby World Cup squad.

Elsewhere, there have been some clever Wallabies selection shenanigans.

Perth took Kyle Godwin and Tetera Faulkner as Wallabies, meaning they can still pick another 14 contracted players. And while Faulkner may still be a Rugby World Cup chance, Godwin would be at the longest of long odds to make the cut.

Canberra didn’t take Kuridrani as I mentioned, but did take Christian Lealiifano, Joe Tomane, and Henry Speight, all three of whom could just as easily make the Rugby World Cup squad as miss it. Like Perth, the Vikings could then pick another 14 contracted players and get maximum value.

Melbourne’s Sean McMahon is in the Wallabies squad currently, but Tom English and Luke Jones aren’t, meaning the Rising can similarly cash in.

NSW Country didn’t take Ashley-Cooper or Sekope Kepu – another Rugby World Cup certainty – this season, while my understanding is that Nic White will head straight to France if he misses the Rugby World Cup squad. But the Eagles did take Matt Toomua again, and they’ve also picked up Sam Carter, which could prove to be a shrewd choice.

Carter is on track to play the early stages of the NRC as he recovers from his knee injury, but will have only a very small window to make his Rugby World Cup case. If Carter makes the squad, then the Eagles are no worse off, but if he misses the squad, then they get an international lock for the entire competition.

It’s a similar situation for Queensland Country, who have near-certainties Rob Simmons and James Slipper as marquees, but also fringe hooker Saia Fainga’a.

Fainga’a was in Michael Cheika’s training squad at the completion of Super Rugby, and might only be one injury away from earning a recall. It’s an opportunity Fainga’a is well aware of, and a major reason why he’s looking forward to the NRC in 2015.

“The NRC is a great program, especially for the up-and-coming young players. For myself, it’s an opportunity to push my case for the Wallabies, but there will be different aspirations for different players,” Fainga’a told me yesterday.

“It was quite funny, guys were um-ing and ah-ing and asking ‘What’s this NRC like?’ and all hesitant, but I remember when I first started, we’d just do four months of pre-season. You didn’t play; all you did was train for Super Rugby.

“Now, guys will actually get the opportunity to show their skill and ability to play, but not only that, they get to push for a contract and play against some of the best players in Australia.

“It’s not too often you get that. Will Skelton played last year, my twin Anthony, Beau Robinson, these kind of guys. This year, Karmichael [Hunt] will be playing, hopefully James O’Connor.

“There’s some big names playing, and the young guys coming through get to test themselves.”

That theme of being able to play instead of training quickly came through last season, too, and it’s certainly a major benefit of a better level of rugby continuing in Australia at this time of year.

And for the guys on the fringe, just on the outside of the squad waiting for the phone to ring, finding form or maintaining form on the field is a hell of a lot easier than on the training track.

“No matter how much running you do, or how much fitness work you do, game fitness is game fitness,” Fainga’a said.

“I’ve always found that you blow the cobwebs out in your first game back, and I know for me, I’d much rather do that playing a game or two in the NRC first than having to do it straight away in Test against someone like England or Wales.

“But obviously, I’d relish the opportunity wherever it comes.”