McMahon should get first crack at replacing the 'Pooper'

The ‘Pooper’ is no more. Suddenly Australian rugby is without the crutch upon which it has relied for so long, outstanding openside flank David Pocock.

Pocock is due to spend three seasons in total with the magnificently-named Panasonic Wild Knights in Japan, bookending a six-month sabbatical away from the game beginning in February 2017. He will only return to the Brumbies in time for the beginning of the 2018 Super Rugby season.

With Liam Gill now plying his trade on the Côte D’Azur, like-for-like replacements are not exactly clamouring for his place. In all probability, the structure of the Wallaby back row will have to change significantly, with all the leading candidates with Test experience – the two Scotts, Fardy and Higginbotham, and Sean McMahon – having played the vast majority of their rugby at either number 6 or 8.

Unquestionably, Michael Cheika will not want to lose any more of the synergy the Pocock/Hooper combination enjoyed over the tackle ball and in defence than he needs to. As I highlighted in this article back in September 2016, they formed a one-two punch and hunted as a pair.

Eighteen of the 21 Wallaby turnovers in the three games examined in that article involved the duo and resulted in a nine per cent turnover ratio, well ahead of the curve in international rugby.

In games without Pocock in the back row with Hooper, the Wallabies’ turnover percentage has tended to drop off significantly, often down to as much as one-third of their typical standard of production in that area.

With Scott Fardy coming to the end of a solid international career and the expectation level regarding Scott Higginbotham uncertain on his return to Australian shores, I believe the Melbourne Rebels’ Sean McMahon should be in pole position to replace Pocock on the side of the scrum, with Lopeti Timani retained in the number 8 spot.

Let’s take a look at a couple of games in 2016 where McMahon had the opportunity to start in the Australian back row – firstly with Michael Hooper in the 7 jersey against England in the third Test of the summer series:

First, the raw stats: on attack, McMahon carried the ball 12 times, eight of which resulted in positive yardage after the initial contact, while also making two successful offloads. On defence, he completed 13 tackles with no misses and generated no less than five turnovers. This was the game Sean McMahon came of age in international rugby.

Ball-carrying and YAC (yards after contact)
The biggest highlight of McMahon’s ball-carrying is the yards he made through the England defence after first contact.

At 16:11, he runs into a double hit by two of England largest forwards (Billy Vunipola and Maro Itoje) one metre behind the advantage line, sheds both tacklers and is only taken to ground ten yards further downfield by Dylan Hartley.

At 22:15, he first sheds Teimana Harrison before towing Dan Cole for fully five extra yards until the Tigers prop finally brings him to earth. At 34:48, he survives an attempted choke tackle by three English forwards to drive the ball forward over the advantage line and make the presentation.

The two examples at 40:34 and 63:45 demonstrate his ability to dominate defensive inside backs, often on the ‘second wave’ carry. The combination of Ben Youngs and George Ford (in the first example) or Ford and Owen Farrell (in the second) are not enough to stop McMahon’s phenomenal leg-drive powering through contact to set Australia up on the front foot both on attack and in exit situations.

McMahon showcases exemplary ability to run through England tight forwards and loosies, two or three at a time, and handle both the high-and-square tackling preferred by many press defences and the choke tackle.

The idea of either using McMahon as a second-wave runner coming off the initial carry by Timani and digging into the opposition inside backs (from set-piece), or of having them swap roles from wide channel to tight pod to spread the load (in phases), could have the Wallabies’ attack coaches licking their lips in 2017.

Defensive variety – techniques and turnovers
McMahon clearly has the ability to adopt a variety of techniques in defence. He is able to implement the hold-up or choke tackle (see the slow-downs in release at 0:26 and 29:16), compete on the deck (65:27), and is in at both the start and the finish of the counter-ruck sequence at 13:53.

Synergy with Michael Hooper – Australian restarts
Assuming Michael Hooper is perceived by Cheika to be one of the bedrock players in his run-on side, it’s important the player picked to replace Pocock has some of the same synergy with him.

The last counter-ruck example (13:57) and the Wallaby kick-offs at 25:48 and 70:19 illustrate just that quality. First, Hooper knocks down Jonathan Joseph and McMahon gets over the ball to win a turnover penalty, then the favour is returned with McMahon hitting England fullback Mike Brown and Hooper infiltrating the tackle zone to hack the ball out and generate another Australian penalty.

The recent match between Australia and Ireland showed the importance of having more than one method of skinning the cat at defensive contact situations – and McMahon appears comfortable with a variety of techniques.

He is one of the few Australian forwards who has been schooled in the choke tackle well enough to implement it at Test level. His ability to combine with Michael Hooper at restarts is an important sign that too much of the Pocock/Hooper synergy need not be lost.

I also like the way McMahon was able to win the debate against England’s best young forward, Maro Itoje, on three separate occasions and in three very different scenarios – on the carry (16:11), in the air (55:47) and on the floor (25:52). That sheer hunger to win the individual battle against such a worthy opponent augurs well for the future.

The second match against France during the end of year tour displayed more facets and improvements in McMahon’s all-round game, with the Australian coaches confident enough to expand his role within the team:

Against the French, McMahon carried the ball nine times, completed ten tackles with one miss, won two turnovers and two lineouts while making one offload until he went off in the 67th minute.

Outside his now-familiar great second effort on the carry (28:29 and 46:50) and his ability to jackal on the deck (34:39 and the final untimed clip), McMahon was trusted by the coaching staff to plug into the wide attacking role usually played by Hooper, and to develop his potential as a lineout player on the Wallaby throw.

McMahon and lineout potential
McMahon is a regular target in the Rebels’ lineout. Like fellow Melburnian Lopeti Timani, this was an untapped resource up until the European tour. At 40:43 and 23:09 he looks like a ‘light lift’ for his two support players, and is able to gain elevation quickly into the air.

This is enough to make him a legitimate lineout option. In the 23:09 example, he forms a solid ‘head’ for the drive, staying in contact with the second layer all the way up to the France goal-line – at which point the ref rightly awards Australia a penalty try.

Putting it all together
In the scoring sequence beginning at 40:42 and finished by Bernard Foley at 42:42, McMahon made three critical contributions – first winning the lineout ball, then coming around on the second wave carry off Foley at 40:53 to win penalty, and finishing with a decisive double cleanout (along with Kyle Godwin) on the penultimate phase, punching Sebastien Vahaamahina back off the ball and creating the seam for Foley to run through off Will Genia’s pass.

Summary
In the absence of David Pocock, and given that both Fardy and Higginbotham are now in their thirties, it makes sense to drive forward Sean McMahon’s development to the next stage in 2017.

Although he is by no means huge at 6’1″ and around 100 kgs, McMahon appears to have some of the ‘intangibles’ that make undersized players both look and play big on the international stage.

He has the power to shed much larger defenders on the carry and the speed to reach the inside backs, and he has that invaluable variety of technique on the defensive side of contact situations.

Moreover, he has flashed the ability to work well with Michael Hooper on the ‘tackle and jackal’, and shown that Australia need not lose too much of the ‘Pooper’ synergy with his replacement.

The Wallabies have only just begun to explore his lineout potential. If they can get both McMahon and Timani up to speed in that department of the game, Australia will be able to boast four solid options (along with Adam Coleman/Rob Simmons/Rory Arnold in the second row) and a fifth occasional outlet in Hooper.

Sometimes, when you lose a player considered essential to success and the team structure, it can force you towards a deeper re-evaluation of your resources and push development on at a quicker rate. I would not be at all surprised to see that effect occurring in the Wallabies in 2017.