Cheika plumps for potential in latest Wallabies squad

I was critical of Michael Cheika’s selections last year, which may seem harsh considering the amount of new talent he blooded. But many of those changes were enforced by injury.

By Bledisloe 3, Rory Arnold and Adam Coleman were the locking pair, for example, but only Arnold was considered worthy of a start in the first Test against England.

There were more front row and locking combinations it seemed than a girl choosing outfits for a first date. For every bold move, there seemed to be a safe option. Hence Arnold with Rob Simmons or Lopeti Timani with Dean Mumm.

When I think of the All Blacks’ first Test against Ireland in 2012, it’s easy to forget there were seven new caps with Julian Savea, Sam Cane, Beauden Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Aaron Smith and Luke Romano getting their first cap (Ben Tameifuna was also named).

When you consider Dane Coles and Charlie Faumuina would later make their Test debuts in 2012 and Ben Smith only had two caps to his name, the All Blacks had a mix of experience and exciting potential among their ranks.

In fact, nine players would make their debut for New Zealand and only 36 players played during that calendar year, which was a record among tier-one nations.

Cheika introduced a lot of new faces last year but this year’s squad announcement provides that blend of experience and potential that was missing a little last year.

For that he deserves plaudits. He’s seen a way to bid farewell to Will Skelton, Mumm, Simmons, Rob Horne, Scott Fardy and Kane Douglas, which are all good decisions. Let’s salute them for their service to Australian rugby but let’s also acknowledge it was time for change.

What’s even more heartening is that Cheika’s seen a way to bring back the prodigal son, Scott Higginbotham. Frankly, his form this year warrants inclusion but it’s the concession on Cheika’s part that speaks volumes for me.

It appears he’s listened to reason and taken on board criticism of his selections so it’s good to be speaking about an inexperienced but very promising squad for the upcoming June Tests against Fiji, Scotland and Italy.

I’m glad we’re not talking about provincial bias or his inability to reward form. Here’s a chance for him to start fresh this year and build combinations for 2019, which really isn’t that far away.

Of course, Cheika already did that last year. I’d forgotten that Nicholas Bishop‘s proposed centre combination of Samu Kerevi and Tevita Kuridrani started the first Test against England last year. I certainly remembered the failed Fooper experiment and thought Reece Hodge was a good find, but Kuridrani was real unlucky to miss out on the starting team as a result.

Dane Haylett-Petty made his debut for Australia in that first game against England but he couldn’t shift Israel Folau out of the fullback position. It seems that Karmichael Hunt won’t be able to do that this year either.

Folau supporters will say you can easily compile a highlights package of Super Rugby tries to argue his case. And that effortless try against the Highlanders last week quickly reminded us what he’s capable of.

Yet you could just as easily compile a chewing gum highlights package where Folau goes missing for large parts of the game.

His work rate isn’t good enough to warrant a starting spot. Hunt, on the other hand, is a busy Energizer Bunny. He wants to get involved and make things happen either for himself or those around him. Like Kerevi, you need those players to be able to unlock the opposition defence when things aren’t going your way.

Folau is a glorious open-field runner and his aerial skills are criminally under-utilised both on attack and defence. But his distribution skills are not good and he prefers to wait for an opportunity to break out rather than go looking for a break-out like Hunt or someone like Ben Smith.

Cheika has named a lot of talented outside backs and unfortunately a lot of them are going to miss out on selection. Some due to their inexperience, others due to their lack of versatility. But Hunt doesn’t deserve to lose out on a place where he’s ideally suited.

There’s talk of playing him at No.12. There’s also talk of Kerevi coming in at No.12. That opens up a can of worms with the selection at No.10. Cheika will probably go for Bernard Foley at No.10, which means the exit strategy becomes an issue. Folau can kick, they say, or Haylett-Petty can kick on the wing.

Reece Hodge may end up there, however, and that’s not a bad thing. He’s got an enormous punt on him, which relieves pressure on Foley and provides a long-range goal-kicking option.

Yet that means Kerevi moves out to No.13, where he’s more susceptible to defensive lapses. And it means Kuridrani misses out yet again when he could complete a formidable attacking duo.

And who knows who will end up on the wings? My feeling is that Haylett-Petty and Henry Speight will end up there. But if Cheika went for Marika Koroibete and Sefanaia Naivalu or Eto Nabuli I certainly wouldn’t sniff at that pairing.

Will Genia is the starting halfback and I’m quite happy with Joe Powell going to the bench. Which leads me to Nick Phipps. He’s still young but I see more potential in his teammate Jake Gordon.

Sure he offers versatility – he can play on the wing – and experience. But I feel he should’ve gone the way of Mumm et al. A good player but one who has been given enough chances and has never really convinced in the Test arena.

I’m not going into the Quade Cooper-Bernard Foley argument as there aren’t any other selections and both have their strengths as well as limitations. And what choice does Cheika have?

This is my gripe with Nick Phipps as third pick for halfback, however. We should help Gordon’s game in terms of defence and build on that impressive attacking potential highlighted by his speed. If Barrett has his goal-kicking issues, Gordon can be forgiven for his defensive frailties. I certainly hope he makes his way into the end-of-year squad.

So, on the whole, Cheika must be congratulated for his bold selections. Folau still needs to be sent a message that he can give a lot more but I like the look of his squad.

I like my captain to be a forward, and Stephen Moore has an annoying habit of going off around the 60-minute mark. So who becomes captain after 60 minutes and why isn’t he captain in the first place?

Michael Hooper usually stays on for 80 minutes and is vice-captain now that Ashley-Cooper is out of the equation. But he has the tact of a rutting rhinoceros. He has no affinity with the refs as a Waratah and that’s a big mark against him.

That leaves few other options with David Pocock off saving the planet. Scott Higginbotham might be a candidate but that’d be asking too much of Cheika and I’m not even sure he’ll make the starting line-up. Another option could be Will Genia, though he too is often replaced around the 60-minute mark.

So Moore provides that experience and continuity but he doesn’t fill me with a great deal of confidence in the captain department. But there it is. Cheika can’t bring in a whole team of rookies, so I’ll let his choice pass.

For what it’s worth, I’ll put my preferred team with my prediction of what Cheika will put out.

The perceived lack of versatility of Koroibete, Naibalu or Naivalu means they’re more likely to start than be selected on the bench. The squad of 23 needs to be versatile so the outside backs are the biggest selection headache for me.

These Tests are certainly not going to be a cakewalk but they’re an ideal opportunity to see where a player is at. It’s time to give a new centre pairing and new back three a chance. Though that might be too many new faces out wide and would leave out some exciting performers.

Cheika has picked an exciting squad full of potential, but he can’t select everyone. Someone has to miss out and in the back of the mind Cheika’s thinking of 2019.

I don’t envy his task of whittling it down to 23 players. And presumably he’ll want continuity going into that Sydney Test against New Zealand. He’ll be mindful of the chopping and changing that occurred in the lead-up to the first Bledisloe Test last year.