Samu Kerevi is the latest sacrifice to Australian rugby's cult of the wunderkind

Yeah Rhys I agree with you about Kerevi. Add Hanigan and Rona to the same list. I think you over-rate Kuridrani some but this continual trend of throwing young guys in too early is symptomatic of selection desperation. Past 10 years Aust has been very sort of quality players so these under done young guys get served up like lambs to the slaughter. There's been a long list of them past 10 years.

Yeah the kicking for touch thing is just stupid. At least Hodge took them when he came on so maybe there is hope. And the Foley-Cooper 10-12 experiment was a shocker. I guess Cheika has zero faith in Cooper and Lance who went on the EOYT just cant stay uninjured for long enough to really push his claims. Should Cheika have more faith in Cooper when he seems to have blind faith in Foley ? Maybe.... but perhaps there are things in behind we don't know about. Some people get second and third chances and others don't. Sometimes that is bias, and sometimes that is because of attitude, work ethic, commitment etc. Meanwhile underneath Foley, Cooper and Lance we have Beale as a 10 again ? Young'uns like Mason and Stewart and Burton. And I can only speak for NSW club rugby but solid players like Hamish Angus, Sam Lane, Rohan Saifoloi and Angus Sinclair who have never been given a chance and either are deemed to not be big enough or have enough x factor.....but kick well, can defend and know how to manage a backline - those skils aren't a bad place to start I would have thought.

At half we have Genia too slow , Phipps can't pass , Powell a boy . At 10 we have Foley good in attack a weak tackler , Quadie the same and Kurtley the same . Jono Lance good at both . 12 Kurtley even better in attack still weak in defence , Kerevi would even be more confused and Hodge really is not that good . Meeks , Godwin or Hunt perhaps . I have seen little to excite me about Hunt except that he runs things . His attack is not brilliant and nor is his defence . 13 we have only one option Kuridrani. Wing Speight is our only world class winger good defender and has pace . Rona was lost . DHP and Hodge is are too slow and not that great in defence . FB Folau is a poor defender either Hodge or DHP . We only had two good defenders in the backline Kuridrani and Speight . We need Beale at 12 so we need Lance and Kuridrani either side of him . I can't understand why Higgenbotham , Carter , Foley and George Smith aren't in the squad

Daveski I mean symptomatic of everything wrong with the Wallabies in that the rules apply to some people but not by others. Cheika says consistently that he is creating competition for spots, but even after a run of dire form Foley is maintained, not even dropped to the bench (number 1 example was Foley moved to 12 and Quade at 10 *shudder*). Then there is the fact that problems apparent for 2+ years are not being addressed – such as Foley kicking for touch. If Foley is 10, fine, I don't agree with it but that's just me. However, he CANNOT be allowed to continue kicking for touch when there are 2-3 better options in the team. It beggars belief. Rolando I would play Quade or Lance. Both have kicking games, Lance is strong at kicking for goals and is the best defending 10 in Aus, even if he is a beat flat in attack.

Hmmm an absolute role model who never looks like he's giving less than 100% is symptomatic of everything wrong with the Wallabies is it? Argue the merits of selecting him by all means and offer an alternative but spare us the sensationalism.

At the moment the best centre pairing we have is Hodge and Kuridrani, both are damaging attackers and solid defenders. As an added bonus Hodge comes with an enormous boot. If Cheika insists on continuing with this Beale at 12 nonsense he could at least put Hodge on the wing, Rona is a good player but too green to test rugby for the baptism of fire he got and we know Hodge can do the defence at 12. Long term I would like to see Duncan Paia'aua pair with Hodge as a 10/12 combo, both can play in either spot. Paia'aua is a great young playmaker who can also tackle, something we are sorely missing right now.

Absolutely and Tevita easily has another good 5 years in him. If anyone was in any doubt, i believe he changed the game when he came on, because he totally stiffened up the mid-field and made it easier for his outside backs to do the business. Before he came on there was just no structure in the mid-field. We have to find a 10 who can direct traffic and we need to find inside backs who are more unpredictable, and can run more damaging and unpredictable lines.

Excellent article. I would like to see Kerevi play at 12 for both the Reds and, potentially, the Wallabies. He needs to work on certain aspects of his game for sure that anybody who watched the Reds would know - poor defence, poor ball security, lack of a kicking game, but IMO the potential raw materials are there. Other overhyped players built up to fail that come to mind: McMahon - simply not big enough for a test 6 or 8 despite his claimed weight. Possibly a 7 as an impact player but had a terrible SR season and his ineffectual effort on Saturday didn't surprise. Skelton - genuine physical presence but instead of being quietly bought on and encouraged to address his weaknesses was given too much responsibility and acclaim. A classic example of modern Australian rugby's inability to get the most out of talented players. Cheika's size obsession wingers ... Naiyaravoro, Nabuli, Rona ... all of whom have clear weaknesses and should never have been selected as Wallabies.. Although perhaps they could all be in the growing category of Cheika project players that should never have come near a Wallaby jumper - Hanigan, Dempsey, Robinson.

Thanks for the interesting comments all.

It was as excellent as the overall defence system.

Rhys Great article, theme and well written. Many thanks KP

Who would you put at 10 ?

while the point is clear the examples are not good. Beauden Barrett had to wait becoz both Carter and Cruden were just to good. he took time to develop to the required level. on the other hand his little bro stepped up to tests at 20 and so did reiko Ioane. Ben smith the best 15 on the planet was a late developer. IMO it is a simple matter of knowing when a player is ready to play at a certain level rather than age perse. This season NZ selectors decided that JB is ready. some other players they will wait and see for the right time. the problem in auzzy it seems, is that the media talk of every young player who has one good performance as the next wonder of the word. Kerevi is a good attack weapon but still suspect in defence. just maybe he will do ok if Kuridani - whom i consider the best defensive center in auzzy - played alongside. another thing is centers are a pair and they need to build a partnership. all the best centers in this world have been a duo - Nonu and Smith , Umanga and mauger , Bunce and Little , Horan and Little, BOD and O'darcy, JDV and Fourie, Will carling and Guscott......

So true.

The Cheika approach is way off the pace, competing for positions reminds me of playing in the early eighties, this is a new crop of boys with different set of values and buttons to push!! The game plan is so draconian it verges on schoolboys playing by numbers??? All you could see from the Wallabies was one game, play as fast as possible and as wide as possible!! Don't try and secure possession just hovel it out wide but that is the easiest attack to defend so the ABs look like world beaters!! Do we never kick for territory anymore, I know Cheika loves his rugby league and the way they play but we are a rugby team so perhaps let's play rugby, like our backrow, Cheika will always pick Hooper for seven so we will leave that alone, but bring back Higginbotham to place six and bring Timani in to play eight!! Drop Genia and as much as I dislike Phipps start him his pass and hunger is what we need!! Drop Foley and give QC a shot, it cannot hurt and we need something, a spark, put Reece in at 12 with Kurindrani at 13, KB can play 15, we all know you're in love with Folau so put him on the wing with HP on the other!!! Our locking pair should be Coleman and Carter, Moore should be excused altogether, keep the same front row from the second half!!!

QC, KB and JOC were all told from a young age that they were superstars. That a Wallabies jersey was a foregone conclusion. After dominating the Mickey Mouse GPS rugby competition. That's where the problem lies. We have zero depth. The best footballers/athletes are not choosing rugby as a sport. And those that do are given god-like status from a young age, that the desire to get better isn't a key requirement. That's where our players are coming from. A weak schoolboy comp. Or we count down the days til someone can qualify via residency rules. Rinse and repeat. That's been the plan for 2 decades now. We then expect them to hit the ground running. Immediately. There is no patience. When a clear lack of depth and talent means we should be nurturing these guys. But we don't. We throw them to the wolves saying they are the "next big thing" and when they don't perform we hammer them. Fix junior development. Fix the coaching at these levels. And in 20 years we might start reaping the rewards. Cause right now we are witnessing the golden period. Things are only going to get worse.

Hooper as captain shoulda/coulda have distracted the ref every time there is a need to reshuffle the deck chairs on the Titanic. When that route was exhausted, he could have done the same thing by engaging the ABs captain about the weather.

His defence isn't excellent. It is OK front on, but any other angles, and he just falls off too many. The midfield was a disaster waiting to happen on Saturday. Many people called it. It would be a shame if Kerevi was the fall guy here, but he looked metres off the pace... I would shift him to his natural 12 spot, and put Kuridrani at 13, as the best defender in that space in Aus.

Hence the problem.

not once did Beale defend at 12