The Wallabies bolters: Have they done enough?

We’ll find out one way or another on Wednesday night, when Wallabies coach Michael Cheika names his squad on Wednesday night for the three-Test series against Ireland in June.

The first question answered will be how big a squad he names in the first instance. You would expect that the Wallabies will probably run with the standard 33-man squad, plus or minus, but Cheika has in recent years named bigger squads for the start of a series, with the inclusions of players who he wants to have a look at in a national team environment, but who probably won’t play a Test per se.

Plus, there’s bound to be injury-forced replacements and even additions, and we even know that players not named at all have been called in to train in the squad as well. I’m expecting somewhere around 33-35 players named on Wednesday night.

But the up-and-down nature of the Australian Super Rugby sides this season, and the roller-coaster existence they’ve all been living means that there will almost certainly be a number of bolters named on Wednesday night.

Some of these bolters will be out of necessity – hooker, to name an obvious one – and others will be because of the alarming number of long-term Wallabies and incumbents who haven’t had brilliant Super Rugby campaigns to date.

That will make this selection really difficult, I have no doubt, just as I have no doubt there will be names read out on Wednesday night who have been picked largely on past deeds.

There will be bolters; that much is certain. How many is very much unknown, but here’s a couple around the country who I’m quite sure will at the very least feature in selection discussions.

Hooker is a good starting point, and the increasing talk about Reds rake Brandon Paenga-Amosa only continues to make sense.

The biggest shock for me about Paenga-Amosa at this point is that he’s only 22 years of age. He certainly plays like he’s a lot older than that. And he would be a true bolter, too, unless you’d been watching Southern District games in Sydney or the NRC over the last few seasons.

Paenga-Amosa was a standout in the Greater/Western Sydney Rams first few seasons, and he carried that on nicely when he switched to NSW Country in 2017, including three tries against many current Queensland teammates wearing Brisbane City tries in the final round. Since linking with the Reds, his game has literally gone to a new level.

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He’s a really good scrummager as we’ve seen this season, his lineout throwing has been on point, and his maul-piloting ability remains first class. And he’s good around the field, a really good ball-carrier and a player who absolutely fits the Brad Thorn mantra of getting in and doing the hard work.

We know that Tatafu Polota-Nau isn’t coming home in June, and presumably, young Rebels hooker Jordan Uelese will be front and centre this season, having had his first taste last season. But at least two other hookers will be needed in June.

Anaru Rangi, also from the Rebels has been mentioned, but I’m not entirely convinced, nor am I convinced about Folau Fainga’a, who Cheika has mentioned himself. Damien Fitzpatrick from the Waratahs is underrated in my humble opinion, and I’d pick him without hesitation, but I suspect Tolu Latu’s increasing minutes over the last few weeks mean that Cheika will take one Waratahs hooker, but not two.

That means Paenga-Amosa has to be in the frame, and yeah, I think he has done enough.

There has also been healthy discussion around the utility/back three spot, with Melbourne Rebels young gun Jack Maddocks and Brumbies fullback Tom Banks enhancing their cases in recent weeks.

Maddocks certainly feels like a Wallaby in waiting; and at 21, waiting isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But his maturity has been almost as impressive as his consistency this season, with good performances along the way allowing the Rebels the luxury of not rushing Dane Haylett-Petty back from his layoff, and his versatility meaning that his name went onto the team sheet well before a jersey number was assigned. He’s been playing that well that the Rebels have just made room for him.

Jack Maddocks of the Rebels. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images)

And Maddocks’ consistency and versatility are probably two areas where he has his head in front of Banks. Banks’ tour of South Africa has been outstanding, and he’s been a major reason for the Brumbies’ much-improved showing since arriving in the Republic. But it’s also been a bit overdue, and you only have to go back a month or six weeks to when Banks was rightly dropped to the bench and Andrew Muirhead preferred to start at fullback.

That all said, Banks can’t have timed his return to top form any better, and like Maddocks, he gives Cheika a genuine reason to make Israel Folau’s game simpler – and I’d argue more effective and dangerous – by playing the Waratahs fullback on the right wing.

One thing’s for sure, both Maddocks and Banks will offer considerably more to the Wallabies than will Taqele Naiyaravoro, who despite possessing an exciting reel of attacking highlights, is assembling a defensive portfolio that opposition kickers are beginning to thrive on. Even if playing on the wing, both Maddocks and Banks possess considerably more agility allowing them to react in defence a hell of a lot better than can the big winger.

Tom Banks during his time with the Reds. (Credit: Sportography/QRU)

Have they done enough? Yeah, I think they have, but I also suspect there will only be room for one and not both.

And if forced to choose – like Cheika will be – then I probably come back to the point made above: Maddocks’ consistency and versatility is probably where he has his head in front of Banks.

Players will be picked on past reputation, and there may not be a better illustration than Tevita Kuridrani, who I’m sure will be rewarded for his strong finish to 2017 for the Wallabies, despite having a largely disappointing season for the Brumbies to date. This won’t be Kuridrani’s fault, of course, and equally, I’m quite sure Kuridrani won’t be alone in this boat.

But it’s worth using Kuridrani as an example, because I think Waratahs outside centre Curtis Rona has mounted a really strong argument to challenge for the number 13 jersey, as have Samu Kerevi, and presumably, Reece Hodge.

Rona’s combination with Kurtley Beale and Folau in midfield will be a plus, but his own link play is a major reason why Naiyaravoro and Cameron Clark have been playing so well in recent weeks. Rona can hit a hole, for sure, but he also knows how to draw a defender and put his outside men in space.

Curtis Rona (Photo by Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images)

Contrast this to the relative attacking silence the Brumbies and Reds wingers have been operating in out wide and Rona’s value becomes clearer.

Has Rona done enough? Yeah, I think he has, too. But like Maddocks and Banks, I suspect Rona is locked in a similar either/or conundrum with Kuridrani.