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The Wallabies team that can trouble England

Tony M new author
Roar Rookie
6th October, 2019
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Tony M new author
Roar Rookie
6th October, 2019
109
4037 Reads

We all know that unless a miracle happens, the Wallabies will be headed to a Rugby World Cup quarter-final against England.

The odds for a Wallabies win are long at best with no sane armchair rugby expert picking them as favourites.

But what if we rethought the selection process and thought about how we could put a fright back into England?

If we pick teams like we have been, you’ll get the same result. Or we could pick a team with genuinely frightening size and give it a go.

This starts with the back line. My choice of team would be: Will Genia, Matt To’omua, Jordan Petaia, Samu Kerevi, Tevita Kuridrani, Marika Koroibete and Dane Haylett-Petty at fullback.

jordan petaia

(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Many people would criticise both the lack of passing ability and the lack of decent kickers. To’omua and Haylett-Petty both have decent kicking capability and the purpose of this back line is to go through – not around – England.

The forward pack has not been too far off, but changes to the front row and going back to a proper number six would be my choice.

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The forward pack would be James Slipper, Tolu Latu, Taniela Tupou, Rory Arnold, Izack Rodda, Michael Hooper, Jack Dempsey at number six and Isi Naisarani at number eight.

Slipper and Tupou are a far more damaging front row, while Latu helps over the ball with Hooper and Dempsey backing up.

This selection gives us big bodies at line-out time, decent ability to penetrate the line and a point of difference to the “OK but nothing great” look to the forward pack to date.

England would look at this squad and be thinking about how to shut us down rather than how they are going through us.

While we have no control over the selection table, I hope we don’t expect different things from the same choices we’ve made in the past.

Let’s allow the Wallabies to have a red-hot crack at smashing the Poms.

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