Back-row opportunities in Australian rugby have never been greater

Between retirements, overseas departures, Michael Hooper’s Japanese sabbatical, and unfortunate pre-season injuries, it’s hard to think of wider back-row race in Australian rugby going into a season.

Around the teams, the turnover of players quickly provides a gauge on how wide the contest for the 6-7-8 jerseys really is.

The Brumbies were rocked by the sudden retirement of Will Miller as they were preparing to ramp up pre-season preparations. Jahrome Brown didn’t play at all in 2020, but started Tuesday night’s trial against the Western Force in Canberra, and will be in a battle with Tom Cusack for the no.7 jersey.

There are some quality youngsters coming through the ranks that may get opportunities this year, but the Brumbies look well served with Rob Valetini and Pete Samu ready to go again.

In Queensland, confirmation that captain Liam Wright will miss most of the Super Rugby AU competition only proves the value of having the great depth in this area as the Reds do.

On paper, Fraser McReight starting the year on the openside and the experienced Angus Scott-Young coming back onto the blind looks the obvious solution. The Reds captaincy might not be so easy to resolve, but they have got the players to fill in behind Wright. They may not even miss him, from a pure back-row output sense.

Fraser McReight. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

But Sam Wallis and Seru Uru in the Reds squad will ensure that the frontrunners are kept on their toes. Both have been around the Reds setup for the last few years and both played with Brisbane City in the National Rugby Championship. Now is a great opportunity for them players to get a foothold in Super Rugby as well.

Hooper’s departure opens any number of scenarios for Waratahs coach Rob Penney, with Lachie Swinton at blindside the only player you would consider a lock for 2021.

Ned Hanigan spent most of his time in the second row last season, but is no longer an option for Penney at no.6, having departed for Japan. We mention that only because while Charlie Gamble, Hugh Sinclair, Carlo Tizzano, and Will Harris were in last year’s squad, only Tizzano and Harris got limited opportunities early in the 2020 Super Rugby AU campaign.

Jack Dempsey has been mentioned as an option at seven, which seems curious with both Gamble and Tizzano known to be quality on-ball openside players. If anything, Dempsey needs to own number eight and lead the team like a player with as many Super Rugby and Test caps as he has should.

That all said, we cannot rule out the possibility of Hooper wearing an NSW jersey in 2021. The Top League in Japan has been delayed already this season, and is currently scheduled to start on February 20, the same weekend as Super Rugby AU. The first four rounds of the season were cancelled when the season was first delayed.

Thankfully, Japan’s COVID-19 numbers are declining and are around the same levels from last November, before their second wave took hold and sharply increased. Their situation is looking much better now, but the possibility remains that another national outbreak could still yet impact the season.

If Hooper found himself well short of match fitness, or the Japanese season was again put on hold, it does not seem that big a stretch to see him returning to Australia early to get some game time ahead of the international season.

(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

The widest back-row races appear to be at the Western Force and Melbourne Rebels.

The Force have gained Australian sevens player Tim Anstee and Argentinean international Tomás Lezana to strengthen their stocks in 2021, but have held onto the quality of the Brynard Stander and Kane Koteka as well. Fergus Lee-Warner is listed as a lock again this season, but spent plenty of time at blindside in the Force’s return to the Super Rugby fold last.

Lezana is a known quantity with more than 30 Tests for Argentina, and nearly 50 appearances over five seasons with the Jaguares. He is going to bring a different kind of passion and physicality to the Force pack, and he will be a handful.

Anstee will be interesting. He trained with the Force during the 2020 Super Rugby AU campaign, and then went back to club rugby and helped Sydney club Eastwood to a Shute Shield grand final. If his transition back to 15s rugby can take the next step, there will be no doubting his athleticism.

The Rebels’ situation is the curious one.

They lost Luke Jones back to France and Angus Cottrell has headed to the US after effectively being exiled at home last season, unable to leave Victoria and join his teammates. In return, they have gained a sevens star as well, with Jeral Skelton signing on late last year.

But their squad still contains Richard Hardwick, Josh Kemeny, Rob Leota, Michael Wells, Brad Wilkin, and Isi Naisarani! Some handy players are going to be missing out every week.

Despite endless options available to Dave Wessels, it’s hard to pin down any definite starters beyond Naisarani.

Hardwick hasn’t really been the same player since leaving the Western Force years ago, Kemeny was excellent in limited opportunities last year, Leota and Wilkins both showed glimpses when fit, and Wells has years of experience at this level and on the international sevens scene.

Further, they are yet to play a trial game, and have the bye in Round 1 of Super Rugby AU. How Wessels addresses this conundrum will remain unsolved for a little longer.

What do you make of all these back rows? Which team looks best equipped? Who looks light on options? And who is your tip for a big season, among the widest field of loose-forward options we can remember?