Dave Rennie named his first Wallabies squad of the winter ahead of Wednesday’s Test against France in Brisbane, with Waratahs number nine Jake Gordon fighting back from a serious knee injury to make the side.
Gordon will partner Noah Lolesio in the halves, with the youngster getting the nod after James O’Connor failed to overcome a groin strain.
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Rennie fronted a media conference soon after the team was announced to discuss some of the big selection calls he faced. This is how he reacted to the main talking points.
Noah’s arc: Why he went with Lolesio over Rebels’ Reece Hodge
“James (O’Connor) struggled to respond quickly so we were pretty clear from Thursday that he wouldn’t make it,” Rennie said.
“We are gearing him up to see if he can come around in time for the second Test.
“I’m very happy with Noah, he’s tracked really well. Hodgey just hasn’t played any footy. He’s missed the last three months and we need to get some more footy into him. He’s worked really hard but was a little bit scratchy.”
Lolesio 21, had a sobering debut last year in the 43-5 loss to the All Blacks at Stadium Australia but Rennie said his confidence was undiminished.
“He’s a confident kid,”
“He’s prepared to boss the big boys around. He’s got a full Super Rugby season behind him now and last year he missed an eight week block.
“He’s played a lot of footy, he’s gone really well with his ability to play flat and on top of defences, He’s put a lot of focus on his general kicking game. His goal kicking has been excellent and he’s made big shifts there. I thought it was a pretty easy choice.
“It’s a great opportunity for Noah and he’s really excited about it obviously.
The way he’s prepared, we expect him to play well and be demanding of others around him. We have a number of young men, right across the squad, there a lot of guys who have played two or three Tests and are just starting to establish themselves at this level.”
Valetini’s Day
One of those is Rob Valetini who has been rewarded for an excellent season with the Brumbies with his first international start at blindside flanker.
“He’s been on fire and massive at training,” said Rennie. “He’s had a huge season at the Brumbies and we just ask him to keep doing what he’s doing – be really physical both sides of the ball. That impact will be important for us. He’s a really good mauler, the detail around his game has has been excellent, his work rate and work effort has improved massively since we had him in last year.
“That’s a real credit to him. He’s worked hard and he’s reaping the benefits.”
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images for Rugby Australia)
Why Gordon kept out Tate McDermott
“What Jake has over Tate is probably core skills, the quality of his kicking game and the quality of his distribution,”
“Jake’s a very good running half back as well, was outstanding against the Kiwi sides and did a great job leading the Waratahs.
“Tate, we know, is electric off the bench and that’s going to be important, especially against hopefully some tiring forwards.”
The To’omua- Paisami centres partnership
Melbourne Rebels leader Matt To’omua will start at inside centre, where he will reunite with Hunter Paisami at number 13.
“He’s had a little bit of time away with his injury he’s come back fresh and contributed really well,” said Rennie of To’omua. “He’s played 50-odd Tests and understands the importance of ‘voice’ from 12.
“It’s been great having him there. Hunter is versatile, can play 12 or 13, and we like him at 13, it’s a good combination for us.”
The young guns
Rennie has named four potential Wallabies debutants on the bench in a youthful squad.
“We talked a lot about the right to earn the jersey and all of those young men have performed really well in Super Rugby,” Rennie said.
“We know it’s going to be a lift in intensity but we’re not asking any more of them than what we’ve seen from them.
“They are now going to be playing with better players and hopefully that makes their debuts a little bit easier. There is a lot of excitement and pride that they’re going to wear the jersey for the first time, and we expect to see a response for that.”
One of the youngsters is Brumbies centre Lenny Ikitau, who said he felt he didn’t fit in when brought into the squad last year.
“The last nine or 10 months have been massive for Lenny,” said Rennie. “He really struggled in this environment, I guess with the demands of the training and so on.
“He learnt a lot through that. He’s gone away, worked really hard got a lot of opportunities at the Brumbies.
“He’s got an excellent skillset – great hands, great feet, good kicking game and so we’re going to ask more of him – more second touches more involvements – but he’s performed really well and has trained really well.”
Rating the Wallabies forward pack
Rennie was asked if this was an impressive pack for an Australian team in some years.
“We have a lot of guys who made big steps from last year and are going to get better again I reckon,” he said. “When we look from a scrummaging point of view, we think we have a really good scrum unit.”
Will they be ready?
“We’ve put a lot of detail into our game in camp,” Rennie said. “The first two weeks were massive. The last seven days we’ve had a lot of repetition and clarity to give us the opportunity to fire from the first whistle, that’s the expectation.”
Wallabies team for first Test vs France
1. James Slipper
2. Brandon Paenga-Amosa
3. Allan Alaalatoa
4. Matt Philip
5. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto
6. Rob Valetini
7. Michael Hooper (c)
8. Harry Wilson
9. Jake Gordon
10. Noah Lolesio
11. Marika Koroibete
12. Matt To’omua
13. Hunter Paisami
14. Tom Wright
15. Tom Banks
Replacements
16. Lachlan Lonergan*
17. Angus Bell
18. Taniela Tupou
19. Darcy Swain*
20. Isi Naisarani
21. Tate McDermott
22. Len Ikitau*
23. Andrew Kellaway*
*denotes uncapped
pm
Roar Rookie
There are some very dangerous players in the French team though. We'll need to be very sharp and disciplined on defence.
pm
Roar Rookie
The transparency is great
pm
Roar Rookie
This Oz team has probably about 60-70% of our best 23 playing. Shame we couldn't get a comparable level from the French. But it'll be a nice way for Swain, Ikatau, Lonergan etc to get their first taste.
Honest Max
Roar Rookie
I once heard Grefan say, “Passion was overrated” - what he thought was far more important was accuracy. I like hearing us talk about detail.
Honest Max
Roar Rookie
White should find some form first. Gordon was easily the best scrum half in Australia this year, and I’m from Queensland, so saying this causes me physical pain.
jeznez
Roar Guru
Salakaia-Loto took the calling back for the Reds during TT. . We’ve already got two callers, if that is the reason it’s a misstep
HiKa
Roar Rookie
Jez, I think Swain is on the bench for his lineout calling more than anything else (if anything happens to Philip). Can't see him winning a lot of caps longer term. Be interesting to see how Hosea and Frost develop.
Ex force fan
Guest
Mitt, anyone...do you like to suggest that we don’t have any player that could play for the Wallabies in the past 4 years.... the issues is not only that our players don’t get a proper look in it is also that we cannot recruit or retain players as we still don’t know if we will be invited to play next year or the year after on top of having to meet a salary cap that excludes Wallaby top-ups. All the other franchises can therefore spend more on their player group than the Force (even though we are spending Twiggy’s money). We are setup for failure by RA, allowed to upset but not to win.
CW Moss
Roar Rookie
Pinetree, do you have Ken Catchpole's other leg?
Phil
Roar Rookie
Can’t I critique him like we do all the other players? I’m not judging him based on one red card. He’s been playing like that since 2018 and he’s had a dream run at selection time. Shouldn’t we expect more? If a player doesn’t change after being given so many chances and so much coaching, perhaps dropping him is the thing that will get through to him. We don’t know because we’ve never tried it.
Nick Maguire
Roar Rookie
jez, in reality who's he going to be scrumming against though? How good will the french bench be? I don't know them. Bell & TT - if we had a bigger reserve hooker that would be some prime front row beef. If we are going OK at 50 minutes or so this bench could go crazy when let loose. Cheers
Muglair
Roar Rookie
You really need good shots from all angles with an expert commentator. So much happening. They should really do the analysis of the last scrum while the next one sets up. That's not a bad Idea methinks. Will you be able to beat the immortal last word from Greg Growden responding to the news that the All Blacks had lost; "good"? 4 tackle rule came in 1968 I think. Saturday match of the round, Souths v somebody else. Will wait and see how that 50+ year flashback stands up to scrutiny.
Tony H
Roar Pro
Ok Phil.. As you definitely know more about Rugby than everyone who's ever picked him, I'll agree with you. Yes, I remember his red card, and yes, it was lazy. I'm just not going to condemn him for it for the rest of his career.
Phil
Roar Rookie
I agree with you and good point about like for like. For me it’s a great shame Neville is injured, he really deserved it. I’d be happy to see Swain, Hosea or Timani given a go ahead of LSL. We know where LSL is at already and he’s had a dream run at selection time already.
Mirt
Roar Rookie
Papalii - Hooper. Cane - Hooper. du Toit - Hooper. Underhill - Hooper. Which squad are you talking about Unders? Obviously not one of the teams we need to beat to go above 7 in the rankings
Riccardo
Roar Rookie
You still on a high from NZ v India in the cricket Abso(insert profanity)lutely mate. I'm not silly enough to hang my hat on "best in the world" but they aspire to be and move in that direction Sinclair. What struck me in both "series" there was the belief and composure actually. Australian rugby is about to get better mate. There will be more pain but there is talent and Rennie, given time and support, will make a difference. My only concern is around the tight five. Tupou's work rate, especially on defense, can be a liability when the big guy offers so much. His technique turns to custard under pressure as well, tending to bore off contact. McKellar and Rennie though are both set-piece men and will address this but you still need personnel. Slipper is aging and the depth at hooker is also a concern. While I am of the school that believes Australian rugby hasn't invested enough in its pathways, it is also significant that the U20 crop who are beginning their senior journeys were successful...
Mirt
Roar Rookie
Come on Bent, his stats don’t lie. His tackle completion percentage is extremely high, though if he did one less tackle per game then we’d run into a “divide by zero” issue and would come back with a null result. And his post contact meters are only bettered by his innate ability to lose the ball in the said contact. He has even mastered the skill of mid-pitch seagulling, hence saving himself the energy of trotting out to the wing for this age old positional skill. His offload percentage is way up there, but then, a high percentage of these could be said to not quite go to hand. Yep, the stats never lie
Sinclair Whitbourne
Roar Rookie
I suspect so as well. Discussions about Hooper often remind me of the Carter v Michael Jones debate and Buck v Zinzan, Michael Jones v Kronfeld etc. Here I am also often put in mind of Roche v Poidevin. The beauty of test cricket and rugby is that no matter what tinkering occurs, the game ultimately always reverts to its essence. You still on a high from NZ v India in the cricket? Two terrific sides and, on paper, India so much stronger, but NZ cricket really respects the basics of the game and gets so much out of the players it has in a game that is really in a similar position in NZ to that of rugby in Oz in terms of player depth, standing with the public etc. Oz rugger take heed?
Sinclair Whitbourne
Roar Rookie
I think you will find my comment includes the point that we don't have a whole lot of alternatives and that I am well aware of his failings. The issue is who do you pick in his place from what is available for selection? Unless you want to throw in another combination issue for Rennie, you need to look at like for like, so it is ideally tighthead lock for tighthead lock/leaper or lumper for leaper or lumper etc. There are real depth issues. I wouldn't have minded looking at the young lock from Melbourne, Hosea, although I think he is presently still at development stage for provincial level.
Mirt
Roar Rookie
Or are you being prophetic. Time will tell if you made the right call.