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The hype surrounding Queensland Reds flanker Fraser McReight has been building all season, and on Tuesday it might just have reached its peak.
After another dominant display in a losing Reds Super Rugby team on the weekend, former Wallabies coach John Connolly likened the 23-year, twice capped Wallaby, to a legend of the game in Richie McCaw.
It’s just Dave Rennie’s luck that the man seen by many judges as the most exciting player in Australian rugby right now plays the same position as the best player in Australian rugby.
There have been suggestions Rennie should try to shoehorn both into the Wallabies set up, but balance issues mean it’s unlikely they can fit into the same pack, or even the same 23 with the versatility of a Pete Samu who can cover all the positions across the backline.
McReight, 23, has played just 32 minutes of Test rugby and Hooper has 117 caps – and is mindful that George Gregan’s Australian record of 139 is tantalisingly close. His desperation to play every minute of every game is legendary.
There have been suggestions that McReight is getting itchy feet, as was put to him at Reds training on Tuesday, with concerns in the game that he might leave for a club overseas should Hooper’s durability and excellence continue to block his path to a gold jersey.
(Photo by Will Russell/Getty Images)
“I’ve made it clear I want to play for the Wallabies,” said McReight on Tuesday.
“Every time I go into the Wallabies camp I put my best foot forward and everyone knows that, who’s involved. It’s not like I don’t want to be here because I definitely do want to be here.
“It’s more about playing the best footy I can and pushing my case which I certainly have been. Dave and the coaches always say in camp they want a tough decision and I have definitely been doing that my end. If I can keep doing that and keep pushing my case hopefully I’ll get some more minutes and go from there.”
Rugby writers including Georgina Robinson and Wayne Smith, both in the Sydney Morning Herald, and Brett McKay in Tuesday’s The Roar column, have suggested that Hooper might need to start sharing to allow McReight more opportunities and keep him invested. He is contracted through until the end of next year’s World Cup, and offers have been flowing in regularly from Japan for Australia’s best talent.
“McReight is McCaw-esque, and I say that recognising McCaw was among the two or three greatest rugby players I have ever seen,” Connolly said.
“Australia has been well-served by openside flankers in the past, Greg Davis, Simon Poidevin and Jeff Miller leading into the George Smith-Phil Waugh era and then on to David Pocock. Now McReight is about to become that thread of gold.
“I am in awe of the courage and toughness of Hooper but he is not as good over the ball as McReight, nor does he provide the link [in attack] that McReight does. McReight fits perfectly into the modern game. He will be regarded as the best opensider in world rugby.”
On Friday, McReight gets another good test of his development over the past two seasons when he faces a battle with Sam Cane of the All Blacks and Hurricanes.
“He’s the All Black captain and has done a lot,” said McReight when asked about the match up.
“He’s a physical person, a good on baller , a traditional New Zealand No.7. Obviously he’s played and done a lot of things and had a lot of experience.
“I haven’t had the chance to play against that calibre player for a while – haven’t had to play Hoops for a while him having been overseas , and it’s going to be a great test for myself if I do line up against him.
“It will be a personal battle with him but I’ve just got to do what’s right for the team and team comes first.”
Pressed as to his excitement levels approaching such a contest, McReight moved to dampen the hype.
“It’s not like I’m really looking forward to it – it’s just another game. Probably coming closer to the game it’s going to be on my mind a little bit more and it’s because you brought it up and there’s comparisons that media are going to make about that battle – but it’s not really there,” he said.
“I just want to do what’s right for the team and if I can play my normal game I know we’ll go well against each other.”
While he’s been the Reds outstanding player over the past month or so, McReight says he hasn’t made significant changes to his game for this campaign.
“It’s minor changes – hasn’t been drastic at all,” he said.
“Working on the tackle side, a bit more running rugby, getting myself in better positions, whether that’s on the breakdown, in the tackle, whether it’s attacking rugby or support play.
“I think that’s probably the biggest aspect of the No.7, you have to be in the right position so it’s about getting in the better spots quicker and I think I’ve done that better this year.”
Brett McKay wrote on The Roar: “Where he’s really lifted this season is his linking and passing game. His support play is certainly better too.
“I don’t know what sort of adjustments Dave Rennie would have to make to his Wallabies game plan to fit McReight in and bring him off the bench to finish games alongside Michael Hooper, but we’ve surely reached the point where the conversation needs to be had.
“And it’s not even a matter of whether he’s surpassed Hooper or not; he’s surely now just playing too well to leave out.”
A coach like Eddie Jones might be more open to shaking up the balance of his pack and opting for two smaller more mobile loose forwards – in the way he ran Tom Curry and Sam Underwood in the same back row in 2019.
But Rennie has so far seemed reluctant to give away the extra height and weight of an alternative flanker – sayd Rob Valetini who is 10 centimetres and 13kg taller than McReight.
For now, McReight is trying to stay focussed on Super Rugby, making his case through his continued high level performances and trying to shine in a team that’s winning against Kiwi opposition.
“We’ve made a big point that we don’t want to beat ourselves,” he said.
“If they beat us and they’re better on the day then congrats to them but we can’t beat ourselves. We have to be the best we can and we’re trying to do that.
“Each week we want to be better on the field, not only for us but for our fans, that’s the goal. We’re back at home and it’s an opportunity – let’s do it for a full 80 minutes and hopefully get that win.”