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Two players, one air ticket, and one match left to claim it. That’s the scenario shaping up for Australia’s young flyhalf hopefuls Tane Edmed and Ben Donaldson ahead of the Spring Tour.
Australia A coach Jason Gilmore has confirmed the plan is to take a third flyhalf on the five-Test tour starting on October 30 against Scotland. Bernard Foley is expected to tour despite playing his club football in Japan while Noah Lolesio is presumably locked in as the other No.10 on the plane, a year after he was initially left out of the Spring Tour.
Waratahs assistant coach Gilmore has had plenty to do with the development of both Edmed and Donaldson and is working closely with Dave Rennie on how to manage them through the Australia A tour of Japan.
Donaldson started the opening game and Edmed played the full game in a 22-21 win on Saturday – landing a clutch conversion with his first goal kick of the match after the siren, as Donaldson watched from the stands.
Afterward, Gilmore suggested it was likely that both of them would get game time in the third and final match of the tour on Friday in Osaka. A decision on who starts and who finishes will be made later in the week, but Edmed may have closed the gap on his teammate and rival on Saturday
“Tane’s slightly different to Donno,” said Gilmore. “They both gave us the same result which is great. Tane’s really astute with how he plays. He’s a good game manager. Good right foot kick, bigger body so he can carry deep into the line and defensively he’s strong.”
Gilmore was asked how the pair got along, being friendly rivals at Super Rugby and now international level.
“They don’t talk to each other,” Gilmore joked.
“No, they’re great mates, along with Will Harrison back home who’s injured. We’ve had those three at the Waratahs the last three years. They’re super competitive.
“They all want the jersey, they’re definitely not going to give up that spot, but they drive each other to be better. I think it’s a great reflection on the character of those three. But don’t mistake smiles for them not being competitive.”
Gilmore said his job was to help each of them achieve their goals.
“Because they’re such good fellas and I’ve known them for a long time now I feel like I’m connecting with the boys pretty well,” said Gilmore.
“You’ve just got to be mindful that they’ve all got their aspirations with what they want to do but they’re such great kids that it’s no issue at all.”
Tane Edmed (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
Both players are aware of the stakes they’re playing for in Japan, and flyhalf is a position that has been up for grabs in the past two seasons thanks to injuries and form lapses. Rennie has a clear idea of what’s required – a player who can calmly execute the coach’s plans.
In game one in Tokyo, Donaldson started slowly but grew into the game. On Saturday, Australia were clunky but Gilmore absolved Edmed of the responsibility for that – putting it down to injury stoppages and the refereeing.
It’s a high-pressure role and Gilmore is working to have both players thinking clearly despite the additional stress of battling each other for higher honours.
“I definitely know Dave’s looking at this trip and how the boys go. I’ve just got to make sure that both boys are in the right mindset this trip,” Gilmore said.
“Probably in Fiji [on the Australia A tour in July] I probably put them up against each other a little bit too much. Whereas we’ve more joined them together to give them the keys to drive this team.
“If they just stay relaxed and stay who they are, they’ll play good footy. Everyone everyone knows Spring Tour’s around the corner so there’s certainly some spots up for grabs.”
He has the pair working more closely as a unit in Japan.
“They’re both together in terms of how they drive this footy team as a five-eighth. They review training, review games, they’re constantly talking to each other. I feel like this trip we’ve done a better job of just relaxing them and allowing them to be themselves.”
The ability to give both of those players and their teammates games against a Test strength team in Japan should prove worthwhile for the Wallabies.
There was an impressive return from Tom Banks, who scored a try with his second touch in his comeback from a broken arm, and Jock Campbell scored a try that will have had his supporters swooning – and then seething if he’s left out of Rennie’s tur squad.
Pone Fa’amausili produced a big effort for 50 minutes to lay down a marker for Spring Tour selection.
“That’s probably the longest Pone has played for a long time so he was a little bit tired before half time but we just freshened him up and rolled him out for another 10 minutes,” said Gilmore. ” You can see he carries hard, is mobile, and can do some damage. His challenge is building that base so he can play at least a strong 50 or 60 every time”
While Fa’amausili was impressive, Matt Gibbon, Brad Wilkin, and Seru Uru off the bench also had strong games to catch the eye.
But there must be concerns over the form of Suliasi Vunivalu, who failed to ignite for the second game in a row. Former Sevens star Dylan Pietsch was the more effective winger, and a week earlier Mark Nawaqanitawase’s double lit up the Tokyo win.
Before the tour Vunivalu was promised three games with big minutes to show his value to the Wallabies. Prior to Saturday’s game Gilmore said the best team would be chosen for the third match in Osaka. It will be interesting to see how Gilmore, and Rennie, get those two factors to match up in the case of the former NRL star.