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Opinion
Generally speaking, reactions to Sunday’s announcement of the Wallabies’ Spring Tour squad were that it was about the best that could be assembled, given due consideration to the injury list, overseas movements and unavailability.
There were, of course, a few quibbles here and there; a lot of that down parochial state-lines, and some of it completely lacking in both logic and rationality.
But it wouldn’t be a Wallabies selection without it. It’s much better to have more players unlucky to miss out than lucky to be picked.
The further you went into some discussions though, the more interesting it became, and the inclusion of highly regarded La Rochelle and former Waratahs lock Will Skelton was certainly one of those.
A young Skelton playing in the NRC (Johan Schmidt Photography)
The discussion fell in two broad directions.
There was the common Australian view, that yes, he has performed very well in France and in European competitions, but his past performances for the Wallabies have been nothing to write home about.
‘Uninterested’ was a common description of his showing during last year’s northern tour, where in three appearances off the bench against Scotland, England, and Wales, he looked anything but the European Player of the Year nominee from only a few months prior.
The other, mostly European view was that Skelton is clearly among the best couple of locks in the world, as shown by the aforementioned player of the year nomination, and his near man of the match performance in this year’s Champions Cup final, of which La Rochelle’s triumph over Leinster was Skelton’s third European title.
But further, elements of this view threw in the added cherries on top of Australian fans being idiots if they don’t accept all this as fact, and that Dave Rennie is doomed to failure if he doesn’t pick him. And that’s not an exaggeration of the view, but rather a pretty close paraphrasing.
Of course, like all great nuanced discussions, both views are true – even without the nastiness.
Skelton really hasn’t shown much in his 21 Tests, and it’s been a frustration of Australian rugby pretty well since he was first sighted in a Super Rugby context. His upward form-line never seemed to intersect with the Wallabies’ fixture, and once he was included in last year’s Spring Tour squad, his appearance was one of a player proving you can have your cake and eat it.
Here he was, dominating European competition, seemingly demanding national selection under a revised policy that allowed it, but then offering limited impact off the bench and leaving a feeling of ‘what was all the fuss about’.
But equally, he truly has been one of the best locks in Europe in recent years – and by flow-on, one of the best in the world, given the quality of the French Top 14 and of the Champions Cup competitions. You don’t stand out in comps like that if you’re going through the motions every week.
He was literally and metaphorically enormous in the Champions Cup final in May, playing like a man determined to lead his side away from the disappointment of lost French and European finals the year before, and into what would become the incredible scenes in the port town on the southwestern coast of France.
Skelton’s performance in the celebrations weren’t far behind what he showed on the field in Marseille that day, either. And even this year, he’s been a regular 80-minute player as La Rochelle sit second in the Top 14 standings after seven games.
So it does feel like his latest Wallabies recall is a due reward for performance. But it did last year, too.
There is a bit more at play this season, however. If Skelton can transform his often incredible European form into international domination, then his Rugby World Cup stocks for next year’s tournament in France will only increase.
Fail again though, and he’ll leave the door open for Rory Arnold to take an overseas spot, and will be in danger of consigning himself back to ‘former Wallaby’ status with fewer than 25 Tests to his name.
Rory Arnold. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
But he’ll only have three Tests to do it.
Rennie confirmed on Sunday that Skelton will miss the first Test of the tour against Scotland, and final match against Wales, with both games falling outside the prescribed international windows. Flyhalf Bernard Foley will return to the Kubota Spears in Japan before the Wales Test for the same reason.
So that leaves France in Paris on November 6, Italy in Florence the following week, and Ireland at Lansdowne Road on November 20 as Skelton’s three-week audition.
Certainly, if he can live up to expectations and bring his club form with him, the No.2 ranked France and No.1 ranked Ireland are the best barometers in the international game to do it against. And from a 2022 Wallabies perspective, those three matches could easily shape the likelihood of a winning Spring Tour.
And if he really wants it, Will Skelton can nail down a World Cup place during this window.
A trio of strong personal performances leading to victories will not only boost his European standing, it will also change perceptions about Australia’s chances in France this time next year.
But if Skelton finishes the tour with both points of view as outlined above still firmly intact, then it would have to be seen as yet another missed opportunity, for both him personally and Australian rugby.