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Opinion
Wallabies fans have been left with plenty to ponder after another very Australian Test season.
This year has given us as many new heroes as villains, as many new problems as solutions and a 5-9 record that could have easily read 10-4 or 3-11.
It’s mind-boggling stuff, and I’m surely not the only fan relieved to be swapping rugby for the simple pleasures of Test cricket later this week.
But before doing so, I wanted to briefly touch on the Wallabies’ management of Noah Lolesio as an international flyhalf.
At 22 years old, Lolesio is already a very good rugby player.
He’s a well-rounded, high-level goalkicker – over the past two years he’s averaged 80-plus per cent off the tee in Super Rugby and Tests – and has found success steering the Brumbies in his 35-game Super Rugby career.
Sure, there are a few rough edges and plenty to work on skills-wise. But am I the only one thinking the Wallabies are making an absolute meal of his development?
Lolesio seems to yo-yo in and out of the side, more often than not straight from starting to out of the match-day squad and back again.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
The stats back this up.
Lolesio’s naming in the matchday 23 to face Wales on Sunday morning marked the 20th time he’s been selected to don the gold.
But in reality he’s played only 17 Tests: 13 starts and four appearances off the bench.
As highlighted by Roar expert Brett McKay, he’s also ridden the pine three times in his career, twice in 2020 against New Zealand and Argentina and last week against Ireland.
Here’s the fun part.
Twelve of his 13 starts have come against New Zealand, England, South Africa or France, four of the world’s current top five.
That is, without question, a baptism of fire.
I’m all for testing young players, but tossing a 22-year-old Lolesio to the world’s best in the starting playmaking role seems a poor way to do so.
Why wouldn’t the Wallabies be introducing a young flyhalf to the Test arena more cautiously via the bench in smaller chunks?
And I don’t mean the five-minute Ben Donaldson against Italy variety; I’m talking 15 to 30-minute blocks during which players have enough time to get into the game.
Compare Lolesio’s induction to Test footy with that of current All Blacks playmaker Richie Mo’unga, now 44 caps into a sparkling Test career.
While Lolesio’s Test induction consisted of 80-plus minutes on the bench in a Wellington Bledisloe Cup opener before being tossed the starting role in a must-win rematch, Mo’unga’s first taste of international footy came in 2017 for a non-capped spring tour game against the French Barbarians with a 27-minute stint off the pine.
It took another six months and some super Super Rugby form for Mo’unga to make his Test debut – ten minutes off the bench at home against France – before going to play a further eight Tests in the All Blacks 2018 season.
Unlike Lolesio, Mo’unga started in only two of his opening ten matches in an All Blacks jersey – nine Tests, one non-cap.
A home Test against Argentina and then away on tour against Japan.
However, he was introduced for crucial 15-to-30-minute stints against Argentina (away) and South Africa (away) during the Rugby Championship.
He also played similar stints off the bench during New Zealand’s 2018 spring tour against Ireland, England and Italy for a season average of 33 minutes per game.
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
So it was only after a development tour and non-cap game in 2017, a 2018’s worth of extended bench minutes and multiple Super Rugby titles with the Crusaders that Mo’unga was entrusted as first-choice All Blacks starter in 2019.
Now, I’m not saying they’re the same player.
But imagine how much Lolesio and the Wallabies would’ve benefitted from similar management – a full Test season coming off the pine for 20 to 30 minutes at a time.
Imagine how much he’d have gleaned from touring Europe in 2021 or Argentina in 2022 and getting decent time in the saddle.
Instead Lolesio was passed over for the 2021 spring tour – where Australia went winless – snubbed for the Argentine leg of this year’s Rugby Championship despite a reasonable July series against England and by all reports was set to be dropped for this year’s spring tour in favour of a full Brumbies preseason before a late scheduling change.
And still the Wallabies continue to let him down.
With Quade Cooper and Bernard Foley unavailable, Lolesio again found himself out of favour after just six minutes off the bench against Scotland and the doomed Italian Test.
Unbelievably, it wasn’t until Sunday morning’s win in Cardiff that Lolesio played more than 20 minutes off the bench for the first time in his career.
And while he wasn’t the sole reason for Australia’s 21-point comeback, he was pivotal in setting up Mark Nawaqanitawase’s first try down the left touchline, distributed well and made his must-kicks off the tee.
Lolesio is a lesson in how not to blood a Test flyhalf.
And his major successes – France 2021, the Springboks game in Adelaide and this most recent Welsh victory – have come in spite of the Wallabies’ refusal to introduce him from the bench and ease him into the Test cauldron.
Quade Cooper is still our first-choice flyhalf and will start when fit.
But with Donaldson still finding his feet and Foley failing to impress, I believe Noah is the next-best option for our World Cup campaign.
If we’re serious about developing long-term No. 10s, give them the platform to succeed.
Give Noah 20 to 30 minutes per game in the lead-up to the World Cup and alternate starts with Quade during the pool stages.
And take these lessons from Lolesio’s development and make sure Ben Donaldson isn’t treated the same way.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.