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A Wallaby mere months ago, Langi Gleeson was filthy he didn’t start for the Waratahs in their opening match of the year against the Brumbies and made that clear during the week.
On Saturday night, in front of new Wallabies coach Eddie Jones, Gleeson drew comparisons to Toutai Kefu – the World Cup-winning No.8 – as the back-rower wearing red headgear – chosen he said so his mum can spot him on the field – shone above his more fancied teammates.
With the Waratahs feeling the pinch against a powerful Fijian Drua outfit, Gleeson scored once and was the only forward to regularly get over the gain line during a tough opening 50 minutes.
Langi Gleeson was the Waratahs’ star of the show in Melbourne. Photo: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
After trailing 17-10 early in the second half, his physicality and hard-running helped the Waratahs run over the Drua to post a 17-43 victory to get their season up and running.
“He was a juggernaut today,” Waratahs coach Darren Coleman said of his rising No.8.
“He showed that he can be a big minute player as well. That was our fear. He was a little underdone when he came back from Wallaby camp and he had a decent break, so it just took him a while to build into those bigger minutes.
“He’d be sore. Although he comes out the other side of the contacts, there’s a lot of heat coming on his body. He’s just an amazingly powerful athlete.”
While Morgan Turinui and Justin Harrison were quick to temper Andrew Mehrtens’ comparison between Gleeson and Kefu, Coleman said the 22-year-old, who was starting for just the second time for the Waratahs, could develop into something special in time.
“He’s probably a little different [to Kefu],” Coleman said.
“He’s probably faster than Toutai, he’s got more speed, but he hasn’t grown the craftiness that Toutai had later in his career. He’s got a bit of work to do there. And still confidence, you’ve got to keep telling him that he can be the best player on the field. He doesn’t believe it quite yet and, if you pump his tyres, you can do it.”
Either side of the main break there were genuine concerns of a boilover.
The passes weren’t sticking, the lineout wasn’t clicking and the discipline, particularly at the breakdown, was horrendous. It was just the concerning feeling that often linger over Waratahs and Wallabies performances.
“I think sometimes we’re getting a bit too happy to go wide and they bashed us in the last 10 minutes,” Waratahs forward Jed Holloway said as he made his way off at half-time.
“We just need to make better decisions.”
Tane Edmed scored a try and kicked his goals well as the Waratahs managed to overcome a first-half blitz from Fiji to post their first win of the season. Photo Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
Drua captain Tevita Ikanivere, however, had other ideas as the hooker broke away from the back of a rolling maul to score early in the second half to give the Drua a 17-10 lead after first-half tries to Waratahs hooker Dave Porecki and Drua playmaker Caleb Muntz.
But after Waratahs enforcer Lachie Swinton copped some of his own medicine in the first half, the Waratahs managed to make some inroads the longer the second half went. The momentum came after Ikanivere was forced from the field.
Gleeson’s excellence was the major reason they finished over the top, but the introduction of Wallabies wildcard Tolu Latu, who came off the bench for his first Super Rugby match in 1360 days, helped power the Waratahs, too.
As did Tom Lambert, the ex-Scotland under-20s loose-head prop, who started in the No.1 jersey for the first time after Angus Bell’s devastating foot injury last week.
Lambert was replaced late in the match, but his 70-minute shift will not only give him confidence but Coleman too.
The quicker, cleaner ball allowed Michael Hooper to get more into the game, while Jake Gordon and his backs thrived against the tiring Fijian bodies.
Ben Donaldson was strong at fullback while wings Max Jorgensen and Mark Nawaqanitawase were quality, with all three backs crossing for second half tries. Although, there second half tries came against an injury-ravaged Drua side, who copped a double blow when they were forced to go down to 13 men after not being able to field a scrum following replacement hooker Zuriel Togiatama’s yellow card.
Tane Edmed also showed his poise in the No.10 jersey to steer the Waratahs around the field and also get on the scoresheet.
Coleman was thrilled by his side’s ability to come through a difficult, physical opening 50 minutes where the Fijian side fired plenty of shots at them.
“It was real crunch time for the season – I know it’s early talking about the season but we were in a bit of a dark place after last week emotionally and confidence always gets dented when you don’t do some things well,” Coleman told reporters.
“That first half off they really got into us and they scored again straight after halftime and I was really nervous.
“I was just really proud of how we stayed in the fight and stuck to our plan and didn’t lose patience in what our tactical keys were and we rolled over them – it was unreal.”
Drua head coach Mick Byrne, meanwhile, was proud of his side’s fight but livid at the law that meant they were reduced to 13 players despite only having one player in the sin bin.
“It’s an indictment on the game,” the former All Blacks and Wallabies assistant coach told reporters.
“You’ve got a law to stop coaches cheating. We go down to 13 men because we’ve got an injured hooker, we’ve got an injured prop; we can’t physically contest the scrum and we’ve got to go down to 13 men.”
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.