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Eddie Jones picking just 33 names in his first Wallabies training squad was a clear-thinking and overdue change of tack.
With one decision, he created the sort of dynamic debate around selections that the game has missed.
You actually had a sharp line between being selected and missing out instead of the every-child-wins-a-prize tedium of more than 40 names.
Those massive squads of recent years had left us zoned out with borderline disinterest at times.
“Participation” ribbons might be the go at school sports carnivals these days but give me a group of aggrieved, hungry World Cup contenders who just miss the podium any day.
In the days since Jones announced his squad, there has been a beautiful game of guessing the secret motives to multiple selections. Sometimes, Jones just picks a player like any normal coach.
Is Eddie the only one with the key to turn Suliasi Vunivalu from uninvolved winger into busy flying machine?
Has he got a new take on how the Wallabies are going to play at openside flanker this year with four options in this squad?
Does Toulouse-based Richie Arnold offer a 2.08m wildcard at lock as well as invaluable intel on how the French operate?
We are talking about all those points. What else stirs us this week entering Round Seven of Super Rugby Pacific?
TATE McDERMOTT DESERVED TO PAY THE PRICE
Hot on the heels of the re-signing of NSW Waratah Jake Gordon comes Thursday’s news of Queensland Red Tate McDermott inking a new four-year deal with Rugby Australia.
Both names were missing when Jones named two halfbacks in his first squad even though he knows he’ll be taking three to the World Cup.
Good on Jones. McDermott played below par rugby in the first five rounds and has paid a price. Isn’t that how it is supposed to work?
From his first poor kick in front of Jones in Townsville in the Reds-Hurricanes game, McDermott’s skill execution has been down on where the halfback would like it to be.
Tate McDermott of Australia at the end of the Autumn International match between Italy and Australia at Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence, Italy. (Photo by Timothy Rogers/Getty Images)
McDermott is a super player and his form turned for the better against the Crusaders last week. His heads-up grubber kick for the Jordan Petaia try was excellent. He ran, twisted and turned and got his team on the front foot.
Jones has given him honest feedback on where he needs to improve. He will and he’ll be back. That’s how the system should work.
WALLABY SQUAD TIPS
We had a quick go at left-field lotto last week when throwing up some potential names for the Wallabies training squad.
How did we go?
Brad Wilkin (Melbourne Rebels), Josh Flook (Reds), Ryan Lonergan (Brumbies) and Max Jorgensen (Waratahs) were all ticks. There was no room for far left-field picks Issak-Fines Leleiwasa, Liam Wright or Corey Toole.
DESPERATE REDS
The Reds-Brumbies rivalry has been riveting in recent years and the stakes are high again on Friday night at Suncorp Stadium.
The ledger is 5-all in games since the start of 2020 and eight of those have been decided by six points or less.
The Reds are desperate. At 2-4 and eighth, they need their first win over a top six opponent this season to prove to themselves they still have it.
They’ve scored the same number of tries (25) as the Brumbies this season but the Reds’ play has been so ragged and penalty prone away from the good stuff that they can’t produce a winning 80 minutes.
The Reds have beaten the Brumbies on their last seven visits to Suncorp Stadium, which is some stat.
Brumbies coach Steve Larkham talked through all the variables – humidity, travel, crowd, good opponent.
This will be another cracker.
WHAT TO MAKE OF VUNIVALU-O’CONNOR DEMOTIONS
Suliasi Vunivalu has been dropped because Jordan Petaia and Filipo Daugunu have played far better as Reds wingers this season. Full stop.
Again, that’s how footy is supposed to work. Average form should warrant the chop whether you are in a Wallabies training squad or not.
Rugby fossils will remember the 1980s in Queensland when Tom Lawton was preferred as Wallaby hooker while Mark McBain was chosen ahead of him for Queensland.
We all hope Vunivalu finds his rugby legs because he’s running out of time. He is a popular figure and does some audacious things at training that just aren’t being translated to where it matters.
He was a finisher at the Melbourne Storm, someone able to dot down at the end of the backline and curl himself around corner posts to do so. Maybe, the art of getting off your wing in rugby is more foreign to him than we think.
(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
O’Connor has been patchy since his comeback from injury. His good has been very good, notably his second half against the Brumbies in Canberra and smart balls like his inside pass for the Josh Flook try against the Fijian Drua.
His kicking was way off against the Crusaders last round, starting with kicking the ball dead from a penalty in the opening seconds.
An over-cooked kick ahead in the final stages was a poor option too.
There is also some method to him going to the bench. The way he lifted the tempo and ignited the Reds in Canberra may be the blueprint that coach Brad Thorn is hoping to replicate for a win this time.
Lawson Creighton is a handy starting No.10 who has a knack for slipping through the defence at least once a game.
A NEVILLE NOBODY NO LONGER
Congrats are overdue for lock Cadeyrn Neville and not just because he’s playing his 100th Super Rugby game in Brisbane on Friday.
He took a long time to earn true credibility in Super Rugby but he’s braining it right now in the supportive environment in Canberra.
He’s a true lineout winner, the maul is like a second home to him now, he makes plenty of effective tackles and he just keeps on going with his big motor. He’s a Wallaby playing his seventh straight game on Friday.
It’s great that persistence pays off at 34 and Australian rugby isn’t all about flashy 22-year-old backs.