ANALYSIS: Why Jones should end the Wallabies' backline lottery and give Petaia a perfect platform to perform

Jordan Petaia has been consistent. In 2018, 2020, 2021, and 2022 he scored two tries per Super Rugby season. In 2023 he has broken out, scoring seven in six games.

It is a season where Petaia has showcased his skill to the world. But, he has done it, like with so much of his career, while swinging madly through various positions in the backline. This year he has played at fullback and both wing positions in Super Rugby. In his international career he has started at 15, 14, 13, and 11. Will Eddie Jones find a settled position for Petaia and will that help the 23-year-old progress?

Let’s start with some mythbusting. Many positions in the backline are interchangeable. For example, there is very little difference between the two wing positions. Left wings generally receive more attacking opportunities and make fewer tackles, vice versa for right wingers.

However, the differences between the two aren’t big enough to worry about switching players around. Given how modern attacks shift their wingers right across the pitch, there is virtually no difference in the job of a winger when attacking.

That’s not the case right the way across the backline though. For example, centres will be expected to lead the defence in most teams’ systems. That includes identifying what the opposition are trying to do and organising your team to stop it. That is a specialist skill and a good reason why we have seen very few attempted, and even fewer successful, moves from centre to wing.

The fullback role has become less specialised in recent years. Teams increasingly see the fullback as a spare piece that they can play around with. New Zealand have used Beauden Barrett there in the end of year Tests so they could get both Richie Mo’unga and Barrett on the same pitch. England, and Leicester Tigers, have moved Freddie Steward onto the wing so they could bring George Furbank and Mike Brown into the fullback role when facing teams with strong kicking games.

(Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

In recent matches, Australia have picked their fullback from a hat. Jock Campbell started against Italy, then Andrew Kellaway against Ireland, and Tom Wright against Wales.

Since that match, both Wright and Campbell have moved to fullback in Super Rugby. However, only Campbell has played the majority of matches at fullback in his career, and even then, he has played 38% of his matches elsewhere.

Australia’s selection policy has been disjointed in recent years and that hasn’t helped Petaia. But which role suits him best, and are there any clues about how Eddie Jones will use him?

Petaia has largely moved away from the 13 shirt, and I think that’s for the best. He played there twice last season and hasn’t started there for Australia since 2020. While he played a lot of outside centre early in his career, he appears much more natural on the wing.

This attack is very common in modern rugby. We call it an x-ball. The outside attacker runs a hard line and the inside attacker runs out the back. Sam Underhill runs the hard line and Owen Farrell runs out the back on the soft line. Most high-level teams try and defend this with just one defender. The defender will either step in if the hard line is hit or step out to defend the soft line. It’s not easy, but this is expected of an elite player. It’s particularly key if you’re playing in the centres due to the number of times you will face this attack.

That’s not the only example of Petaia’s potential defensive frailties. However, it is an example of where statistics can hide the reality. Petaia is a good tackler and the statistics through the years largely back that up. However, in this case he wouldn’t be penalised with a missed tackle thanks to the fact he bit in on the wrong defender. There are other examples in his matches at outside centre where he allowed holes to open by becoming disconnected from his other defenders. Again, he wasn’t penalised in the stats but that was apparent in the video.

The other reason why Petaia’s shift to the back three is good news for Australia is because of just how exciting he is with ball in hand there. Frequently, he has been able to slice through elite defences when given just a small amount of space.

This season, five of Petaia’s seven tries have come when he has been out on the wing. The other two have come from broken field when he has been able to pick and choose how he attacks the ball. It seems fairly obvious that this is the role he is best suited too at both club and international level. There is another reason why it makes sense though, and that is the emergence of Josh Flook.

Flook has had a similar career arc to Petaia, flitting between both wing positions and 13. Although he made his first start at 14 this season, he has settled in as the Reds’ starting outside centre. The Reds use Flook in a similar way to Petaia, he can shift around in attack while keeping set in defence.

Flook has also been called up into Jones’ first Australia squad. He will be given a chance to unseat current incumbent Len Ikitau. Interestingly, Ikitau has managed to avoid the position tombola which has infected so much of Australian rugby. He has played his entire pro career at centre, and almost all of that at outside centre.

With Flook and Ikitau secure in the squad, Petaia can full focus on completing his transition to the back three. It remains to be seen whether Eddie Jones will let that happen. In England, Jones was regularly criticised for playing Owen Farrell in the centres. It’s a position that he almost never played at club level but regularly played at international level to make way for George Ford or Marcus Smith. However, that was unusual. With very few exceptions, in the backs at least, Jones tended not to mess around with positions.

Will Jones bring that approach to Australia? It would be a relief to many Aussie players if he does. So many players, including pretty much every back in the first Australian squad, has spent significant time in different positions. That is great for young players who get a chance to develop different skills, but it can be difficult at the elite level where you can never get comfortable in any specific position.

If Jones can stop the merry-go-round and commit to playing Petaia in the back three at least, and just as a winger at best, then the 23-year-old should benefit hugely. That in turn will be good news for the Australian side as they could get an elite level winger and a set back line. For Jones, that would be a strong message to send.