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It’s a Bledisloe week in a World Cup year at the MCG; the stadium alone despite poor results is enough to make you swell with Aussie pride.
This Test is as much about laying one hand on the elusive Bledisloe as it is about finding the few missing cogs in Eddie Jones’ World Cup squad.
Jones will have had the squad for an additional 10 days before kick-off on Saturday and that is a considerable boost. It provides Jones an opportunity to make clear his message to the players clear which by self-admission has not been the case.
“I’ve got no doubt we’re not as clear about how we want to play as we want to be. The only problem I see with that is we’re not performing as we’d like to perform,” Jones said during a media conference on Saturday.
“We’re very disappointed with the results during stage one of our campaign… We need to find more in stage two and Melbourne will be the ground where we will find our best.”
Head coach is a performance-based gig but for all the talk of disappointment, Jones will be pleased about what he has found out about his squad thus far.
He’s found a genuine tight five that can mix and match with the best, as well as most of his backline.
Allan Alaalatoa, Dave Porecki and James Slipper redeemed themselves in Sydney with sky-high tackle counts, steady scrummaging, and tireless work rates. No international front rower should have to playe more than 55-minutes, but the trio all logged 60 minutes plus (Slipper was first to be replaced in the 63rd minute).
Whoever wears the No.16 jersey, will be joined by the Wallabies’ very own bomb squad. Angus Bell and Taniela Tupou are back in the fray, and it is a timely boost to Wallabies front row stocks.
Tupou logged a solid 40 minutes in his Australia A return against Tonga, while Bell’s 20-minute cameo against Argentina was far more explosive. Bell’s first touch resulted in a 30m carry through heavy traffic in the 73rd minute. What remains to be seen is if he can hold his own at scrum time.
Taniela Tupou. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)
The duo should be reserved to come on together, just as Slipper and AAA have a strong bond, so do Tupou and Bell who rehabbed for months together.
The locking pair of Will Skelton and Richie Arnold is set in stone. The pair are winners and are the grunt the Wallabies pack needs to turn a maul into a weapon, a scrum into a platform and the defensive line into the opposition’s nightmare. The one critique of Arnold is he isn’t carrying enough, having only made one carry in Sydney, it’s a stat Jones will want to see increased.
The pair is still searching for fitness, another 55 minute plus for them is just what the doctor ordered.
Blindside flanker is the thorn in Jones’ side as far as the forward pack is concerned and this weekend’s game provides him with another opportunity to edge closer to finding his bruiser. Jed Holloway had a combative game in Sydney, holding players up in the tackle, and slowing phase ball effectively. His lineout work was also good but like Arnold didn’t offer enough in attack.
Melbourne is Rob Leota’s backyard, and the temptation could be to start him. However, Leota’s hulking figure and ability to genuinely cover numbers 4-8, even 7 at a pinch could mean Jones takes the cautious path and gives him a longer stint off the bench.
Michael Hooper remains under an injury cloud, and it’s given Fraser McReight an opportunity to stake his claim. Without being dominant over the ball he had a good, busy game against Argentina.
McReight has not turned any ball over on big occasions this year, but nor has he been blown out of tackles or overpowered by larger forwards. It’s an attribute Jones will be watching keenly in this clash, and it may just be McReight’s ticket to Paris ahead of Hooper.
(Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)
Langi Gleeson is another exciting player who is back from injury but much like with Leota it may be too early to throw him into the cauldron cold. Rob Valetini keeps his spot after impressing on the defensive side of things while still searching for his world-class carrying game to return.
Combinations at international level, let alone in a World Cup are vital and the pairing of Nic White and Quade Cooper is another duo unlikely to change. White possesses the best passing and kicking game of the three halfbacks in the squad and is dogged in defence. White must ensure he keeps referee Wayne Barnes onside and focuses on giving Cooper quality service and more of it.
Jones went into bat for Cooper and Samu Kerevi last week saying he would happily hold a fan forum for those people with doubts about the pair’s performances and what it means to come back from serious injuries.
“We’ don’t know where Quade’s going to end up – he’s still four games into returning from an Achilles tendon and Samu Kerevi is three or four games back from an ACL and they’re serious injuries” Jones said.
“So, with better exposure, the quality training and rugby training over the next period of time, they’re going to get a lot sharper.”
The fact is the pair have underperformed physically and Cooper as well mentally, failing to nail basics when his team has been under pressure. Without the chance to log club rugby minutes like other players in the squad, the undercooked duo has had to find their feet quickly. The pair have a chance in Melbourne to have a statement performance to convince fans they are ready to carry us forward.
Carter Gordon has toiled for everything, but he’s more Tassie devil than an orchestral conductor thus far and it means he sits pretty in the 22 jersey. Gordon is an invaluable deputy to Cooper and his only priority should be to nail being an international 10. Any chat of 15 should be dispelled immediately.
Outside centre has almost garnered as much attention as fullback this week and with the two incumbents out through injury and being dropped respectively a new group re-emerges.
Izaia Perese, Andrew Kellaway and Jordan Petaia are all likely to pull on the gold jerseys on Saturday night. It is a trio which should have taken the field more over the years, but injuries has kept the group apart. Perese is the only remaining specialist 13 and Kellaway the only one to complete a game at international level at fullback.
While Perese must slay his defensive demons and show poise when Rieko Ioane is roving down his channel, Kellaway must show he is a steadfast commander at the back. Tom Wright’s rocks and diamonds nature cost him his spot in the squad, Kellaway now has a limited two game window to make the position his and it will take all his poise, attacking nous and positional awareness.
Petaia is shaping to be a triple threat having had a stellar Super season at openside wing before his injury as well as some good cameos at fifteen over the last two seasons.
His tall build and strong legs saw him start at outside centre against the All Blacks under Dave Rennie, but many are wondering if he can be Australia’s Jordie Barrett at 12, strong, tall, solid. Petaia like many gazelles belong on the open plains, it’s all well and good to be able to cover many positions but Petaia is best on the wing. I would pick him in the 23 jersey.
The utility axis provided by Kellaway and Petaia means every position in the backline has a genuine or specialist cover, so what happened in Sydney when Gordon had to play 12 won’t occur again.
Marika Koroibete and Mark Nawaqanitawase are two players the All Blacks will have canvassed well in the lead-up to game day. One never stops, the other leaps higher than most and wrong-foots even the most sure-footed defenders. This deadly wing combo will need to be at their best if they want to trouble the All Blacks.
The bench will include Tate McDermott for his pace and energy around the field but who wears number 16 and 19 is wide open.
Matt Philip showed his nous around the field against Argentina, forcing turn overs and providing energy across the park. Nick Frost will want more game time to show his wares before Paris because despite getting through a mountain of work he sometimes lacks ruthless-edge physicality.
Matt Faessler is the soldier, he’s accurate, works hard and gets his hands dirty for little praise. The only thing working against him is that Melbourne is Jordan Uelese’s turf and the All Blacks may just be the challenge Jones hopes Uelese will rise to. Let’s hope it’s more balls down the line and not swingers if he is selected at the MCG.
The starting XV and even the bench are looking more impressive each week on paper but the results still elude Jones’ men. The Wallabies have started fast across both games but not as quick as the All Blacks, they can’t be focusing on weathering the storm, they must think full steam ahead for the entire 80. Getting up for this game won’t be the issue, it will be if the players have understood Jones’ plan and follow it through thick and thin.
John Ferguson’s Wallabies team for Bledisloe 1
1. James Slipper
2. Dave Porecki
3. Allan Alaalatoa
4. Richie Arnold
5. Will Skelton
6. Jed Holloway
7. Fraser McReight
8. Rob Valetini
9. Nic White
10. Quade Cooper
11. Marika Koroibete
12. Samu Kerevi
13. Izaia Perese
14. Mark Nawaqanitawase
15. Andrew Kellaway
Replacements: Matt Faessler, Angus Bell, Taniela Tupou, Matt Philip, Rob Leota, Tate McDermott, Carter Gordon, Jordan Petaia.
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.