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PARIS – For the first time since coming from the clouds to pop up as Wallabies coach earlier this year, Eddie ‘Everywhere’ Jones disappeared. Kind of.
After doing everything he possibly could to give Australian rugby a pulse over the past eight months, Jones chose not to use his weaponry tongue to explain his selections for the Wallabies’ final Test before the World Cup gets underway.
While he spoke earlier in the week, his decision to send his first-year international assistant Dan Palmer was curious.
It was just a week ago that Jones didn’t want to give much away either.
Asked about whether he’d have a “fully fit” squad to take on France, Jones said not once, not twice, but thrice that “France is a practice match”. Other subjects, of course, sidetracked the doorstop press conference.
Jones is not wrong.
The Wallabies won’t get a single point to help their cause of topping their World Cup pool, so the match in essence is a practice match.
That, however, doesn’t mean the match won’t have a bearing on the Wallabies’ World Cup campaign.
Wallabies head coach Eddie Jones declared their clash against France as a “practice match”. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
With Australian rugby’s depth wafer-thin, an injury, particularly up front to either Angus Bell or Taniela Tupou, would be catastrophic to their World Cup hopes.
But in a balancing act of epic proportions, Jones knows too that both men, especially Tupou, need minutes under their belt for confidence as much as the match fitness they will get from taking on Les Bleus at the Stade de France.
Jones was somewhat forced into selecting both aces.
Loose-head prop James Slipper was wearing a moon boot on Friday to try and assist his recovery from a foot issue.
The Wallabies’ most experienced member of their World Cup squad would have benefitted from a week off, but the injury made the decision not to play him a simple one.
Nor is he the only prop who has an injury cloud over him, with Pone Fa’amausili also not 100 per cent after a tough week of training that has gone up another notch since arriving in Paris.
Jones could have turned to outside his squad, with Australia A to play Portugal 24 hours earlier 30 kilometres south of the Stade de France at the Stade Jules Ladoumague.
Instead, Jones has rolled the dice hoping his men come through unscathed and grow in confidence.
Eddie Jones has opted not to wrap Angus Bell and Taniela Tupou in cotton wool. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Whether the Wallabies’ winless start to 2023 has shaped Jones’ thinking is hard to know.
After Fabian Galthie named what appears to be his first-choice side for the final hit-out before the World Cup, there is every possibility that the Wallabies will go into their tournament opener against Georgia on September 9, 0-5.
Yet, despite the Test being a “practice match”, the Wallabies who addressed the media were adamant that the match is important.
“It’s massive. Every time you put on the gold jersey, you’re representing your country. So that’s super important,” Toulouse-based star Richie Arnold said.
“We’ve got a job to do there. Building momentum through The Rugby Championship, you saw we started to build our game, so [it’s] very important for us to keep doing that this weekend and get some momentum leading into that Georgian Test in the World Cup.”
Debutant Blake Schoupp, meanwhile, said the match was about growing.
“You want to win every game as best you can, but the whole point of this game is to get better and prepare for the World Cup,” he said.
“We’ve got a squad that has an extremely high ceiling and if we reach our potential then we will win the game. So, everyone’s just got to play their part and we’ll just see what happens.”
Dan Palmer, the Wallabies assistant, too said Sunday’s final pre-World Cup Test was merely a building block for a greater assignment.
“As Schouppy alluded to, every Test we play is important, every Test we play we want to win, but like for all international teams this year there’s a context of the World Cup, so I think you’ve seen even though we haven’t managed to get a win, you’ve seen the team progress over the past few months,” he said.
“The goal this weekend is exactly the same. We need to see progression in certain areas. We’re trying to build a team that can win the World Cup. So, in terms of selection that was that was forefront of mind as well.”
Dan Palmer says their Test against France is a stepping stone to something bigger. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Jones’ pack looks very much like the one that will feature prominently throughout the World Cup with French twin towers Will Skelton and Richie Arnold named.
The back-row, too, is the same one that was influential in the Wallabies racing out to a 17-3 lead over the All Blacks in Dunedin.
While exciting young halves Tate McDermott and Carter Gordon have been given another week to build on their combination.
Despite training well throughout the week, Samu Kerevi has been given another week to build back to fitness following hand surgery. His omission has given Lalakai Foketi a chance to prove his worth after being looked over throughout The Rugby Championship.
Three selections in particular stood out for different reasons.
Suliasi Vunivalu has been named for his second start, but the maligned winger is likely being given a chance to build confidence and form in case he is called upon on throughout the campaign.
In the absence of a second specialist playmaker, Ben Donaldson’s inclusion on the bench represents a clear indication that the Western Force-bound back will play a key role throughout the tournament after holding the tackle bags over the past eight weeks.
But it’s Issak Fines-Leleiwasa’s inclusion off the bench that is perhaps the most intriguing – and exciting.
One of the genuine bolters for the World Cup, the uncapped halfback had to leave the Brumbies to get more opportunities after Dan McKellar preferred Nic White and Ryan Lonergan.
What the dread-locked halfback offers is a point of difference though.
Issak Fines-Leleiwasa runs with the ball during an Australia Wallabies training session at the Army Barracks on August 16, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
The 27-year-old brings tempo and pace to the game.
Where White struggled to inject himself against the All Blacks, Fines-Leleiwasa probes and dances and makes things happen.
An international starter he is not. Not yet at least. But the Western Force halfback symbolizes Jones’ desire to take the game on.
Importantly, too, Fines-Leleiwasa is defensively the strongest halfback in Australia and can play on the wing. If there’s a player sweating in the Wallabies, it’s White.
Jones can’t lose by playing Fines-Leleiwasa because he’ll find out whether the livewire threat can handle the heat of international rugby this weekend.
What Jones can lose though is the possibility of going deep in the World Cup if one of his key props go down.
Indeed, the stakes are high even though the result counts for little.
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.