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Joined June 2019
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That’s an important question Peter K. I think Wright is the strongest option at 15 because of his playmaking abilities. Though it should be noted that Kerevi’s playmaking skills have improved in recent years. He is no longer just a bash and crash player.
ANALYSIS: Eddie's spoiled for choice with three distinct options at No. 15 - which way should he go?
I think your analysis of Tom Wright is a little off the mark. He has a strong background as a ball player, spending much of his youth as a flyhalf /inside centre. he want onto play for Manly in Rugby league as a Five Eighth and when he went to Brumbies started out there as an inside centre. At the time that was a crowded position at the Brumbies so they put him on the wing due to his speed and agility.
Now that he plays at Fullback he often finds himself inserting into the backline as a playmaker / distributor off multiphase attacking play. His kicking is pretty decent and improving every game. Whilst his defensive positioning at FB is quite good, his tackling technique is perhaps his greatest weakness. He is known to shirk away from making the hard tackles and is not ideal as a last line of defence. But when you look at the alternatives perhaps Kellaway is the only one who beats him on that area of the game, though his defensive positioning is often poor, so it’s a trade off I guess.
Having said all of the above, I still think Tom Wright is currently the strongest candidate for the Wallabies 15 jersey. Playing there every week for the Brumbies has been fantastic for his development. I personally believe that Eddie Jones already has his mind made up on the 15 jersey.
ANALYSIS: Eddie's spoiled for choice with three distinct options at No. 15 - which way should he go?
I think RA backed the wrong horse. Spending any money on Jake Gordon was a mistake. He’s nearly 30yrs old and is not improving. There are a host of younger Aussie scrum halves coming through the ranks. They would have been better off investing in White because there is tremendous value in his experience and leadership. Then with the remainder they should have propped up the contracts of McDermott and Lonergan – 3 test halves should be enough for a WC cycle. Then dangle the carrot in front of the likes of Louwrens and Fines-Leleiwasa to step up.
Revealed: Star Wallaby could be forced to leave Brumbies as Rugby Australia's belt tightens
There is some very fuzzy logic going on in this article. Deans probably wouldn’t take the job because of his overseas coaching success and the Reds are a gamble, yet Cheika should take the job because of his overseas success and because it’s a gamble?
This article wreaks of someone trying (very poorly) to mould a fictitious narrative to serve their own personal opinion.
Reds need someone to cut through the bulls--t: Cheika is the right choice at right time
I would have thought that the Folau saga would have taught others that no man is bigger than the game. These young guys have received some poor advice from someone (likely their manager) and they are paying the full fare for it.
Any player who exhibits a ‘me first’ mentality will be looked at through a cautious lens from other clubs, domestic or foreign. It’s a team sport!
Reds trio terminate contracts with Reds and Rugby AU
Something that I find interesting about this Wallabies side is that I can’t pick a single player that is unrivalled in their position. In some areas this is a sign of depth. In others it’s a clear case of lack of talent.
Positions with Quality Depth
1,
3,
7,
9,
12
Positions with Lack of Quality Depth
2,
4,
5,
6,
8,
10,
11,
13,
14,
15
What’s even more concerning is that I’m not sure we have a single player that would make a World 15 side. The closest contender would be Pocock (when he is playing, which in recent times has not been very often at all). I think these two factors will be our defining limitations in the RWC.
Wallabies chip away in Argentina Test win
Samu would be my first pick there. Perhaps Pocock can slot in there if Naisarani plays 8. That’s a reasonably balanced back row minus 1 extra lineout jumper. A bolter 6 would be Rob Valentini.
Wallabies chip away in Argentina Test win
For a long time now the Wallabies backline has been selected around Foley, to mask his weaknesses. It’s what’s been forcing the 2nd playmaker scenario for so long. When one of our automatic picks is Kerevi at 12, the 2nd playmaker has to come from 15. he knows he has to pick Kerevi on form so Cheika will likely retreat to using Beale at the back for this reason. However, I would like to see him go the other way and use Lealiifano at 10 and no longer be playing musical chairs in defence. Lealiifano is a good defender but also a fantastic distributer who keeps defenders guessing because of his willingness to run at the line. This works in with Kerevi’s strength of busting through half gaps and poorly aligned defenders. When you have Kuridrani outside, who is similarly capable of denting the line, it forces the defence to make decisions early. Here within lies the Wallabies’ opportunity to get in behind their opposition’s defence and hopefully score some points.
This scenario also gives the Wallabies some defensive starch in the first line. We all know that the less tries leaked means the less tries you have to score to win. Test matches are typically won and lost on defence and the Wallabies need to leak as few points as possible to have any chance of going anywhere at the World Cup.
REVEALED: The Wallabies side to face the Springboks (as voted by the fans)
After seeing the selection of wingers, I can’t help but think the selectors have put too much weight on versatility and not enough on raw speed and try scoring talent. Naivalu, Pulu, Speight even O’Conner should have been in this mix somewhere. The only true speed in this squad would be Tom Banks and he is great in open play but is not what I would describe as an end of line ‘finisher’.
VOTE: Pick your Wallabies XV to face the Springboks
I’ve always wondered what went down with Fardy’s departure from the Wallabies. It did not add up at the time and to think that Mumm and Hanigan were considered better options bewildered me.
Either he had a disagreement with Cheika or some back rooms Waratahs deals were done. Fardy is still playing top shelf rugby in the UK. He could have been doing this in Australia if it wasn’t for the Cheika.
The Brumbies: The best Australian team is the one we’d all forgotten about
I took my kids to the open training session on Friday and after watching the 40 minutes of full contact live play session, I must admit I am surprised by some of the selections. Vunivalu only came off his wing once during the whole session and it was because he misread the opportunity and ended up arriving late inside Carter Gordon, who had already shifted the ball wide. He did do well under a few high balls but that is no real surprise.
I couldn’t help but notice how he was struggling to read the game. It was noticeable because he was always 5-10 yards from where he needed to be. He compensated by sprinting into position to make up ground. After watching him, I’m concerned he could be easily exposed by a clever flank attack.
Carter Gordon really stood out during the session, so I am not surprised to see him in the mix. He seemed to be quite comfortable at that level. Hopefully that transitions to the field in South Africa.
Though Taniela didn’t play in the full contact session, he is looking as fit as I have ever seen him. He’s certainly dropped quite a few kgs and was moving well in the fitness drills. I feel like we might sees. a Tupou 2.0 at the RWC and evolved version with a bit more game smarts and nuance to his game.
I had a chat with Andrew Kellaway and he said he is only a week away from being cleared from his hamstring strain and that Kerevi is not far behind him. If that is true, we may just see them take the field in Sth Africa.
Ben Donaldson spent a lot of time at 15 during the session, so I expect he will be used as cover for Wright, if Kellaway doesn’t make it back in time. His kicking was okay, but not great. He struggled to find space at the back.
Rob Leota was a menace in defence and at the breakdown. It was evident that he is very hard to shift once he gets down low as opposing forwards struggled to move him. He was also looking really fit. I expect we’ll see him at 6 over Jed Holloway
Donaldson in as EIGHT uncapped players picked: Co-captains named for Wallabies as Eddie's first squad revealed