Did the Wallabies throw out a red herring by putting Kurtley Beale up for media duties at the weekend? Possibly. He has not played for months and is coming off a long-term hamstring injury.
Yet, despite that, the 33-year-old’s ability to cover No 10, No 12 and No 15 is an absolute godsend to Dave Rennie, who has struggled to find answers in all three positions. It would also give the Wallabies the option of being a bit bolder with their bench, because they could afford to carry a potential game-changer in Suliasi Vunivalu.
Suliasi Vunivalu is a game-changer, and the return of Kurtley Beale (inset) could unleash him.Credit:Getty
The Kiwis – most of whom are keen NRL fans – rate Vunivalu. In fact, when he played for the Reds against the Highlanders in Dunedin last year – and scored a try by grabbing a crossfield kick – some Highlanders players made sure they got their photo with him after the game.
But, back to Beale. With a bit of doubt about Hunter Paisami’s availability, the unsettled nature of the fullback position and Noah Lolesio’s underwhelming last start, having Beale on the bench would ease a few headaches. If he’s genuinely fit, and running fast, then why not?
2. My Wallabies team for Bledisloe I
My team would be: James Slipper, Dave Porecki, Allan Alaalatoa, Cadeyrn Neville, Darcy Swain, Rob Leota, Pete Samu, Rob Valetini, Nic White, Bernard Foley, Marika Koroibete, Lalakai Foketi, Len Ikitau, Andrew Kellaway, Reece Hodge; Reserves: Folau Fainga’a, Angus Bell, Pone Fa’amausili, Jed Holloway, Fraser McReight, Tate McDermott, Kurtley Beale, Suliasi Vunivalu.
Pete Samu has been in excellent form for the Wallabies off the bench.Credit:Getty
I’ve reinstated big Cadeyrn Neville after his promising Test career start, while Rob Leota starts to bring a bit more aggression to the Wallabies’ early ball carries: they can’t sit back against the All Blacks.
The same philosophy lies behind the selection of Pete Samu at No 7: Fraser McReight comes on as the Test begins to open up.
A no-risk policy means Pone Fa’amausili gets a place on the bench instead of Taniela Tupou – those calf injuries are a concern. It’s a big, mobile 23 stacked with experience and with a bit of X factor: there’s no other way to go at this level.
3. A good news story
No one deserves a consistent run of game more than Waratahs No 13 Joey Walton, who has been hammered by serious injuries so far in his young career. But, he’s getting exactly that in the No 13 jersey for Bay of Plenty in New Zealand’s NPC this season.
Joey Walton (centre) celebrates the try of Bay of Plenty teammate Emoni Narawa against Otago.Credit:Getty
And, it looks like he will play some finals rugby too, with Bay of Plenty currently sitting on four wins and two losses and heading towards the quarterfinals. Even more importantly, the Steamers are playing an attractive brand of rugby, with a clear determination to use the ball and give their backs some space. They have a relatively high number of good quality Super Rugby players in their ranks – and the Waratahs will be the ultimate beneficiaries because Walton does not look out of place.
4. Campo was right – the game is not in good shape
World Rugby types and some commentators love to talk about how close the Test game is, and why that’s a great sign for the Rugby World Cup. But the backslappers should take heed of Japan coach Jamie Joseph’s comments a few days ago. Japan were the great entertainers of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, but Joseph said they wouldn’t be pursuing the same style next year because it would be “pointless”.
Referees are encouraging defensive rugby at the moment.Credit:Getty
Joseph said that the game was refereed in favour of the defending teams at present, and it’s very hard to argue with that. So, Test rugby is closer because teams are incentivised to kick the ball away, set up defensive walls and turn the breakdown into a bunfight, not because it is “better”. And here’s a stat for you, courtesy of NZ Rugby Database on Twitter: 25 per cent of all the tries in the NPC on Saturday were scored by hookers.
As Wallabies legend David Campese said recently, the game is not in good shape and on current trajectory next year’s Rugby World Cup will be decided by referees.
5. ‘They threw us under a bus’
If the Rugby Championship falls apart, you can be sure that fingers will be pointed at NZ Rugby. South African rugby president Mark Alexander spoke to reporters at the Sevens World Cup in Cape Town, and his anger at the nature of South Africa’s exit from Super Rugby was palpable.
“New Zealand announced in a press article that they would not be continuing with Super Rugby in its current form. They threw us under the bus, It was the manner in which it was done. We are still hurting about that. Look, we are exploring other avenues with other things, but I will never forget it. When you have partners, you usually give each other notice — that’s how a partnership works.“
Alexander also spoke about the much-debated ‘Nations Cup’ concept, and said that the southern hemisphere sides were looking for a 50-50 split with the north. If that’s the case, there is no wonder that no deal has been done.
Profit-sharing has been the dream of the southern nations for decades, and resisted by the Six Nations sides for the same amount of time. I’d be pleasantly astonished if that changed.
