Cometh the hour, cometh the man.
It was only on Thursday that Wallabies coach Dave Rennie described Noah Lolesio as a “kid”.
Two days later, after Lolesio led the Wallabies to a superb victory over the Springboks on a stunning afternoon at Adelaide Oval, Rennie praised the “confident kid” once more.
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Yet, in reality, the “kid” is a young man and developing with every passing day on the rugby field.
The 22-year-old might still have his baby-face, but the composure and skill he displayed was one of a mature, growing player on the field.
After the brutal start to his career, a lesser player would have crumbled.
Lolesio was thrown in the deep end two years ago against the All Blacks when he was handed his debut.
He and Irae Simone became the first fly-half and inside centre Wallabies pairing to debut in the same Test in half-a-century. The evening was a disaster for the duo and for the Wallabies despite Lolesio’s second half try. Cards were marked, reputations soured.
Since then Lolesio has had to learn on the run, making mistakes but showing promise at the same time. It’s why his axing from the Argentinian tour, even after Quade Cooper’s injury in Mendoza, was startling.
It was only in July that the Brumbies playmaker had come at the last second for Cooper in Perth that Lolesio had led the Wallabies to a stunning, character-filled victory. The Wallabies lost the next two Tests, but Lolesio was hardly the reason for the defeats.
On Sunday, however, he played with the same understated nature that stood out about Cooper’s performances last year when he too returned against the Springboks.
The Wallabies showed a clinicalness that had been missing over the past month.
The forwards might have been beaten at the set-piece but they rolled up their sleeves in general play and edged the collision area, which gave Nic White the quick ball he needed to unleash the Wallabies’ attack.
Marika Koroibete was incredible while his wing partner Tom Wright was dynamic.
What stood out about Lolesio’s game was his decision making.
His decision to shift the ball and set Koroibete up with a one-on-one early in the second half was crucial.
The second phase set play with Nic White and James Slipper, meanwhile, was brilliant as Lolesio stormed onto a ball from his prop standing at first-receiver and sent Fraser McReight over, who was the third of four Wallabies to debut on that fateful October night at the Olympic Stadium in 2020.
“We played a big chunk of the game without the ball in that first half, but our ability to react and be clinical when it counted (stood out about Lolesio),” Rennie said.
“You look at Marika’s try just after halftime, Noah’s understanding of the play, he actually wanted to play rather than slow the ball and try and go round the edge.
“He’s a confident kid, we talked a lot about playing flatter and playing on top of the defensive line, smart kicking options, and so it was good to see that from him.”
His audacious flick pass out the back of the hand showed the “confidence” Slipper spoke of on Friday, when the acting captain said the No.10 had not been affected by the in-and-out nature of his career to date.
The other rising star he found was McReight, who showed why Australian rugby observers had been calling for the Reds star to be afforded time even before captain Michael Hooper stepped away from the game earlier this month.
McReight, 23, gave the Wallabies the perfect start by finding his way to the try-line after just 62 seconds.
But his breakdown turnover midway through the first half was arguably more crucial, as he prevented the Springboks a chance to capitalise on momentum.
So when he scored his second midway through the second half it put an exclamation mark on the Wallabies’ performance and, by doing so, showcased that depth and burgeoning talent does exist in Australian rugby and is ready to fire on the international stage.
Rennie paid tribute to both men following the Test win, which eased the pressure on the New Zealand coach who was starting to feel the pinch of the relentless and high pressure stakes of international rugby.
“We’re really happy for Noah,” Rennie said.
“As we said going into the game, he’s played a lot of big footy, he’s played multiple Tests against New Zealand and England and France, so we had confidence that he would do the job and I thought he was excellent.
“And likewise with Fraser, he’s really grabbed his opportunity on the back of I guess good work done in front of him, too.
“A hell of an effort for a young seven to get a double today, and he got his hand on the pill post tackle.
“So a good performance from both those men.”
Of course backing up the performance is crucial for the Wallabies, with the two-time World Cup winners guilty of not building on strong showings in the past.
“We talked about respect being earned daily, and so we’ve got to back this up,” Rennie said.
“And what we know is the Africans are a helluva side and they’re going to be tougher next week, so we’re going to have to take our game to another level.
“Like I said we showed a lot of character in the first game in Mendoza, but we didn’t back that up. So if we genuinely want people to get behind us, we’ve got to front every week.
“I think if you front, and you empty out the tank for each other, whether you win or lose, people will respect that.”
Yet, what stood out about the win over the world champions was there is hope and life in Australian rugby.
For years observers have called for youth to be backed. On Saturday, following the sorry day in San Juan, they stood tall with Rennie forced to bank on his next generation.
Together with rising centres Hunter Paisami and Len Ikitau, as well as the impressive Rob Valetini at the back of the scrum, they showed there is depth in Australian rugby.
More bumps and bruises will be had along the way, no player is the complete one at such ages, but at the very least the learner licenses should be completed and youth backed to flourish with opportunity and surrounded by experience.
