1. Wallabies RWC squad will look nothing like their first get-together
Eddie Jones loves picking players. After his exit from England, analysis from London’s The Daily Telegraph showed he capped a remarkable 112 players during his time at Twickenham, with 14 of those winning only one cap. Therefore, it’s best not to read too much into his first Wallabies squad, but rather monitor those who were left out.
Bounceback performances by Tate McDermott, Jake Gordon and Noah Lolesio over past two weeks would likely mean they all would be selected if Jones named a new squad tomorrow, while Izaia Perese was among a group of seven players called into the squad to cover injuries on Sunday.
Perese was the weekend’s big mover in the right direction, while the reality of putting the 18-year-old Max Jorgensen up against bigger bodies was evident a few times in the Waratahs-Force game.
2. A par performance from the Waratahs
NSW probably played better against the Brumbies, and lost, than they did in the bonus-point win against the Force on Saturday. The recovery, therefore, still has a long way to go and the loss of Dave Porecki after a first-half HIA was a big blow with a trip to Eden Park to face the Blues looming.
Izaia Perese makes a break for the Waratahs on Saturday.Credit: Getty
Dylan Pietsch, Lalakai Foketi, Izaia Perese and Jake Gordon were positives against the Force, while Jed Holloway is again running some damaging lines.
But there were 20-odd soft minutes that will be severely punished if repeated against the top sides.
3. Fraser McReight is starting to challenge Michael Hooper
This contest hasn’t existed until now, except in the minds of some parochial Queenslanders. But McReight’s form, consistency and a bit more physicality this year has narrowed the gap to the Waratahs No.7. McReight was excellent against a big, if limited, Moana Pasifika side and his work without the ball is growing incrementally. He is still essentially a carrier and link man, but not exclusively any more.
The Reds’ Fraser McReight.Credit: Getty
He’s been great in 2023, while the Brumbies’ Rory Scott continues to look like a Test player. He’s a big man now, and he’ll play for the Wallabies despite his omission from the first squad of the year. As for Hooper? He’s coming off his best game of the season against the Force.
Cully’s Team of the Week
- Tom Robertson (Force)
- Matt Faessler (Reds)
- Zane Nonggorr (Reds)
- Jed Holloway (Waratahs)
- Ryan Smith (Reds)
- Rob Valetini (Brumbies)
- Fraser McReight (Reds) – Player of the week
- Harry Wilson (Reds)
- Tate McDermott (Reds)
- Lawson Creighton (Reds)
- Ben O’Donnell (Brumbies)
- Lalakai Foketi (Waratahs)
- Izaia Perese (Waratahs)
- Suliasi Vunivalu (Reds)
- Tom Wright (Brumbies)
4. Simon Cron has picked the hardest job in Australia
The Force are coming off a brutal run – three games in New Zealand and a trip to Sydney – but they’ll be a chance against the Highlanders in Perth next week. However, there is no disguising the structural challenges they face.
In short, they need access to the better young players coming out of the eastern states. You have to feel for them: they got Australian rugby out of a major hole by joining Super Rugby AU in its hour of need, but try having a conversation about talent equalisation measures to fans in NSW and Queensland. There is no appetite for it.
5. The question mark for the Brumbies’ title hopes
The Brumbies conceded 64 points against Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua in Canberra. They still look uncomfortable when the game goes away from structure, and it was telling to see how the Crusaders played against them in round five.
The Crusaders love a bit of structure themselves, but they very obviously switched to a wide game and an offload game to take the Brumbies out of their comfort zone. The key tests for the Brumbies are against the Hurricanes (away) in round 10, and the Chiefs (home) in round 14. That’s when we’ll know if they are the real thing.
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