Wallabies warm to Huxley at No. 15
Wallabies warm to Huxley at No. 15
Greg Growden, Chief Rugby Correspondent
Monday, April 30, 2007
Julian Huxley has suddenly become a prime contender to be the Test fullback against Wales in Sydney on May 26.
Although it seemed that Huxley's chances of making the Wallabies had passed him by, the selectors, in particular coach John Connolly, have been impressed by his recent performances for the Brumbies at fullback, and he seems certain to make the 30-man squad to be announced on May 20.
Helping Huxley is the lack of candidates for the No.15 spot. With injured Chris Latham unavailable until the second Bledisloe Cup match in July and Connolly's apparent reluctance to play Western Force's Drew Mitchell or Queensland's Clinton Schifcofske at fullback, Huxley is virtually the last man standing.
There are concerns about Huxley's unpredictability, a tendency to overplay his hand and haphazard defence, but selectors note he has been a prime reason for the Brumbies' success this season.
The uncapped Huxley has one of the better midfield kicking games, and his willingness to trust himself in attack has often led to line breaks. Such initiative will work in favour of the 27-year-old, who moved to the Brumbies this year from the Reds after Queensland coach Eddie Jones showed only lukewarm interest in him.
If Connolly selects Huxley for the opening domestic Tests he cannot be criticised for picking on reputation rather than form. Two Tests against Wales before one against Fiji in Perth on June 9, give him the chance to experiment before the more important Tri Nations and Bledisloe Cup fixtures.
Another left-field selection may well occur on the wing, with the Western Force's Digby Ioane in contention. While Lote Tuqiri will be on one wing, the other is expected to be between Ioane, Scott Staniforth, Mitchell and Mark Gerrard.
Ioane would address some of Connolly's concerns about a lack of pace in Australia's attack, as he proved in his standout game on Friday against the Cheetahs.
NSW rookie Lachlan Turner is another speedster, but the Test selectors are expected to bring him on slowly in Australia A fixtures.
The centre combination is also a confusion of names, and will be dependent on where Matt Giteau plays. There is still a concerted push for Giteau to play at halfback, with George Gregan his back-up, which could result in an ACT midfield combination of Adam Ashley-Cooper and Stirling Mortlock. Staniforth and Junior Pelesasa are two other No.12 options, while Ryan Cross is likely to be Mortlock's outside-centre back-up.
The Western Force's slim chance of making the final four has also ended any plans the Wallabies team management had of resting Giteau and Nathan Sharpe for the last-round match against the Blues in Perth on Friday night.
The Force will be attempting to thrash the Blues in the hope of sneaking in. It seems near impossible, especially as the Force's for-and-against points is low. If either the Bulls, Chiefs or Brumbies win, the Force are finished.
A Force victory would help the Brumbies, who must win for the first time in Dunedin on Saturday night, when they play the Highlanders, to be able to sneak into the finals.
But they are also relying on the Bulls, Blues and Chiefs faltering.
