Cut the B.S.: The Western Force’s scrum-half question: Nic White or Issak Fines-Lelei
Ben Smith
The West Australian
October 19, 2023 2:00AM
The Western Force’s signing of veteran Wallabies scrum-half Nic White, lured over from the Brumbies, was widely applauded when it was announced.
It is a move which should still be praised as evidence of the Force’s moves to attract big-name talent — however, there is a slight problem.
Issak Fines-Leleiwasa, the man who wore number nine last season and came from the clouds to fight his way into Eddie Jones’ ill-fated Wallabies squad for the Rugby World Cup, will not surrender the jersey easily.
The Force now have in their possession arguably two of the three best scrum-halves in Australia. This is unarguably a good thing.
The trouble is, you can only play one scrum-half at a time and the reality is the incumbent starter may surpass the big-name signing by next season — if he has not already.
Fines-Leleiwasa was voted as the members’ MVP last season and turned in some eye-catching performances which helped vault him into the Wallabies squad.
White is still a good Super Rugby player, one of the best scrum-halves in the country, and his steady hands and leadership will be invaluable to the Force — but given the way Fines-Leleiwasa ended last season and the fact he is still in the prime of his career with room to grow, there is a decent chance he might be the Force’s best option at nine.
There is an overflow of talent at scrum-half for the Force: beyond the two Wallabies, Ian Prior has been a steadying presence on the team for some time, while young Henry Robertson showed promising signs against the Cheetahs in their recent spring series.
The Force are spoilt for choice at nine, but only two of them will make the weekly 23, and only one will start.
When White’s signing was announced, Force general manager of rugby Matt Hodgson said having a surplus of options at the specialist position was important.
“As you’ve seen in most squads, you’ve got to use a lot of players. I think we’ve used five nines this year and we lost one early, so we just have need to have depth in that position, the ability to bring all different type of players,” he said.
“Nic controls the game, has good game management, has leadership on and off the field and then Finesy, Henry Robbo and even Prior have different attributes, and so depending on who we play and where we play — for example, we come back from Christchurch on a six-day turnaround — we could rest players and have the ability to do that now.”
There is definite logic and reason in keeping the half-back fridge well-stocked in case of injuries and as Hodgson pointed out, White and Fines-Leleiwasa have differing skill sets, with the former’s control and rhythm a nice complement to the latter’s speed and guile.
The Force have spoken highly of White’s leadership skills and work ethic and his arrival will bring competitiveness, experience and top-end talent to a Force side needing all three.
Ultimately, the intangibles White offers means he can still make a substantial impact on the Force whether or not he wins the nine jersey, and how the team handles the position moving forward in terms of rotation and tactics will be intriguing.
It is also worth remembering iron sharpens iron; two very good scrum-halves fighting for one position means the Force should ultimately benefit no matter how the position battle shakes out.
https://www.perthnow.com.au/opinion/...asa-c-12219268
