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Tour perfect time to build nucleus for 2011 challenge
Mark Ella | September 20, 2008
IN 2005, then-Wallabies coach Eddie Jones selected a number of exciting young players to go on Australia's end-of-season tour of the northern hemisphere. Unfortunately he stayed true to his senior players and the youngsters warmed the bench or watched from the grandstands.
Jones wasted the perfect opportunity two years before the 2007 World Cup to give the rising stars of Australian rugby a sniff of what it means to represent your country and in the end he fell on his sword, to be quickly replaced by John Connolly upon their return.
When Connolly assumed control of the Wallabies in 2006, he had to make a decision on whether to introduce young legs to a tiring, battle-scarred team or persevere with what he had and simply hope for the best.
He stuck with what he had - thus maintaining the clear influence of several senior players within the squad - and the team's downfall against England in the quarter-finals proved him wrong and out the door he went.
So the question of what type of squad incumbent coach Robbie Deans will select for the tour, starting with the Test against New Zealand in Hong Kong on November 1, is intriguing. Deans no doubt will justifiably state that throughout the just completed Test season he has certainly introduced a number of young, talented players to the Wallabies side and that there doesn't need to be a clean-out right now.
Players such as Luke Burgess, James Horwill, Ryan Cross, Peter Hynes, Ben Alexander, Dean Mumm and Hugh McMeniman have given the Wallabies a new sense of excitement and they hopefully will be the nucleus of our next World Cup campaign, in 2011.
Of course, we shouldn't forget the number of talented players who had a small but important part in Deans's new adventure. Such as Lachie Turner, Digby Ioane and Richard Brown without forgetting exciting players Kurtley Beale, Quade Cooper, Ben Lucas, Rob Horne, Nick Cummins, David Pocock and a potential superstar in James O'Connor who is still only 17.
With Dan Vickerman, Rocky Elsom and Sam Cordingley packing up for their own overseas adventures, it will be important to see if some of these young players step up to the demands of Test rugby.
I doubt that Deans will stray too far away from all the players he has utilised this season, but for the sake of taking rugby forward in this country and to give the Wallabies a competitive edge in 2011 he must continue to blood new talent.
There are a number of positions within the team which are far from settled, and although he will not want to blood players he thinks are not up to it he may have little choice but continue his experimentations.
The fullback position seemed to be Cameron Shepherd's until he was injured and since then Deans has used Adam Ashley-Cooper and Drew Mitchell with varying degrees of success.
Outside of these two players there is an option to play Waratahs fullback-cum-winger Turner at the back but from his displays with the Waratahs during the Super 14 he should remain on the wing until he comes to grips with this level of rugby and let his speed on the flanks do the talking for him.
Hynes has been a standout this year and Lote Tuqiri has been more consistent than in the past two seasons although I would hope there is a space for young Rob Horne to show what he can do either on the wing on at outside centre.
Even though Berrick Barnes has a mortgage on the Wallabies' No12 jersey, I have no doubt Deans will persist with giving Timana Tahu plenty of playing time on tour.
At inside centre, Deans can also experiment with Cooper at inside centre and even Beale if it gets that desperate. But having Barnes, Tahu and Cooper should be sufficient.
The key role which has plagued the Wallabies for a number of years is the reserve five-eighth role, if you consider Matt Giteau our best option at the moment.
For the first time a long while, Australia has a plethora of young outstanding five-eighths who just need playing time at the elite level.
I would be disappointed if both Beale and Cooper were not picked in the touring squad; not only because of their youth and versatility but as genuine ball players who, over the next couple of years, will really challenge Giteau for the No10 jersey, which must be good for Australian rugby.
A young player who also should be considered because of his versatility is Reds halfback Lucas, who is a former five-eighth and has all the creative skills needed to keep the opposition guessing at the set pieces.
This year the Wallabies forwards have improved their technique at the set piece, particularly the scrum, which has by and large held its own against some of the best. This tour will be an important barometer of how far they have come since last year's World Cup.
Mumm and McMeniman can play either lock or blind side flanker and without Elsom they will get their opportunities.
At number eight, Richard Brown, who made his debut for the Wallabies last weekend in Brisbane, showed a new level of enthusiasm and passion in the position. I hope he gets plenty of game time.
All these exciting young players may make players such as Nathan Sharpe, Phil Waugh, George Smith, Wycliff Palu, Tuqiri and captain Stirling Mortlock feel old but they are our future.
I sincerely hope Deans doesn't make the same mistakes that his two predecessors did.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...015656,00.html
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