Last Sunday at midday local time Australia played Uruguay at The Rugby World Cup. With Australia ranked 17 spots higher that their South American foes in the most recent IRB World Rankings, the game was expected to be little more than a training run. 65 Australian points later and that expectation had been well and truly realised. 11 tries underlining a predictably dominant performance from a side that was almost entirely a second string unit (Michael Cheika made 14 changes from the Fiji game and would have made 15 if James Slipper hadn’t been concussed). Given the fact that the game was never in doubt and the quality of the opposition so far below what The Wallabies will face from now on, it was hard to take anything away from the contest, despite some of the most fluent pieces of team play seen at The World Cup so far.
However, Melbourne Rebels back row star Sean McMahon truly stood out above everyone else on the field. Despite turning 21 just a few months ago, McMahon excellence isn’t a recent phenomenon; he first came to prominence with the Australian Sevens side, featuring first in 2011 at just 17. Following two successful years he moved back to the fifteen aside version of the game, again quickly rising through the ranks with The Melbourne Rebels to make his debut in the first game of the 2014 Super Rugby season against The Cheetahs. He would go on to make 13 appearances; six from the start and seven off the bench, before establishing himself as a constant in the starting lineup this year, featuring fifteen games while almost doubling his 2014 minutes total.
In a Rebels team that featured the mercurial Scott Higginbotham as its key back row cog, McMahon was tasked with a less glamourous role; playing at blindside flanker, the vast majority of his work came in and around the contact area. His 146 tackles at an average of almost 10 per game were the 12th highest total in the competition, why his tireless support work in attack led to eight linebreaks as well as an unfathomable amount of work clearing out ball for an improved backline.
The Rebels’ short history in Super Rugby has been blighted by injuries, off field debacles and on field inconsistency; but, in large part due to McMahon’s constant energy and reliable performances, enjoyed their best campaign in 2015. They finished third in the Australian conference while challenging for a playoff spot until the last few weeks of the season. However, while McMahon has played at a consistently high level for The Rebels for two seasons, it is with The Wallabies that he has flashed the world class potential and game changing ability.
Late last year, when making his debut as an early substitute against a very talented Barbarians side, McMahon was irresistible, wreaking havoc both with and without the ball throughout the contest before scoring a decisive try late one to guarantee an Aussie victory. Playing as the openside flanker, the youngster was given more licence to roam, allowing him to display a natural athleticism and; more importantly, physicality to rival any backrower at the top of the game. In fact, while his rise to prominence has led to the very obvious comparisons to Michael Hooper and David Pocock, that raw power and physicality is more reminiscence of a young Richie McCaw (though the rest of his game may not compare as favourably to the great man).
Since then, McMahon has played four more times for his country, with his path to a more regular place currently obstructed be the star combination of Hooper and Pocock. However, when given a chance; particularly when that chance has come in the number seven jersey, McMahon has stood out, dominating the competition while also outshining more glamourous teammates. However, with his omission (understandable though it may be) from the squad to face England on Saturday confirmed by coach Michael Cheika, McMahon remains the future for Australia, rather that its present.
That is what McMahon looks like at his best though; not just a future starter for Australia, that’s a certainty, but the future of the sport in general. Players, particularly in the southern hemisphere, are becoming more versatile, more multi-dimensional. Forwards are being asked to feature in sweeping, sideline to sideline attacks that used to be the sole domain of their more skilful teammates. It is now rarely good enough, outside of the front row, to be able to play just one position, as compatriots Adam Ashley-Cooper and Pocock are showing.
McMahon exemplifies this transition, with his sevens background and diverse skillset allowing him to play any position in the back row and mould his game accordingly. Play him at six and he’ll never stop working in every aspect of play, at seven he focuses his efforts more toward being disruptive at the breakdown, at eight, which his has played more sparingly, he becomes a ball carrying fiend; belying his smaller stature to consistently get over the gainline and bully bigger opponents.
That versatility and workrate is a big reason why Cheika selected him in the squad in the first place, with his ability to cover multiple positions potentially proving invaluable. Barring an injury to Hooper or Pocock, this World Cup is unlikely to provide the platform for McMahon’s breakout on the global stage. Given his immense talent and application though, it truly is only a matter of time.
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