What a month it has been for departures. When I originally penned this article a fortnight ago, there was a lot of speculation. Since then, we have learned of the loss of two key players on the Test scene; Will Genia and Bernard Foley. It seems that post 2015 RWC, we may be severely lacking test quality halves.
2016: Wallabies Beyond the Exodus Part 2
Nic White is set to also join the exodus. One may note however that by the end of 2014, he seemed to be third choice scrum half anyway. Quade Cooper is contracted until the end of the year with no word yet on whether he will stay or go. Should they decide to stay, they are more than sufficient to fill the halves pairing. Should QC ultimately decide to join the exodus, along with Foley as well – who then steps into the number 10? We’ve had a few failed experiments at 10 these last few years, need I say more? Once again, this is working on IF’s but Matt Toomua could fill the void, even though he has been preferred as a strong running, big hitting first receiver at 12 by Mackenzie and Cheika. After James O’Connor and Kurtley Beale had a go, I’m actually quite surprised Matty Toomua was never given a run, considering his talent and Test experience. This would leave a space that could easily be filled by his brumbies team-mate Christian Lealiifano, who had regained much of his form by the end of 2014. We could see the Wallabies backline go from NSW dominated to ACT dominated, with the men from Canberra potentially filling the 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14. The other very noticeable absence from the Wallabies back line beyond 2015 will be Mr Rugby himself, Adam Ashley-Cooper. I’ve always found AAC to be a bit of a backline enigma. He is too valuable to be left out of the team, yet never really nailed down a spot of his own. He mainly played on the wing, seemingly to fill a void of quality wingers, and also a few games in his usual 13. AAC also dabbled at fullback but it would be hard for even the Rugby Gods themselves to displace Izzy Folau from the 15. Folau was also touted as one of the select few whom the ARU might grant a sabbatical to; allowing him to go overseas for a season and still return to Test rugby. Regardless, AAC is a 100+ Test legend who rarely lets the Wallabies down. Yet for all this, it seemed like there was an unspoken truth of pink elephant proportions. Maybe he was no longer the best player in those positions. He is a great winger, but it’s not so much his favoured position which by this point, is now firmly held by Tevita Kuridrani and rightfully so I might add. With the likes of specialist wingers such as Speight, O’Connor and Tomane, the 11 and 14 seem to be well occupied for beyond the World Cup. Case in point, AAC is a huge loss to Australian Rugby but I also think a necessary one, to allow for the development of the next generation. The likes of Kyle Godwin, Tom English, Samu Kerevi, Luke Morahan and of course Karmichael Hunt will all be names we will no doubt see a lot more of.
So there you have it, despite the reported doom and gloom of the mass exodus of Australian Players, those eagerly awaiting their chance to step into these shoes are numerous. The changing of the guard is inevitable but this writer for one, believes this to be a good thing.
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