Giant Reds rookie Izack Rodda set to relegate Wallaby Kane Douglas to Reds bench
GIANT Reds rookie Izack Rodda is set for a shock start against the Crusaders which will mean the axe for 2015 World Cup Wallabies lock Kane Douglas.
IZACK Rodda is set for a shock start at the Reds which will mean the axe for 2015 World Cup Wallabies lock Kane Douglas.
Abrasive 2.02m pillar Rodda is still just 20 but his raw size, mobility and workrate have thrust his name forward for Saturday night’s clash against the unbeaten Crusaders at Suncorp Stadium.
His strong 18-minute cameo in the opening round against the Sharks has convinced coach Nick Stiles the 119kg unit is up to it when needed.
An alert lineout steal, one of the lost arts in Australian rugby, five willing runs and some tackle grunt were all part of that glimpse at a big future.
The team to face the Crusaders is a major litmus test of how Stiles, the selector, reacts to a poor performance, especially one he branded as “atrocious” against the Western Force.
A team cannot be hit with a verbal sledgehammer like that and then tickled with a feather with no selection changes.
That has happened far too often in recent seasons when the same starting XV has trundled out the week after a loss because poor squad depth has prevented meaningful changes.
IOANE: former Red set to face former club
Stiles has to change the team and he has the near fully-fit squad of options to do it.
Douglas had a low-key game in the 26-19 loss in Perth, when the lineout also misfired, but the 31-Test Wallaby was hardly alone.
Stiles sidestepped when asked exactly where changes would come but there was a clear sense they would.
“Coming off years of winning three or four games a season, there is not the luxury of being cute with selections,” Stiles said. “The first criteria is performance.’’
When asked directly about Rodda’s progress, Stiles was upbeat that he had taken the leap from Australian Schoolboys forward at Ipswich Grammar in 2014 to Super Rugby-ready.
“It’s not easy to come on for your Reds debut and aim up physically as he did against a big pack like the Sharks possess,” Stiles said.
“He has a natural aggression and doesn’t care who the opposition is.’’
Matt Cockbain, the hard-hitting Minister of Defence in Australia’s 1999 World Cup-winning team, has been tuning his coaching repertoire as an observer at Reds training this week.
He is not easily impressed but his opinion that Rodda just finds a way over the gain-line is worth plenty.
The Crusaders will be without All Blacks skipper Kieran Read (wrist surgery) but in-form Israel Dagg, Owen Franks, Ryan Crotty, Sam Whitelock, Matt Todd and Wyatt Crockett head an impressive roll call of Test aces.
Originally published as Giant Reds rookie Izack Rodda set to relegate Wallaby Kane Douglas to Reds bench
‘Cry all the time’: $5m man’s road from rags to riches
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii knew at a young age how much a dollar was really worth, as his parents worked night and day to make ends meet. Before he was even a teenager he knew he needed to step up.
Suaalii’s new position revealed ahead of Super Rugby opener
After missing NSW’s final trial match against the Brumbies a fortnight ago, Super Rugby’s highest-profile recruit has been given a positional switch for his Waratahs debut.