Bledisloe Cup: Wallabies team for match three, Noah Lolesio to play at five-eighth
Dave Rennie is either a genius or a gambler because his selections for the Bledisloe Cup don’t make any sense, but in a year when nothing has gone to script, maybe that’s the approach needed to silence the cocky Kiwis.
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IN a year where nothing has gone the way it was supposed to, maybe, just maybe the Wallabies are onto something with their radical sink or swim approach.
Convention says that picking a team packed with rookies to take on the All Blacks is a sure fire way to lose, but if 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that the unthinkable has become the norm.
How else can you explain the makeup of the Wallabies side for the third Bledisloe Cup match?
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Seven of the starting 15 players have earned five or less caps. Two players – in the key positions of five-eighth and inside centre no less – will make their Test debuts, along with another two newcomers on the bench.
It’s selection madness on an industrial scale but new Wallabies coach Dave Rennie believes it might just work.
“We’re well aware of the quality of the opposition but it’s exciting for us,” he said.
“We’ve got some young men who are being tested and learning lots but there’s no reason why if we go out and play at our best on the weekend we can’t win.”
In Rennie’s defence, he really didn’t have much choice. The exodus of Australia’s most experienced players to rich overseas clubs had already forced him to fasttrack the next generation of players that could feature at the 2023 World Cup.
And with his two most experienced backs James O’Connor and Matt Toomua both unavailable because of injury, Rennie has bought into the theory that talent is like fruit – if you don’t pick it, it goes rotten.
That means 20-year-old sensation Noah Lolesio will make his debut in the pivotal No. 10 jersey with his Brumbies teammate Irae Simone next to him at inside centre, joining whiz-kid Jordan Petaia in the midfield.
History suggests the three youngsters will be lambs to the slaughter against a ruthless All Blacks side that will run straight at them after rebounding from the drawn first test to smash the Wallabies 27-7 in the second match, but Rennie is unfazed.
“We’re always keen to give some of our young men a crack, they’ve had big Super (Rugby) seasons so they should come in with confidence,” he said.
“We’ve certainly got an eye for the future but it’s also about winning on Saturday.
“We’ve worked really hard and we’re going to get a lot better over time but you’ve got to get results now, too.”
Conservative with his selections for the first two Tests, Rennie’s thrown caution to the wind this time.
He recalled Dane Haylett-Petty for the first time since last year’s World Cup in Japan to start at fullback for Tom Banks and stacked the bench with attackers, including wrecking-ball tighthead prop Taniela Tupou and new caps, livewire halfback Tate McDermott and loose forward Fraser McReight.
Lolesio’s selection caught the All Blacks by surprise, though the New Zealand coach Ian Foster didn’t seem too concerned.
That’s the Kiwi way.
“We don’t have to change our approach,” Foster said.
“I was impressed with him during Super Rugby. He’s a young man who likes to play flat, he probably plays flatter than O’Connor, he’s not afraid to take the ball to the line and to create so you can see the potential.”
The All Blacks made three changes to their forward pack. The most significant was the selection of Hoskins Sotutu at number eight, replacing Ardie Savea, who stayed in New Zealand after the recent birth of his son.
Savea’s absence is a massive boost for the Wallabies after his barnstorming performance at Eden Park but the Australians will still have to find a way to stop Caleb Clarke, the giant wing sensation who has been likened to Jonah Lomu.
The 21-year-old cut the Wallabies to shreds in Auckland but his Australian opposite Filipo Daugunu – who has played just two Tests – has vowed to pepper him with kicks then belt him.
“We’re looking forward to playing against him again,” Daugunu said.
“Our aim is to kick to him and for him to catch it so we can smash him. Our target for this week was him. I can’t wait to hit him.”
Lock Matt Philip, with just five caps to his name, joined his teammate in sledging Clarke.
“We defend as a team,” Philip said.
“It’s not just big ‘Lipo here trying to end him, it’ll be the whole team.”
WALLABIES TEAM
15-Dane Haylett-Petty, 14-Filipo Daugunu, 13-Jordan Petaia, 12-Irae Simone, 11-Marika Koroibete, 10-Noah Lolesio, 9-Nic White, 8-Harry Wilson, 7-Michael Hooper (captain), 6-Ned Hanigan, 5-Matt Philip, 4-Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 3-Allan Alaalatoa, 2-Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1-James Slipper
Reserves: 16-Jordan Uelese, 17-Scott Sio, 18-Taniela Tupou, 19-Rob Simmons, 20-Fraser McReight, 21-Tate McDermott, 22-Reece Hodge , 23-Hunter Paisami
ALL BLACKS TEAM
15-Beauden Barrett, 14-Jordie Barrett, 13-Anton Lienert-Brown, 12-Jack Goodhue, 11-Caleb Clarke, 10-Richie Mo’unga, 9-Aaron Smith, 8-Hoskins Sotutu, 7-Sam Cane (captain), 6-Shannon Frizell, 5-Sam Whitelock, 4-Patrick Tuipulotu, 3-Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 2-Dane Coles, 1-Karl Tu’inukuafe
Reserves: 16-Codie Taylor, 17-Alex Hodgman, 18-Tyrel Lomax, 19-Scott Barrett , 20-Dalton Papalii, 21-TJ Perenara, 22-Ngani Laumape, 23-Rieko Ioane
Shock Bledisloe Cup return for unwanted Wallaby
Dane Haylett-Petty will be rushed straight back into the Wallabies team for Saturday’s must win Bledisloe Cup match at ANZ Stadium more than a year after he was dumped from the World Cup side.
Haylett-Petty hasn’t played for the Wallabies since last year’s final pool D game against Georgia in Japan after he was surprisingly left out of the team that lost in the quarterfinals to England but has been given a reprieve by new coach Dave Rennie.
Unavailable for the first two Bledisloe Cup tests because of a groin injury, the Melbourne Rebels’ captain will start at fullback against the All Blacks, replacing Tom Banks after he struggled in the second test defeat in Auckland.
“The way we’ve approached it is jerseys are up for grabs, so they have to prove at training they are worthy of the shirt,” assistant coach Scott Wisemantel said.
“Obviously now that Super Rugby has finished and they’re not playing games regularly, it has to be training. Shirts have been given out on the basis of training performances. On that basis, it means that everyone is a chance.”
The Wallabies will have to make one enforced change to the backline with inside centre Matt Toomua on the casualty list, with Irae Simone and Reece Hodge vying for the spot, and are also likely to bring in whiz-kid Jordan Petaia at outside centre.
Wallaby World Cup winner Tim Horan said Petaia’s return from injury left Rennie with some ‘brave calls’ to make but former All Black Andrew Mehrtens said it was no-brainer to pick him at outside centre.
“For me, Petaia has got to be at 13, he’s just got so much ability,” Mehrtens said.
“He’s such a threat on so many levels that you want the ball in his hands as often as possible and he’ll get those chances more at 13 than on the wing.
“The interesting thing in the midfield, with potentially a couple of inexperienced players in there, I’d almost be tempted to throw Reece Hodge in the mix to provide a bit more of that vision and communication alongside (James) O’Connor.”
Wisemantel said the Wallabies hadn’t lost any self-belief after their 27-7 loss in the second test, rejecting suggestions the All Blacks had overpowered Australia after the drawn first test.
Instead, Wisemantel said the Wallabies brought about their own downfall by missing 40 tackles and turning the ball over 20 times.
“Did they take it up a notch or were we inaccurate?” Wisemantel said.
“(We) Just need to be far more accurate. Defence, attack, our whole all-round game, we’ve got to be more accurate.”
Meanwhile, Wallaby prop Scott Sio and New Zealand lock Patrick Tuipulotu have put their rivalry to the side by calling on Australia and New Zealand to end the “broken promises” and finally to do more for Pacific Island players and teams.
Appointed as ambassadors for the Samoa Tourism Authority with the country’s economy hard hit by the pandemic, both men said the need for a Pasifika team in Super Rugby had moved past the lip service stage.
“This is something that we want but then again there are a lot of hoops to go through and a lot of cogs to move before we get anywhere,” Tuipulotu said.
“It‘s almost like there has been a lot of broken promises over the years and it’s hard to really start something.”
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Sio, whose father represented Samoa at test level, said there was overwhelming support among all players for matches in the Pacific.
“It’s not that players don’t want to travel there,” he said.
“There are a lot of boxes needing to be ticked and we don’t have a lot of influence on a lot of that. But we can use our platform to keep raising that awareness that we think it’s a great opportunity for both countries to expand and grow the game of rugby.”
Wallabies vs All Blacks Bledisloe III is Live on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo from 7.00pm Saturday (Available in 4k on Foxtel)
Originally published as Bledisloe Cup: Wallabies team for match three, Noah Lolesio to play at five-eighth