Challenge issued to 206cm star as Wallabies great declares new era nears

Wallabies great James Horwill has challenged man-mountain Angus Blyth to embrace the contest that awaits him amid a logjam never before seen at Ballymore.

There are few more physically daunting figures in Australian rugby than the 206cm 26-year-old Blyth, who emerged from obscurity to earn his maiden Test call-up last year alongside fellow unsung locks Ryan Smith and Seru Uru.

Angus Blyth earned a Wallabies debut last year, now he faces a fight for his Queensland Reds spot.Credit: Getty Images

But the Reds’ recruitment of Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and Josh Canham – who took the second row spots in the side’s 82-21 thumping of Bristol – clouds Blyth’s place in the side.

Horwill, who captained Queensland’s breakthrough 2011 Super Rugby triumph, believes should Blyth and Smith lose their incumbency, they must embrace the role off the bench.

The Reds lost to the Hurricanes, Blues and Brumbies at the death in 2024, costing them a top-four berth.

“It’s on [Blyth] now to make sure he steps up, and I think he will. They’re the guys who are the cornerstone in the forward pack – they do a lot of stuff that goes unnoticed by the public, who just shore up the team with that physical presence, and do all the nitty-gritty really well,” Horwill said.

“They’re not always the flashy guys, they’re not always on top of the stats, but they’re the guys you can rely on … and allow you to build your game.

“The bench now is so important. You can see the teams who do well, the Kiwis traditionally bring that firepower off the bench and lift the gear because the game is so attritional now.”

The axing of the Melbourne Rebels due to their financial demise has created a logjam for spots in the four remaining Australian outfits.

Smith, Blyth, and Australia A representatives John Bryant and Joe Brial face the prospect of missing the Reds’ game day 23.

But Horwill believed condensing the talent would lift the nation from the rugby doldrums, after being bundled out of the 2023 World Cup in the group stages.

Horwill saw the makings of a Reds group who could adapt their game – at times leaning on their pack’s size and strength, while also opting for mobility up front to play a faster brand.

Given the different styles Australia, New Zealand and Fiji-based outfits would bring, the Wallabies’ triumphant 2011 Tri-Nations skipper was adamant that diversity would be key to success.

“Sometimes as good as your team is, it’s about the people you leave out, not who you’ve actually got in the team,” Horwill said.

“You just have to look at the squads on paper now and the depth they have in certain positions that we haven’t had over the last little bit.”

James Horwill

“While it’s disappointing for Melbourne fans and the Melbourne Rebels organisation … it will make competition for spots that much harder and make people compete at that provincial level and go ‘I’ve got to keep performing, otherwise there’s someone to take my spot’.”