Wallabies star Jordan Petaia comfortable with swapping between wing and fullback

Wallabies star Jordan Petaia has no problems with moving between wing and fullback for Australia.

Jordan Petaia doesn’t mind where he plays. Picture: Andres Larrovere / AFP

Wallabies excitement machine Jordan Petaia has embraced shifting between wing and fullback as Australia’s depth in both positions improves ahead of next year’s World Cup.

Despite his preference to occupy the custodian’s role, Petaia started on the right wing in the Wallabies’ 41-26 Rugby Championship weekend win over Argentina in Mendoza.

However, he wasn’t confined to the wing role as he and his teammate in the No.15 fullback jersey, Tom Wright, swapped spots at different times during the match.

“That’s definitely one of our strengths in the squad – we’re all so interchangeable and we can all fill that role being wing or fullback,” Petaia said.

“It’s good we’re building depth. Players are learning more roles, and having the ability to fill those roles when we need them to is a strength we’re building on.

“A lot of us in those two positions share a lot of the same qualities.

“As you saw with ‘Wrighty’, he just slotted in quite naturally as well in those Tests where we had injuries, so it’s definitely a positive for us that we were able to interchange and just slot in where (Wallabies coach) Dave (Rennie) needs us.”

Wallabies star Jordan Petaia says the Wallabies are building depth. Picture: Daniel Jayo/Getty Images

The Wallabies’ injury toll grew on the weekend with the loss of star flyhalf Quade Cooper, who ruptured his achilles tendon in his comeback from a calf problem.

However, Petaia – who has too often been among the casualties in recent years – has been encouraged by his own fitness in Argentina.

“I’m happy with how things are going. We’ve got a great (strength and conditioning) team here and medical staff,” he said.

“They keep a lot of the boys in top shape.”

A starting replacement will need to be found for Cooper in San Juan on Sunday morning (AEST) when the Wallabies aim for back-to-back wins over Argentina.

Noah Lolesio is perhaps the frontrunner ahead of the more experienced James O’Connor, while utility back Reece Hodge is also in contention after coming on for the injured Cooper last weekend.

“(Cooper) is obviously a big loss,” Hodge said.

“He’s a very experienced player and the one thing with Quadey is that he’s an expert at getting the best out of those people around him, so we’re not hiding the fact that it’s a massive loss for our team and our squad.

“In saying that we’ve obviously got two world-class 10s in Noah … and James O’Connor.

“We’ve got two really good options there heading into the game this weekend. It’s up to the guys around them to do their role and make their job easy, and hopefully we can put a polished performance together.”

Originally published as Wallabies star Jordan Petaia comfortable with swapping between wing and fullback