Rugby World Cup: Matt Toomua must start at five-eighth says former winner Matthew Burke
The list of the Wallabies on-field problems is growing but 1999 World Cup winner Matthew Burke has a simple fix that could solve two of the biggest.
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Wallabies legend Matthew Burke has called on Australia’s selectors to take a gamble to try to solve the team’s two big problems.
Australia are facing a treacherous path to the final because of their slow starts in the win against Fiji and the loss to Wales and problems finding a reliable goalkicker.
Burke, a World Cup winner in 1999, has called on the selectors to be brave and promote Matt Toomua to starting five-eighth and hand the kicking duties to Reece Hodge when he returns from suspension.
“I feel for the guys who have started in the last two matches but I really like what Matt Toomua has done when he’s come on,” Burke said.
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“I like the way he straightens up the attack and gets the team going forward, so I would play him in the next match against Uruguay just to get him some more game time.”
Primarily used as a replacement, Toomua has only started two Tests in the playmaking role in the past six years but with Christian Lealiifano and Bernard Foley both struggling, he has emerged as Australia’s last hope to fix the misfiring backline.
Burke says it’s time to let Toomua run the show from the start after he played the house down in his two cameo appearances off the bench. And he also wants a new goalkicker.
“I’d love to see Reece Hodge be the No. 1 kicker, if only for the fact that it will allow the No. 10s to concentrate on manipulating the game,” Burke said.
“Reece is a superb striker of the ball, he’s like Dustin Johnson hitting a nine-iron, so he can kick those long ones and the shorter ones when you need to convert those fives into sevens and those three-pointers along the way.”
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Australia’s other problem area is at halfback.
Nic White lost the starting spot after the Fiji game but Will Genia also struggled against Wales.
“I don’t think there’s much between Will and Whitey, so I’d maybe give Will a rest and give Nic a run against Uruguay,’’ Burke said. “But get the team to play more direct.”