On a wing with flair: Dom Shipperley nominates rivals as leaders in race for Wallaby honours

DOM Shipperley rates Joe Tomane, Nick Cummins and Luke Morahan as the wing frontrunners for the Wallabies’ three-Test series versus France.

Dom Shipperley in his last game for the Reds before injuring his hip against the Stormers

DOM Shipperley rates Queenslanders Joe Tomane, Nick Cummins and Luke Morahan as the wing frontrunners for the Wallabies’ three-Test series against France in June.

Shipperley is expected to make his Super Rugby comeback from a hip injury when the Queensland Reds travel to Wellington on Saturday week to face the Hurricanes.

All three of the Wallabies candidates Shipperley named on Tuesday are Queensland-raised wingers who are enjoying productive seasons with rival franchises while the Reds have been stretched in the outside backs.

Nick Cummins scores the third try in his hat-trick for the Force against the Waratahs.

Tomane troubled the Reds in attack and defence in their three-point loss to the Brumbies, while Shipperley said Cummins’s three-try performance for the Force against the Waratahs rocketed him to the top of the pecking order and illustrated the importance of seizing rare opportunities on the flanks.

“Sometimes it’s right place, right time,” Shipperley said of Cummins’s hat-trick. “You’ve got to take those when they’re on offer.

“It’s not clear-cut and there’s plenty of games left (before selection).”

Shipperley is backing himself to make a lasting contribution after struggling to string games together. Injuries and competition for spots has made it difficult for him to demonstrate consistency.

James Horwill is unhappy at the squandering of hard-won possession by his team’s backs.

The Reds backs are treating their next two games in New Zealand as opportunities to demonstrate they can add value to their forwards’ set-piece dominance.

Skipper James Horwill said he was frustrated the pack had not received more credit and Shipperley is keen to see his teammates rewarded.

“Apparently there’s nothing worse than looking up from a scrum and seeing a dropped ball,” the winger said.

“It’s not pleasing for them when they work so hard on the set-piece, and their set-piece is brilliant.

“It’s frustrating but we don’t let that get to us and we don’t turn on each other.’’