Noah’s spark: How do the Wallabies get the best of an enigmatic playmaker?

At the end of 1997, the Wallabies were dealing with two burdens. One was cutting around in the new “volcano vomit” jersey. The other slightly more pressing issue was a revolving door at five-eighth.

After Michael Lynagh retired at the 1995 World Cup, the Wallabies No.10 shirt had floated between Scott Bowen, David Knox, Tim Horan and even a very young Elton Flatley. But in coach Rod Macqueen’s mind, none were the right guy to steer the Wallabies to victory in the 1999 World Cup.

You may remember the rest. In 1998, Macqueen took a punt and gave the job to a young utility called Stephen Larkham, who was the Brumbies fullback and hadn’t worn the No.10 since he was a teenager.

But what you may not know is the Macqueen pledge that came with the selection. Ahead of his first game at No.10 in a Test against England, the coach told Larkham his name would be on the team sheet as Wallabies five-eighth for the next six Test matches – no matter how he performed.

Stephen Larkham charging after being made the Wallabies No.10 in 1998.Credit: Craig Golding

“I hadn’t played five eighth at senior level, and Rod knew I would have been anxious about it,” Larkham told this masthead.

“Just having that conversation and hearing that commitment - whether it was true or not, I don’t know – but that just eased my mind. It allowed me to be a little more comfortable on the field.”

It turned out Larkham needed less than one game to make the jersey his own, let alone six - he steered the Wallabies to a 76-0 win at Lang Park and a legendary career in the gold No.10 began.

But Macqueen’s unusual promise still stuck with Larkham as influential. And 26 years on, as the Wallabies face another conundrum around an ever-rotating cast of five-eighths, the same sort of thinking could prove the key to unlocking the best out of another young Brumby.

The No.10 in question is Noah Lolesio, who will be the Wallabies five-eighth against the Springboks in Perth on Saturday. In a 25-Test career that began in 2020, it will be Lolesio’s 17th start in the positions – but those starts have come in seven different stints. Or to explain it in a different way, Lolesio has already been dropped six times as Wallabies five-eighth. He is still only 24.

Since emerging as a rising star in 2020, Lolesio has become one of Australian rugby’s most scrutinised and enigmatic players.

Noah Lolesio taking the ball to the line against the Springboks in Brisbane.Credit: Getty Images

Though a Test debut in 2020 ended in a heavy Bledisloe Cup defeat, the young Queenslander looked a lock to be the long-term successor for a role long dominated by Bernard Foley and Quade Cooper, particularly when Lolesio helped the Wallabies beat France in a 2021 series.

But Dave Rennie lost faith and replaced Lolesio with Cooper for the Rugby Championships and over the next two years Rennie recalled and dropped him a further three times.

It was all in the context of an endlessly revolving door in the gold No.10 - Lolesio’s recall for Brisbane last week was the 21st change at No.10 since 2020. In 47 Tests, the same player has only had a run of four or more consecutive Test starts at No.10 on four occasions.

The ever-present ejector seat appears to have not only damaged Lolesio’s confidence, but also led to years of ongoing confusion about who is Australia’s best five-eighth.

Understanding the benefits of a coach’s backing, Larkham – Lolesio’s coach at the Brumbies – decided at late last year he would look to build up his playmaker, who’d been overlooked by Eddie Jones entirely in 2023.

After rotating Lolesio and Jack Debreczeni in 2023, Larkham decided to push his chips in on Lolesio for 2024.

“We were pretty strong on developing him through training time and playing time. We have a couple of other five-eighths here ... but we made it pretty clear early in the season, that Noah was the guy we wanted to give the most time to,” Larkham said.

“If you get consistent game time, and get it back to back, you start to understand the system much better and your game goes strength to strength. Particularly as a five-eighth, spending a lot of time making sure he understands the systems we have in place - our attacking systems, our defensive systems, how we kick and why we kick. And then getting him to lead a lot of the communication at training and in the meeting space.

“And giving him that consistency of week-in, week-out selection and process there, builds his confidence. We saw from that the confidence comes through to the game. He doesn’t have to think too much on the field. It just comes naturally.”

Playing 80 minutes in almost every game, Lolesio shone for the Brumbies in 2024; bossing the team confidently and guiding them to the semi-finals. He was a straightforward choice for most in Joe Schmidt’s first Test team in July but back in the Wallabies hot-seat again, Lolesio’s confidence wasn’t at the new Super Rugby level.

Ben Donaldson was given a shot against Georgia but didn’t nail his audition, so Lolesio was recalled to meet the Boks in Brisbane. He was by no means alone, but up against the rampant South Africans and behind a beaten pack, Lolesio was again quiet. The internet was not, however, and heated debate about whether Lolesio is the man to persist with for the Wallabies No.10 kept spinning furiously.

“Noah to me looked a bit out of sorts on the weekend and, if I dare say, a player from a couple of years ago, who looked a bit in his shell,” former Wallabies fullback Cameron Shepherd said on Rugby Heaven.

Though he admits to his Brumbies bias, Larkham says the way to get the best from Lolesio is to keep backing him. He believes the 24-year-old has a much higher ceiling to reach at Test level, if he is given the benefit of time.

“On the performances he has had this year, he can definitely grow on those and become the ten we all want him to become, and someone who is picked regularly. Obviously I am a little bit biased but I think there is huge potential in his game still,” Larkham said.

“He got good minutes with us this year and the challenge for that environment is to try and keep him in there on a regular basis, so he starts to really feel comfortable. And when he feels comfortable, he plays his best footy.

“It is obviously hard to do in today’s environment, to guarantee players’ game time (at Test level)… [but] I am very happy he has got picked again this weekend. It is only going to give him more comfort and a lot more confidence.“

Schmidt recalled Nic White to partner Lolesio, banking on the combination of their Brumbies days together.

“There’s a lot of responsibility falling onto Noah’s shoulders,” Schmidt said.

“He looked a little bit burdened [in Brisbane]. If we can unburden him a little bit, he’s got a good game that he can bring to the table.”

Watch all the action from The Rugby Championship with every match streaming ad-free, live and on demand on Stan Sport. Round 2 kicks off Saturday, August 17 with All Blacks v Argentina (4pm AEST) and Wallabies v South Africa (7:00pm AEST).