Australian rugby’s brightest young talents Will Harrison and Noah Lolesio to face off
Long-suffering Wallabies fans will be salivating at the chance to see young guns Will Harrison and Noah Lolesio square off in a taste of what they’re considerable potential might bring to the future of Australian rugby.
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The two great hopes of Australian rugby will go head to head again this Saturday when Will Harrison and Noah Lolesio square off at ANZ Stadium.
Just don’t tell the pair they are serious rivals for one of the most important roles in the Wallabies because they’re such good mates so can’t really fathom the idea of competing against each other.
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“When we catch up we don’t even talk about footy, it can just be about life and stuff,” Harrison said.
“We’ve played a lot together with me at 10 and him at 12 and that’s been great, because he takes a lot of pressure off my game.
“He’s stood up every time, he’s a really good footballer to play with and a good mate.”
It’s unreasonable to think that either man – both in their first season of senior rugby – can solve the Wallabies’ problems just yet, but they’ve at least given long suffering fans a glimmer of hope for the future.
But patience is the key because there’s no quick fixes anywhere and they both know it.
Harrison learnt that right from the first time he laced up his boots.
Long before he blossomed into a Waratah and one of Australian rugby’s brightest prospects, he played in the juniors for the Coogee Seahorses in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs.
He was a natural but it was a stacked competition and as rude an introduction to the game that anyone has experienced.
“We used to lose every game by about 100 points,’ he said.
“But it was still fun and I learnt a lot.”
It didn’t take Harrison long to work out there was a silver lining to those horrible beatings because they taught him to keep faith.
The heavy losses became narrow losses then eventually wins as his own game quickly flourished.
Named as captain of the Australian schoolboys then picked for the Junior Wallabies alongside Lolesio, his star is on the rise, though it doesn’t feel too different than when he started out.
Now 20, Harrison is one of the bright lights of a young Waratahs team that is struggling right now but promising better days.
“It’s pretty exciting, something special is brewing at the Waratahs,” he said. “If the fans stay with us and remain patient it won’t be too far.
”We’ve actually improved a lot in a very short time and there’s a very different vibe around the joint now.”
With a narrow loss to the Reds then a win over the Force, the Waratahs have made a solid start to the Australian domestic Super Rugby competition, but the sceptics are yet to be convinced things are about to turn around soon.
Saturday’s clash with the Brumbies should offer some clues.
Four months ago, in the last match before the lockdown, the Brumbies demolished the Waratahs 47-14, piling on 40 unanswered points in the last hour.
It was a crushing defeat, which seemed to give Lolesio the early edge in the race to become the next Wallaby fly half.
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Every match they play against each other is regarded as an audition for the Test job, though it’s possible neither will get the opportunity this year with the more experienced Matt Toomua and James O’Connor ahead in the pecking order.
“To be honest, I just see it as another game of footy,” Harrison said.
“I’m just focused on playing well for the Waratahs but if something like that happens with the Wallabies I’d jump at the opportunity.
“The first time I met Noah was with the 2017 Schoolboys. It was the first day of a camp at Riverview and we went down and had a kick together and got along straight away.
“I love playing against him and he’s obviously in really good form so it’s going to be a good matchup but the most important thing is winning the game.
“Our attack is really starting to take shape now but the biggest improvement is with our D. That’s been really good in the second half of our last two matches and so we’ve got a lot of confidence going in this week.
“They smashed us last time and you can’t really forgive a loss like that because but there’s a lot of positives we can take out of that game for this week and I think you’ll find that we will not be leaking as many points.”
TEAM NEWS: KARMICHAEL IN TAHS’ CALCULATIONS
Karmichael Hunt is set to be rewarded with a place in the Waratahs’ starting line-up for Saturday’s Super Rugby showdown with the Brumbies while the Reds are considering a promotion for the in-form Chris Feauai-Sautia against the Western Force on Friday.
Hunt had a huge impact when he came off the bench in last weekend’s 23-14 win over the Force in his first game back from injury so the dual international is in the frame for a starting jersey.
His big match experience proved decisive as the Waratahs piled on 23 unanswered points but his return at inside centre would force coach Rob Penney to reshuffle his backline.
Joey Walton, who has impressed in his first two matches at 12, would likely be shifted to outside centre with Alex Newsome moving to the wing and teenager Mark Nawaqanitawase possibly dropping to the bench.
Fresh from a week off after their win over the Rebels, the Brumbies are unlikely to make any changes to their starting side, other than to bring back Tom Banks, who missed the restart of the season because of a foot injury but has now been cleared to return.
Banks will slot straight into fullback with his replacement, rookie Mack Hansen, moving to the bench.
The competition leading Reds are looking at several possible changes for their clash at Suncorp Stadium.
Feauai-Sautia only came on the field 14 minutes before the end of regular time in last weekend’s 18-18 draw with the Rebels at Brookvale Oval but was voted by his teammates as their player of the match after setting up a try for Alex Mafi that sent the game into extra time.
In line to be given a start on the wing this week, Feauai-Sautia’s promotion would likely see Jock Campbell return to his preferred spot at fullback and Bryce Hegarty to the bench.
The Reds are also weighing up whether to change their backrow after lock Angus Blythe hurt his shoulder against the Rebels and was replaced at halftime.
With the Reds having a bye next week, coach Brad Thorn could be tempted to rest Blythe to give him the chance of a full recovery and bring Angus Scott-Young off the bench to partner Lukhan Salakaia-Loto.
Force coach Tim Sampson is not expected to tinker with his line-up after his side’s impressive showing against the Waratahs last weekend, meaning newly signed All Black World Cup winner Richard Kahui will have to wait his turn.
In their first Super Rugby match since 2013, the Force showed that they were up to the task as they jumped out to a 14-0 lead before running out of gas in the second half, so Sampson has no reason to panic as he plays the long game.
He has four former Wallabies in his squad that have all recently returned to Australia but will almost certainly resist the challenge to throw them all in at once with Greg Holmes and Kyle Godwin expected to be retained on the bench while Pek Cowan and Nick Frisby are saved for later along with Kahui.
Originally published as Australian rugby’s brightest young talents Will Harrison and Noah Lolesio to face off
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