Bonjour Bernard Foley. With Quade Cooper out injured for most of the domestic Test season, the Waratahs playmaker is a certainty to be named alongside Matt Toomua as one of two fly-halves in the Wallabies squad for the June internationals against France. We can expect a lively debate in coming weeks about which of the two should start at No10 against France and, more importantly, the All Blacks later this year.
Back in March, this column rated Foley the "best of the bunch" of contenders as a long-term solution for the troublesome Wallabies No10 jumper. His performance against the Lions on the weekend has strengthened that view. Foley is a much improved player compared to last season, with his already top-notch running game shifting up a gear, and a previously absent deftness and variety now apparent in both his short and long passing. Added to that, he’s formed a lethal combination with regular Test players Kurtley Beale, Adam Ashley Cooper and Israel Folau. Foley’s long kicking needs a polish but that's a minor quibble against all the positives he brings to the table.
There has been recent speculation the Wallabies coach, Ewen McKenzie, will opt for Toomua who has had a solid season for the most part. It's an entirely logical and sensible choice – but it also happens to be the wrong one when the alternative is Foley. Toomua is steady, reliable and a brilliant defender. He does the basics very well and rarely makes mistakes. He is a safe bet not to lose Tests in a way, say, Cooper, at his worst could do single-handedly. No doubt, Toomua will feature in some fine Test victories for the Wallabies, perhaps at inside centre. For now though, it’s hard to see him worrying the All Blacks at 10 (and let's be honest – beating New Zealand is the only standard by which the Wallabies can truly judge themselves, not spring tour results).
Toomua's reliability stems from an inherently conservative mindset and adherence to well-defined structures. It's also why he's too predictable and unsuitable as a Test fly-half selection against the All Blacks. Toomua showed his true colours in the Brumbies' loss to the Cheetahs on the weekend when, down by three points with six minutes to play, he repeatedly kicked deep any ball that lobbed in the Brumbies' half. His decision to kick seemed inexplicable – why would a fly-half hoof the ball away when keeping it in hand and scoring a try would snatch a win for his team? Then the penny dropped – he was protecting a losing bonus point by making sure the Cheetahs couldn't get close enough to score another try. Fancy that, a Wallabies fly-half in waiting calculating a losing bonus point as the priority and desired outcome with more than five minutes to play! It was a turning point for some, a sad moment of truth that said Toomua, for all his ability and dependability, is not the man to lead the Wallabies out of the Bledisloe wilderness.
Australia hasn't had a decent fly-half since Stephen Larkham. In fact, the last time the Wallabies had world class 10s, they won World Cups: Michael Lynagh in 1991 and Larkham in 1999. In stark contrast to Lynagh's try against Ireland and Larkham's drop goal against South Africa, there is Cooper's unforgettable 2011 World Cup semi-final meltdown. Fair enough, everyone has a bad day at the office. But Cooper hasn't done enough since to win over the doubters. If Cooper's rehab goes as planned, he should be available for the third Bledisloe Test against the All Blacks on 18 October, as well as the tour in November. That gives Foley, if selected, nine Tests to show why he’s Australia’s best hope at fly-half for reclaiming the Bledisloe Cup and winning another World Cup. With 19 Tests between now and the World Cup, McKenzie needs to make a firm decision on fly-half now and not after the French series.
When is a Kiwi not a Kiwi?
An interesting debate is brewing in New Zealand – whether Australian-based Kiwis should be picked for the All Blacks. Fairfax journalist Liam Napier’s piece says the flow of premier talent out of New Zealand to Australia is out of control with Kiwis now making up 20% of Australia’s professional playing stock. He says that number will steadily increase in the coming months with the National Rugby Championship kicking off in August. All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, unsurprisingly, wants the rules changed so he can make formal approaches to the likes of Brumbies winger Henry Speight, Rebels full-back Jason Woodward and Waratahs lock Will Skelton. “It's time to have the conversation around eligibility and being able to pick New Zealanders in Australia," Hansen said. "It's all manageable. I'm not advocating we discuss picking players from anywhere else other than Australia, which is in the same time zone and competition." Chiefs coach Dave Rennie also supports a change in selection policy. “All over the world they're targeting our players and locking them in for three years. That's only going to get worse,” Rennie said. “We need to look at it [selecting All Blacks from Australia] very carefully. This may give us the opportunity to get a few back from a national point of view. It gives New Zealand a chance to select those players who have gone over there and become residents.” It will be interesting to see how the Australian Rugby Union responds. It’s likely they’re already taking legal advice on how to pre-emptively lock in Australian-based Kiwis soon to be but not yet Wallabies eligible with letters of intent.
Talking Points
• What a bizarre weekend of Super Rugby. Two historic wins, one courtesy of a red card, the other in spite of it. Plenty has already been said about Sharks flanker Jean Deysel’s send off for face stomping his opposite number, Jordan Taufua. There isn’t much to add here other than to say Deysel’s claims of provocation must be dismissed out of hand. There’s no justification whatsoever for putting boot to head. As for Deysel’s team-mates, including the magnificent Sharks captain Bismark du Plessis, going on to play 64 minutes with 14 men (13 at one stage courtesy of a yellow card) and defy seemingly insurmountable odds to beat the Crusaders in Christchurch for the first time ever? Simply unbelievable. It truly was the Sharks’ Invictus moment of bludgeonings of chance, bloodied heads, and a refusal to bow.
• Also well documented is the other red card of the round against the Reds. Again, a player’s head was involved – this time by way of an overly aggressive facial rub from Reds sub Ed O’Donoghue on Rebels serial niggler Scott Higginbotham. With the Reds hot on attack and scores level with two minutes left, television official Steve Lescinski controversially called a halt to proceedings to review footage of the incident that had taken place several plays earlier deep in the Reds half. Lescinski was adamant O’Donoghue had eye-gouged Higginbotham, leaving match referee Steve Walsh no other option but to send O’Donoghue packing and award the Rebels the match-winning penalty in front of the sticks. Reds skipper James Horwill spat the dummy post-match. He said his team had been robbed by a "a stupid refereeing decision". He was probably right on the “stupid decision” bit given the judiciary has cleared O’Donoghue of eye-gouging. But the Reds weren’t robbed. The Rebels never looked like losing with their intoxicating brand of high tempo, multiple off-load continuity play. They undeniably deserved the breakthrough win, their first ever against the Reds who have quite literally hit rock bottom – from champions in 2011 to bottom of the table heading into round 15. Mercifully, the Reds have a bye this week. The end can’t come soon enough for them.
Super Rugby round 14 results: Highlanders 18 d Hurricanes 16; Sharks 30 d Crusaders 25; Rebels 30 d Reds 27; Stormers 24 d Force 8; Cheetahs 27 d Brumbies 21; Waratahs 41 d Lions 13.
