Former Wallaby Matt Giteau announced last week that he will finish his rugby career with Toulon in France. But how different would things be if he finished his career in a Wallabies jersey?
I’ve watched a lot of the Top 14 recently and enjoyed the likes of James O’Connor, Drew Mitchell and Matt Giteau tearing it up for Toulon. However, something which has stood out for me has been how Matt Giteau has been playing. His maturity and balance in his game allows him to orchestrate many of Toulon’s tries without throwing hail mary’s or making aimless kicks. He has become a pivotal player in the Toulon backline. Something the Wallabies have been missing for a while.
Giteau was reportedly offered over 1 million Euros per season by French club Racing Metro and is currently one of the best players in the competition. Many in the Australian rugby community and even commentators of the Top 14 have suggested that Matt Giteau moving to France has been a huge loss for the Wallabies.
The idea of experience has come to light recently. The All Blacks have plenty of it and they use it well. They use their up-and-coming players as understudies for their incumbent and experienced players. At the same time, New Zealand have also avoided alienating their senior players by allowing seasoned players to go overseas – an initiative the ARU have now picked up. Players such as Dan Carter and Ma’a Nonu have taken advantage of the opportunity to play overseas yet they are still playing for the All Blacks.
Experience is definitely something the Wallabies have been lacking recently. When the Wallabies played Argentina 2 weeks ago, Israel Folau was the most capped player in the backline with just 22 tests after making his test debut last year.
Giteau’s 92 caps of experience would have been very valuable over the past few seasons especially in the five eight position where there has been some instability over the past few seasons due to injuries and form. The opportunity to have Quade Cooper and Bernard Foley as understudies for Matt Giteau would have been positive for Australian rugby. Gradually integrating these players instead of throwing them in the deep end may have been better for the Wallabies in the long run.
Putting experience aside, five-eight has been a problematic area for the Wallabies over the past few seasons and the Wallabies would have benefitted from having a stable five eight.
Although it’s fun to speculate about what might have been let’s look to the future and what we can learn from this.
The ARU have taken a positive step by introducing flexible contracts and overseas sabbaticals; however, the temptation for players to go overseas long term to earn money may still be present. It will be interesting to see whether players will take up long term contracts overseas to earn the big bucks and whether the ARU will create more incentives to keep our best players for the Wallabies.
Wallaby Five-Eights over the Past 6 seasons
2009: Matt Giteau/Berrick Barnes
2010: Quade Cooper/Matt Giteau
2011: Matt Giteau/Quade Cooper/James O’Connor
2012: Berrick Barnes/Kurtley Beale
2013: James O’Connor/Matt Toomua/Quade Cooper
2014: Bernard Foley/Kurtley Beale
What are your thoughts? How would the Wallabies look if Matt Giteau was finishing his career in a Wallabies jersey?
