It’s time to welcome back that prolific contributor to the pages of G&GR, Mr AllyOz. Over to you Oz.
We’ve heard plenty of calls to get rid of the Giteau Law. Our stocks at home are thin, we are losing our best players to the cashed up French and Japanese teams, or so the story goes. But a comment from Keith below the excellent Wednesday news from Yowie prompted me to review just who we might be missing out on. I’ve tried to prepare as comprehensive list as possible, but I’m likely to have missed a few. I’d love to hear your thoughts of any I might’ve missed and any from the list that you think would make a major difference to the Wallabies.
Lie back & think of England.
According to Butz, there are only eight Australian qualified players playing in the English Premiership and four of them are at Northhampton. The eight players include Izaia Perese (Leicester), Josh Kemeny (Northhampton), Angus Scott-Young (Northhampton), Ollie Hoskins (Saracens). I couldn’t actually find all of Keith’s eight Aussies in the premiership but I don’t doubt the number. The sites don’t present the information in an easily accessible form. For me, only Ollie Hoskins is playing in a position that we might need some backup in. Izzie had some chances to lock down a spot and Kemeny and Scott-Young play in positions where there is significant depth already. In fact, you would have to think that, as good as he’s played, Scott-Young would struggle to regularly make it into a Reds team that include Wilson, McReight, Wright and Uru. I would pick all those blokes ahead of him for the Wallabies and we also have several other options at other SR clubs.
Adding some French flavour.
According to a Rugby Pass article, there were 18 Australian players in France in Top 14
teams in 2024. They include Will Skelton (Stade Rochellais – lock), Thomas Staniforth (Castres – lock), Reece Hodge (Castres – centre), Malachi Hawkes (Stade Toulousain – prop), Richie Arnold (Stade Toulousain – lock), Folau Fainga’a (ASM Clermont – hooker), Rob Simmons (ASM Clermont – lock), Irae Simone (ASM Clermont – centre), Alex Newsome (ASM Clermont – fullback), Lachlan Swinton (Union Bordeaux-Bègles – loose forward), Pete Samu (Union Bordeaux-Bègles – loose forward), Ben Tapuai (Union Bordeaux-Bègles – centre), Reece Hewat (Section Paloise – loose forward), Jack Maddocks (Section Paloise – fullback), Jack McIntyre (USA Perpignan – fly-half), Jordan Uelese (Montpellier HRSC – hooker), Silalotu Latu (Stade Rochellais – hooker), Kane Douglas (Stade Rochellais – lock).
Also within the Top 14, Fiji have 27 players, Georgia have 22, South Africa have 22,
Argentina have 23, and New Zealand have 22. There will be players also in the Pro D2, like
Ned Hanigan at Provence, that aren’t in the list but Ned’s time looks like it’s passed. And there are some players in that 18 that are well beyond their use by. I am sure, Kane Douglas and Rob Simmons can do a job for their French clubs but I don’t think anyone is seriously considering them for a Wallabies call-up. Many on that list have had a decent run in SR and the Wallabies, like Jordan Uelese or Tolu Latu, for instance, and not really locked in a position. Some left because they were no longer on the Wallabies radar.
Made in Japan.
I did a comprehensive search of the squads in Japanese League One and found around 40 Australian born or raised players across their 12 teams for the 2024/25 season. James Moore – D-Rocks (Japan qualified), Brody McCaskill – D-Rocks, Samu Kerevi – D-Rocks, Zephaniah Tuinona – D-Rocks, Jack Wright – Blue Revs, Lindy Shin Daniel – Dynaboars, Timothy Tavaea – Dynaboars, Curtis Rona – Dynaboars, Matt Philip – Canon Eagles, Cormac Daly – Canon Eagles, Tom Jeffries – Canon Eagles, David Vanjeeland – Kubota Spears, David Bulbling – Kubota Spears, Bernard Foley – Kubota Spears, Jack Cornelsen – Wild Knights (Japan qualified), Esey Haangana – Wild Knights, Ben Gunter – Wild Knights, Dylan Riley – Wild Knights, Marika Koroibete – Wild Knights, Bradley Kuhn – Sungoliath, Alex Mafi – Sungoliath, Harry Hockings – Sungoliath, Callum McDonald – Sungoliath, Trevor Josea – Sungoliath, Lachlan Osborne – Sungoliath, Sean McMahon – Sungoliath, Tian Falcon – Verblitz, Sam Shephard – Heat, Fraser Quirk – Heat, Tom Banks – Heat, Paddy Ryan – Black Rams, Samuel Waqabaca – Black Rams, Lulu Paea – Black Rams, Michael Storberg – Black Rams, Harrison Fox – Black Rams, Liam Gill – Black Rams, Isaac Lucas – Black Rams, Larzlo Sword – Black Rams, Semisi Tupou – Black Rams.
A lot of names, but I suspect most of us have never have heard of some of them. Some of these
blokes look like they’ve been strong youth players or good Shute Shield and Hospital Cup first-graders. But I don’t think, with the greatest respect to them, that anyone is suggesting that a lot of them would be a solution for the Wallabies. Quite a few, I suspect, are only professional rugby players because they have left Australia and would be playing grade rugby in Sydney or Brisbane had they remained. There are some notable players like QC in the second division, and he has recently been joined by the likes of the Tahs Will Harrison, but scouring the second division of Japanese Rugby is unlikely to produce too many Test standard players still in their playing prime. I’d like to see us use the Japanese leagues a little better, as NZR seem to do, with player sabbaticals etc, and perhaps the links the Reds and Force are working on allows that sort of thing to happen more easily, but again, many of those names have had their chance and we have moved on.
Use your illusion.
Now there are 70-80 players in that group, and you could potentially put together a decent side from it, but I’m struggling to find 5 that I’d pick ahead of the currently Wallabies squad. We have limited tests before the BIL and the next World Cup and if we have a choice between developing a younger player and getting some test matches into them and picking a player who is established but hasn’t ever really set the world on fire, then I would go for the young bloke every time. Some, like Will Skelton, are dominant players in their competitions but he is also a player with a unique skill set that is particularly suited to a certain style of play. And I’m not certain if that fits with what Schmidt and his coaching group are looking to develop.
I know there are big fans of players like Liam Gill, but does he have as much upside, as a Carlo Tizzano, and would he push Fraser McReight any harder to be better? Can Schmidt and his team, even get their hands on them often enough and for long enough to inculcate them with the style of play that we’re trying to develop? There are coaches, I am sure, that are suited to slotting in high profile players into a group, but I don’t think Joe Schmidt is one of those. He looks to me to be a bloke who likes to build things from the bottom up. It might be easier to bring back some of the best players once that new style of play has been bedded down, then only those few blokes learn the nuances. But, for the moment, I really can’t see too many players who would make a significant difference and I am happy to stick with Joe and his home bodies.
