The Chewsday Chew – singing in the rain (Ep19-2024)

Hello Cobbers. I hope this week finds you rested, fat, happy and a little silly as we roll into the Super semi-finals. The weekend’s results were well covered by Brissy HERE, so I won’t rehash. I will instead launch into a continuation of Nutta’s Aussie Team of the Super series and name a Nutta’s Wobblies, all the while having a general chat about some positional selections within it, and perhaps dip some toes into country footy as it played out over the weekend at the NSW Country Rugby Championships. So without further ado…

Nutta’s Wobblies

Now, to refresh a few folk, here was my Super Team of the Series based on the week to week selections. Remember, the criteria for that was not based on Wobbly eligibility, it was only that you played for an Aussie Super team. And you got 5pts for a starter’s jersey and 4 for a ressies if selected. Accordingly, after 15 weekends the side turned out to be:

Of course there are some problems in that side from a Wobblies standpoint. For instance, it’s domestically based only, says nothing of balance, or eligibility, or fit to whatever Joe Schmidt’s game-plan would likely be.

Firstly, we deal with the obvious: eligibility. That means Peni Ravai and Jeff T-Allen are goneski. But that’s OK as with James Slipper tipped to be fit and Allan Ala’alatoa re-entering the fray, we’re well served there. It is unfortunate we have no Angus Bell, and my heart goes out to the guy. But that’s the way it goes in professional sport. Interestingly, there has also been noise about 4-test ex-All Black Alex Hodgman coming into the squad. He’s eligible (HERE), and he’s handy and experienced. So he’s one to watch.

Secondly, looking back over Joe Schmidt’s tenure in different systems, and considering the almost universal refereeing preference right now is overwhelmingly in favour of the team in possession, I’d say Joe will play a narrow and ball-in-hand game, likely with heavy ball runners coming around the corner for steamroller type starter plays and so look to get narrow penetration into the opponents D-line, before moving through probably two crucifix or ‘T-Bone’ distribution pods to unleash power-based wider runners. So big, ball-running forwards and twin distributors will be his thing I reckon. And while no one can ignore speed, he will favour big lads in at least 3 of 11, 13, 14 and 15 jerseys I would say.

In the locks, Lukan Salakaia-Loto was shaping as the premier Aussie lock until his unfortunate foot injury; his mobility, size and workrate would make him a first pick. But he’s out, although rumour is he is on the cusp of being match-ready again. And he was being well supported by Jed Holloway who deserves a jersey. However, we’ve seen some real class step up in jersies 4, 5 and 19 this season. But while the likes of Josh Canham, Ryan Smith, Jeremy Williams, and Seru Uru all shone in Super, are they Test ready? To that end, the return to form of guys like Ned Hanigan, Darcy Swain and Izack Rodda were most timely.

One thing Australia doesn’t ever seem to have to fret over are loose forwards. We breed them for fun. And when you look at our sister sports of mungo and Aussie Rules, you can see the iconic long, rangey, abrasive loosie on display all across the nation. Our issue seems to be in picking the right mix. No7 and 8 pick themselves at the moment. The issue is 6. Now if it were me, the choice of Liam Wright is clear, but he’s not a ball-running basher. That’s why I think Joe will go to Rob Leota. To that end, the battle is who takes jersey 20. There are any number of names who could do it, but for me the versatility of Seru Uru wins out.

And for the hell of it, I’m staying domestically based.

Put all that together and you get Nutta’s Wobblies (for now)…

1. James Slipper – he’s only 35 and particularly with Bell out, he’s the best we’ve got
2. Matt Faessler – last man standing, but deserves it nonetheless
3. Allan Ala’alatoa – the best tighthead we have, bar none, and is my captain
4. Jed Holloway – hard-headed, grafter, worker and a good carrier
5. Izack Rodda – big, dominating and starting to see a return to form
6. Rob Leota – big, physical and hard hitting
7. Fraser McReight – the best no7 getting about
8. Bobby Valetini – picks himself
9. Tate McDermott – is the best suited no9 for Joe’s likely game plan
10. Noah Lolesio – calm, takes the high percentages, slots goals and makes his tackles
11. Corey Toole – Joe will favour size, but his outright speed will earn a spot
12. Hunter Paisami – has added some great versatility to his bash game of late
13. Len Ikitau – has earned it, and will suit Schmidt’s game plan
14. Dylan Pietsch – works hard and with size and speed is straight up Joe’s alley
15. Tom Wright – big, hard running and seems to have found maturity this season
16. Billy Pollard – a case of last man standing gets him a crack
17. Matt Gibbon – the 2nd best No1 we have
18. Taniela Tupou – will be more effective off the bench
19. Josh Canham – outplays Frost for toughness and kills opposing lineouts
20. Seru Uru – his versatility and capability coming off the bench will break games open
21. Ryan Lonergan – is a better option than Nic White looking to the future
22. Hamish Stewart – the backline has size so needs distribution smarts off the bench
23. Andrew Kellaway – his versatility may be his curse

Anyway, there’s my 23 if we were playing next weekend, with domestically based players. Now, out with your knives and tell me why I’m wrong.

Around the campfires

For folks who don’t know, the weekend just passed, being the King’s Birthday Long Weekend in NSW, saw the annual NSW Country Rugby Championships held in Tamworth. Affectionately known as ‘Country Week’, this tournament has been running since Moses played for the Cairo Camels under 6s and is one of the last bastions of true representative rugby in that the different zones of NSW Country Rugby Union pick their representative team to compete over the three days to establish who is the premier zone. As such, there were no country club games to report on otherwise, because everyone was in Tamworth.

In years gone by, the carnival was held in Sydney, allowing the country lads to come to the city for some, how should we say, cosmopolitan and cultural exposure along with the footy. And so it was as a naive and innocent 18yr old in 1993 that I was lucky enough to be selected in what was then called the Riverina zone seniors squad, and so attended the last Country Week in the city, before it shifted to Tamworth in 1994. We were housed at the old Coogee Bay Hotel, directly above Selina’s; I roomed with a gnarled-up, hard-headed lock who made it his mission to show me the sights of The Cross, Pitt Street, Oxford Street, and a few other choice locations, and ‘edumacate’ me on matters nefarious. Naturally, being a good lad and avid student, I applied myself to such studies, at the hands of such a master, diligently. And memories of that weekend remain some of the most head-shakingly humorous of my rugby career – and completely unprintable here.

These days the tourney is broader than just the senior men’s and so this year in Tamworth, we saw the best men’s, women’s and colts (U19s) Country rugby players compete to be crowned Country Champions. All 9 NSW Country RU zones attended, including Central Coast, Central North, Central West, Far North Coast, Illawarra, Hunter, Mid North Coast, New England and Western Plains, with selection into the Country representatives teams being the Country Cockatoos, Country Corellas (women), and Cockatoos Colts being on the line.

As for results, at time of writing, match reports and weekend commentaries were thin on the ground. But what I can say is that it was a cracking weekend for Central Coast rugby:

• Men’s Caldwell Cup – Central Coast 46 def Illawarra 43. In a cliffhanger of a final, the Central Coast boys kicked a penalty goal on full-time to claim a mighty victory.
• Women’s Thompson Cup – Central West 28 def Hunter 10
• Colts Rowlands Cup- Central Coast 22 def Central West 18
• Women’s Shield Final- Central Coast 09 def Illawarra 00
• Richardson Shield- Central West 55 def Central North 20

And not to be left out, ACT country rugby zone Southern Inland met the South Coast & Monaro zone head on for a hit out at Tumuts in/famous Bull Park. The day went heavily in Southern Inland favour by 69-7.

So it’s congratulations to all the winners, commiserations to all the losers, and a massive thanks to all who made it happen. And just remember that the Country Week carnival is one of the great expressions of the true nature of rugby. If you ever get the chance to go, make sure you do.

Anyway, that’s it for this week. I hope you all have a great few days and lock yourselves in to see the Brumbies pull the upset and do over the Auckland Blues with the whistle blowing at 5:00pm next Friday. Failing that, remember to play hard, run straight, tackle brave and always remember that ‘Saturday is Rugby Day’ (somewhere).