8 October 2024 #014
Good morning G&GRs, and welcome to Tuesday’s Rugby News. If we were in Germany, specifically Munich, we’d be recovering from the final weekend of Oktoberfest, and based on the photos that some friends have posted on socials it looks like a great time was had.
There was plenty of international women’s rugby played over the weekend, including the Wallaroos getting up over South Arica in a tense finish in Cape Town. A little bit of coverage on the women’s international rugby, then it is over to a summary of the Wallabies player ratings from the tests played so far this this year.
International Women’s Rugby
Wallaroos get it done against South Africa
As covered by the crew on Monday, the Wallaroos got the job done against South Africa over the weekend and are now sitting atop the leaderboard in WXV2. You can read KARL’s commentary on it here.
Anyway, the win follows on from the very good result against Wales the previous week, and has the Wallaroos sitting at the top of the leaderboard with 10 points from two games played. There are a few games to go, but the Wallaroos look to be improving with each game. They have Scotland this week, which should be a cracking game.
WXV1
In the World Cup final rematch, England put away the Black Ferns 41-39. The English are showing great attack having beaten the USA 61-21 in the opening game of the tournament. The Kiwis lost a close one to Ireland in the first game 29-27. After 2 rounds, the WXV1 table looks like this.
Canada could well be the surprise package, having beaten both Ireland and France to open the tournament.
WXV3
Spain are setting the early pace in WXV3, and are the only team with two wins from two games. They are being chased by Samoa who got a 45-7 win against Fiji in the second game after drawing against the Netherlands 8-8 in the first game.
I think that the WXV format is great for Women’s rugby. It provides the emerging teams a chance to play more games together and, hopefully in the case of the Wallaroos, it provides a point of difference to our players to keep them in God’s game rather than going to league.
Wallabies Player Ratings
I’ve been back through the Wallabies player ratings for the test matches so far this year. It seems to me the core team is starting to emerge in both the starting side and the reserves. The coaching team used a lot more forwards than backs, though some of this is due to injury as much as performance and selection. Overall, there were 43 players used this year, and a lot of debutants.
| Player | Number of Games | Average Score |
| Angus Bell | 5 | 6.2 |
| Matt Faessler | 7 | 5.9 |
| Taniela Tupou | 6 | 5.6 |
| Nick Frost | 6 | 5.8 |
| Jeremy Williams | 8 | 5.3 |
| Rob Valetini | 8 | 6.4 |
| Fraser McReight | 5 | 7.3 |
| Harry Wilson | 7 | 6.1 |
| Jake Gordon | 6 | 5.7 |
| Noah Lolesio | 8 | 4.7 |
| Marika Koroibete | 4 | 4.5 |
| Hunter Paisami | 7 | 5.4 |
| Len Ikitau | 7 | 5.6 |
| Andrew Kellaway | 9 | 5.1 |
| Tom Wright | 8 | 6 |
| Forward Reserves | ||
| Brandon Paenga-Amosa | 2 | 5.5 |
| Billy Pollard | 3 | 5.3 |
| Josh Nasser | 6 | 4.8 |
| Isaac Kailea | 5 | 5.3 |
| James Slipper | 6 | 4.8 |
| Allan Alaalatoa | 9 | 5.3 |
| Alex Hodgman | 1 | 5.5 |
| Zane Nonggorr | 3 | 5.2 |
| Angus Blyth | 4 | 5.6 |
| Lukhan Salakaia-Loto | 7 | 5.8 |
| Josh Canham | 1 | 4 |
| Charlie Cale | 2 | 6 |
| Tom Hooper | 2 | 5.3 |
| Langi Gleeson | 5 | 5.2 |
| Luke Reimer | 1 | 4 |
| Seru Uru | 1 | 4 |
| Liam Wright | 1 | 7 |
| Carlos Tizzano | 4 | 5.5 |
| Back Reserves | ||
| Tate McDermott | 8 | 5.4 |
| Nic White | 4 | 4.6 |
| Ben Donaldson | 6 | 4.8 |
| Tom Lynagh | 3 | 5 |
| Hamish Stewart | 2 | 5 |
| Dylan Pietsch | 4 | 4.9 |
| Filip Daugunu | 3 | 7 |
| Josh Flook | 4 | 5 |
| Max Jorgensen | 3 | 5 |
| Darby Lancaster | 1 | 4.5 |
Based on the scores above and the comments over recent weeks I think that the starting side is pretty settled with the possible exceptions of Paisami at centre, and Koroibete on the wing. Based on the injury to Kooiebete, and the good form shown by Pietsch through the latter games of the Rugby Championship, it seems likely that Pietsch would move into the starting line-up, leaving a spot on the bench open.
Reserve forwards
The reserve forwards are likely to have sorted into likely to be picked, and need to show a bit more.
The likely to be picked from the front row includes BPA, Nasser, Kailea, Slipper, and 7As. Nongorr and Hodgman are in the mix, but didn’t get much game time. Looking forward to the end of Spring-tour and the Lions, hopefully Bell, Faessler, and Tupou can stay fit and the reserves can continue to improve.
It seems to be a bit more clear cut in the second row, with Frost, Williams, and LSL the most consistent performers. Angus Blyth played well in his appearances, and Josh Canham got one game. As with the front row, there seems to be a clear first choice set, and those striving to make the team.
The back row is harder to pick, certainly the combination of Bob Valetini, Fraser McReight, and Harry Wilson looks settled as the starters, and the reserves look likely to come from Liam Wright, Langi Gleeson, and Carlos Tizzano. I’d love to see Seru Uru push his way into contention on the spring tour and through 2025. Charlie Cale might be able to bring a genuine point of difference to the team and hopefully he can get some injury free time on the pitch.
Reserve backs
Tate seems to be the chosen reserve half back and he does play this role well, adding energy and pace to the game when he comes on.
Donaldson got more chances than Tom Lynagh at 10, though Lynagh looks composed when he takes the field. I hope that they continue to play well on the northern tour and then in Super Rugby to push Noah to be the best player he can be.
We seem to be short of inside centres, and the coaches have preferred Paisami over Stewart. There isn’t much room on the bench for a specialist centre, but Stewart should have some good opportunities to impress up north. Ikitau looks like the preferred starter with Flook the second choice. Flook can also play on the wing, so maybe a good bench option.
Tom Wright looks like the first choice fullback, with Kellaway also getting a run there. We do have choice on the wings, with Marika, Kellaway, Pietsch, and Daugunu all playing well. Some genuinely good young players in waiting as well with Lancaster, Jorgensen, Toole, and Ryan all playing well in super rugby in 2024. Toole offers pace that can’t be coached, and Ryan has a way of making something from almost nothing.
Keen to hear your thoughts in the comments. Who will come out of the woodwork to make it into the Wallabies squad to pay the Lions in 2025?
What is 8 squared?
64 of course, which is the number of players that will head north under the banner of the Wallabies in November. That’s a lot of players, close to half of the combined Australian Super Rugby squads. While it might feel a bit like a party where every child gets a prize, it also feels like all hands on deck and the coaches need every opportunity to look at Australian based and international based players ahead of the Lions and home World Cup.
That’s a wrap for this week
That’s it for me this week, over to you G&GRs.
