If you wondered whether Ewen McKenzie had the intestinal fortitude to make the hard but right calls for the Wallabies, wonder no more. Ahead of the first Test of the Spring tour, Link has stood down James Horwill as Captain of the Wallabies, installing Ben Mowen into the role. Not satisfied with this one shock change, the Wallaby coach has then made New Zealand’s number one hate figure – Quade Cooper – Vice Captain.
Green and Gold Rugby understands that it’s not Horwill’s lack of form alone that may have contributed to his replacement at the helm. At a time when management is looking to make changes to the way the team runs, some senior team members, most notably Horwill, have been defensive over the way things have been and reluctant to change. It appears change won out in the end.
Ben Mowen, on the other hand, has had a great year as a captain of the Brumbies and shown a calm but persistent manner with referees at an international level as well. Not bad for a man without a top-up.
Perhaps the biggest bombshell (unless you listen to the G&GR podcast, in which we forecast it) was the appointment of Quade Cooper to the vice captaincy. Only just back in the side after his Wallaby ‘detox’, Cooper has leap-frogged a bunch of senior Wallabies – many of whom have been captains and vice captains for province and country – such as Will Genia, Stephen Moore, Benn Robinson and Adam Ashley-Cooper. The inside word is that many have been impressed with Quade’s new and genuine team-first approach.
As for the rest of the team, more sensible selections abound with Matt Toomua retaining his spot at inside centre and Scott Fardy coming back in at blind side. The Honey Badger returns to rip up Twickers again and Big Sita takes the spot of the injured Rob Simmons, with Kane Douglas moving to the bench.
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Wallabies
15. Israel Folau
14. Adam Ashley-Cooper
13. Tevita Kuridrani
12. Matt Toomua
11. Nick Cummins
10. Quade Cooper
9. Will Genia
1. James Slipper
2. Stephen Moore
3. Ben Alexander
4. Sitaleki Timani
5. James Horwill
6. Scott Fardy
7. Michael Hooper
8. Ben Mowen (capt)
Reserves:
16. Saia Fainga’a
17. Benn Robinson
18. Sekope Kepu
19. Kane Douglas
20. Ben McCAlman
21. Nic White
22. Christian Leali’ifano
23. Bernard Foley
[/one_half]
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England
15 Mike Brown (Harlequins, 18 caps)
14 Chris Ashton (Saracens, 34 caps)
13 Joel Tomkins (Saracens, uncapped)
12 Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester Rugby, 5 caps)
11 Marland Yarde (London Irish, 1 cap)
10 Owen Farrell (Saracens, 16 caps)
9 Lee Dickson (Northampton Saints, 9 caps)
1 Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 9 caps)
2 Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 9 caps)
3 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 40 caps)
4 Joe Launchbury (London Wasps, 11 caps)
5 Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 22 caps)
6 Tom Wood (Northampton Saints, 20 caps)
7 Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, capt, 17 caps)
8 Billy Vunipola (Saracens, 2 caps)
Replacements
16 Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints, 47 caps)
17 Joe Marler (Harlequins, 12 caps)
18 David Wilson (Bath Rugby, 28 caps)
19 Dave Attwood (Bath Rugby, 4 caps)
20 Ben Morgan (Gloucester Rugby, 12 caps)
21 Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 33 caps)
22 Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers, 57 caps)
23 Ben Foden (Northampton Saints, 32 caps)
[/one_half]
