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Gregan to lead, on one condition
By Wayne Smith, The Australian, c/o Fox Sports
January 26, 2007
GEORGE Gregan will lead Australia to the Rugby World Cup in France this year if he is good enough to secure the Test halfback position.
Senior sources believe that if the world's most capped Test player can demonstrate he is still the country's best halfback, the experience he has earned over 127 Tests and three Rugby World Cup campaigns would make it almost impossible to go beyond him.
But this is no easy task given the performances last year of Matt Giteau and Sam Cordingley and the increasing threats from Australia A halfbacks Brett Sheehan and Josh Valentine.
But indications are that even if Gregan does not win back the No.9 jersey, Stirling Mortlock, who captained the Wallabies on their tour of Britain and Europe in November, will not be retained in the job.
Although Mortlock is regarded as a vital component of Australia's Rugby World Cup team and led from the front in the Wallabies' two tour wins over Italy and Scotland, he is believed to have lost ground on tour in the race for the cup year captaincy.
While he did himself few favours by getting back to the team hotel in Rome shortly before dawn after the Italy Test and then engaging in an argument with attack coach Scott Johnson, that incident does not appear to have had a direct bearing on Mortlock's captaincy chances.
Rather, sources have suggested that while the goalkicking outside centre leads by example on the field, he is better off not burdened by all the other responsibilities that go with the captaincy.
Any concerns along those lines that the Australian rugby powerbrokers might be entertaining would have been heightened by the performance during the summer of all rounder Andrew Flintoff, who went from Ashes winner to sackcloth after having the burden of England captaincy laid on his shoulders.
The selectors do have a ready-made alternative to the two Brumbies mainstays in New South Wales Waratahs skipper Phil Waugh, who turned in an impressive performance as Wallabies captain in the drawn Test against Wales in Cardiff in November.
Yet indications are he will be passed over for the captaincy this year because there is no guarantee he will be in the starting Test XV, given that he has fought a running battle with George Smith for the openside flanker position for the past five years.
Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie conceded there was no getting away from picking the best side, with the captain only then to be selected, but argued there was nothing to stop the Wallabies from returning to the former Eddie Jones configuration of using Waugh and Smith in tandem in the back row.
"Admittedly that compromises other areas of the game," McKenzie said. "You've got to work out philosophically what's important. We played them both in 2003 and got to a (Rugby) World Cup final. It's not impossible. You just have to adjust your tactics."
Wallabies coach John Connolly has shown no inclination whatever to start with Waugh and Smith, although he has finished Tests with them working in tandem as the big men tired.
There is no way he would consider using either player at blindside flanker in preference to a recognised lineout jumper such as Rocky Elsom, Hugh McMeniman or Daniel Heenan.
It would appear the only hope of Waugh and Smith starting together in the back row is if the experiment with Wycliff Palu is deemed a failure and Smith is reactivated as a No.8.
Connolly was reluctant yesterday to comment on the Wallabies captaincy, but stressed there was no way he would be following the old Marylebone Cricket Club example of selecting Mike Brearley as captain and then building the England cricket team around him.
"You pick the team first and then you pick the captain," Connolly said.
Connolly did not exclude the possibility of Waugh being chosen as captain but admitted it would be unworkable to have a skipper who rotated from the starting team to the bench from week to week.
He also noted that Waugh and Smith do not have the battle for the No.7 jersey to themselves, saying that Reds flanker David Croft, who turned in an outstanding 2006 Super 14 campaign as he pushed his string of consecutive starts in the competition to 69 matches, was still very much in the selection picture.
The Wallabies coach said Gregan had done a great job as captain last year and definitely would be in the mix for the position leading into the Rugby World Cup.
"Whatever else I say beyond that could be misconstrued," Connolly said. "There is still so much footy to be played before we have to make that decision."
Gregan stressed yesterday he was concentrating only on his next game, in this case the Brumbies' Super 14 opener against the Chiefs in Hamilton tomorrow week.
"If I get it (the captaincy), it's a wonderful, wonderful honour," Gregan said.
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