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Common sense (possibly) prevails...
Wallabies look to old guard
Sunday, May 27, 2007
John Connolly is set to reunite the old firm of George Gregan, Stephen Larkham and Matt Giteau for Saturday's second Test against Wales - and probably the World Cup - after grimacing his way through Australia's dysfunctional start to the international rugby season.
In his own words, Connolly was "keeping bat and pad close together" today, cautious against revealing too much, but he admitted selectors were looking to solidify the backline midfield after the Wallabies escaped with a desperate 29-23 victory in the first Test in Sydney.
The 40,872 diehard fans who made the trek to Telstra Stadium on Saturday night endured an 80-minute horror show before a dramatic cameo appearance from Dan Vickerman and Stephen Hoiles saved Australia's blushes after the hooter.
Trailing by a point, Hoiles collected a floating pass from fellow replacement forward Vickerman and dived over in the corner to deny Wales their first triumph over the Wallabies on Australian soil in 38 years.
As in the 29-29 draw in Cardiff last November, Australia outscored Wales four tries to two but this time the heroics of young five-eighth James Hook were not enough to spark any unexpected Welsh celebrations.
The Wallabies deserved their victory after dominating possession and territory but the performance was anything but convincing and time is running out for Connolly to decide on his first-choice backline alignment for the fast-approaching 2007 World Cup.
That is why he is leaning towards reverting to the trusted trio of Gregan, Larkham and Giteau as his all-important 9-10-12 axis after the greenhorn formation of Giteau, Sam Norton-Knight and Adam Ashley-Cooper failed to gel against Wales.
Giteau had a fine game at halfback, providing spark around the ruck and scoring a vital try, while Connolly was not unhappy with the indifferent Test debuts of Norton-Knight and Ashley-Cooper.
Indeed, Connolly said Norton-Knight may even retain his position if Larkham fails to fully recover from the hamstring strain that ruled the master playmaker out of Saturday's match and that Ashley-Cooper "will be in the mix somewhere in the next Test or two and he will get other opportunities".
But Giteau back at inside centre and Gregan at halfback is looking increasingly like the preferred option just six Tests out from the start of the World Cup.
It would not have been lost on the Wallabies brainstrust that Gregan - for so long maligned in Australia despite being widely considered the game's premier scrum-half in other countries - was given a rousing reception when thrust into the fray with the home team trailing with 15 minutes left on the clock.
"George is a great player and a very important member of our squad," Connolly acknowledged.
"He clears the ball from the breakdown very quickly and comparing what George offers and what Matt Giteau offers you're not comparing apples with apples.
"They're two entirely different types of players in what they offer.
"[Gregan] always will be important and will be all the way through to the World Cup.
"Matt also brings that strength to the midfield that we are looking for. We are searching a little bit at the moment."
Connolly said Larkham would be "pencilled in" to return for the Brisbane Test and that Gregan would start either on Saturday or against Fiji in Perth the following week with Giteau back in the centres with Stirling Mortlock.
And having targeted the Tri Nations opener against South Africa in Cape Town on June 16 as the time to settle on a World Cup combination, the Wallabies will most likely persist with the seasoned quartet as their preferred inside backs at France 2007. That is unless Ashley-Cooper - or perhaps even Scott Staniforth - can change selectors' minds with a special performance when given one last chance in the troublesome No. 12 role over the coming fortnight.
With Chris Latham not due back after knee surgery until at least the Springboks encounter and second-choice fullback Cameron Shepherd's return from his knee injury delayed by another three or four weeks, Julian Huxley is poised to receive a second crack against Wales.
In the only definite change to the forward pack, Connolly said George Smith would start as openside flanker with skipper Phil Waugh rotated to the bench.
Wallabies great Tim Horan was particularly impressed with George Gregan's performance.
"What John Connolly can really take out of that game is that it is a platform - not a strong platform - but it's the first game out of the way," Horan said.
"They can move up to Brisbane [for the second Test], where the Wallabies love playing at Suncorp Stadium and they can try to play an expansive game plan.
"He tried a few players tonight. Some worked, some didn't. I thought his bench worked very well when they came on."
AAP
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