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JOE SCHMIDT HAS his biggest units back.
The ultra-dynamic Rob Valetini is the Wallabies’ best ball-carrier and he was missed in last weekend’s first Test defeat to the Lions.
The mammoth Will Skelton is useful with ball in hand too, as well as specialising in wrecking mauls and adding huge weight to scrums. Like Valetini, he’s also a skillful rugby player.
Bringing Valetini and Skelton back at blindside flanker and lock instantly adds major heft to the Wallabies’ team.
At hooker, the experienced, dependable Dave Porecki comes in after a tough day for Matt Faessler last weekend. Again, it looks like a decision that will make the Wallabies a better team. Lineouts are never just on the hooker but that set-piece didn’t go well last weekend and Schmidt needs his forwards to deliver better possession this Saturday.
Langi Glesson is another of the Wallabies’ most explosive forwards and he too returns from injury for the second Test, having been named as part of a 6/2 bench split.
While Schmidt said that split was due to the three aforementioned players only just returning from injury, it’s clearly also about beefing up their efforts in the tight. As Schmidt himself said, Valetini and Skelton might have played last weekend but the Wallabies erred on the side of caution. So they must be fully fit and ready to fire now.
The 6/2 means that Schmidt can send on Gleeson and the industrious, tough Carlo Tizzano in the back row, with Jeremy Williams to cover second row. The front row replacements include the world-class Angus Bell. With the livewire Tate McDermott to come on too, Schmidt will feel he can have strong bench impact again this weekend.
And with an unchanged backline keen to prove a point, this looks like a more convincing, powerful Wallabies selection than last weekend’s. Schmidt is hoping they bring a mean edge.
“We don’t want to be nice, and we don’t want to be submissive,” said the Wallabies boss in Melbourne today.
“The Lions played on the edge really well, they got in amongst us, sometimes just beside us, which made it very hard to play, and we’re hopeful that we will be able to take that to them this week and keep them on the back foot a little bit more.
“But there’s a lot of work that goes into doing that, and we’ve got to make sure that we create clear pictures and that we initiate that momentum.
“One of the things last week, we didn’t quite get some of the lineout platforms that we used to, and you can initiate a little bit of momentum from those, and when we didn’t get that we were a little bit static, and then it’s very hard to reignite that momentum if you don’t get it initially.”
It’s typical of Schmidt to point out that technical and tactical qualities are crucial in physically imposing yourself.
Many people hope to see the Wallabies bring the kind of niggle that the First Nations & Pasifika XV did against the Lions on Tuesday night.
But Schmidt pointed out that the Wallabies can’t afford to be loose even if they want to be aggressive.
“I think one of the risks… I thought the First Nations Pasifika team did a fantastic job, but after 31 minutes, they’ve conceded 13 linebreaks.
“If we do that in a Test match, we could be a lot further behind than the FNP team were on Tuesday evening.
“So we’ve got to make sure we get the balance right, that some of that aggressive line speed that they brought, we’ve got to bring that, but we’ve also got to make sure that it’s connected because when you leak like that and they can play in behind you, then it’s very hard to get back in front of them.
“13 line breaks to two, after 30 minutes, we can’t afford to have that stat.”
Having been disappointed with their performance against the Lions last weekend, this second Test is a monumental game for Schmidt’s side.
A crowd of around 90,000 people is expected at the MCG on what could be an unforgettable occasion as the Wallabies look to take the series into a decider in Sydney.
“I’ve been lucky to have been on the periphery of some fantastic outcomes over the last 20 years of coaching professionally, but this would be special, inevitably,” said Schmidt.
“It’d be special for this group. I think it would accelerate a little bit of their growth as well, because in terms of gaining confidence, it’s hard to top competing with the best. At the same time, it’s like any sport.
“If you play against a team that are stacked and maybe have more experience than you do and have a richness of talent across the board, then that’s how you start to extend your own performance.
“And I’d love to see some of the players really extend their own performances. I honestly felt we saw a little bit of it, particularly in that second half last Saturday, but also I’m a realist.
“I know that last Saturday will count for nothing at kick-off. Those last 25 minutes, we won’t get to live those again. We’ve got to be able to create those again.”
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