2013 Wallaby distribution a concern for all Australian rugby supporters

In 2008 the Western Force had 11 players in the Wallabies squad. This number has been in steady decline each year.  The lack of representation this year is of serious concern for our franchise and I hope it is a concern to the powers that be in the ARU.

The Wallabies will be strongest when there are five strong Australian franchises feeding into the team.  In the initial Wallabies squad to play the British and Irish Lions there is only one player named from the Force and two from the Rebels.

Currently the ARU uses a salary cap to help create a level playing field, however Wallaby ARU top-up payments sit outside of this.  Under the current system top-ups go to players.  Perhaps more provisions are required to ensure equality between franchises.  Maybe the Wallabies top-up payments should be split equally between the five Australian Super Rugby franchises from which their signed Wallabies then receive their top-ups.  This would effectively motivate top Wallabies to spread themselves between the franchises to ensure that they secured the additional money.

With the Australian squad announced there will have been some elated and some disappointed players.  The selection panel would have been left with a last minute dilemma with season ending injuries to two certain members, George Smith and Tatafu Polota-Nau; but these omissions give opportunity to others and none more so than the three uncapped players included in the squad.

There are always going to be questions when a side is named and there are a number of questions that I would ask.

  • Why was only one scrum-half named and who will be the second?
  • Would you put Quade Cooper in your squad in light of recent history and form?
  • Who will the other six players be that will be added to the squad?
  • Is this the right squad to win the three Test series?
  • Who will Captain the side?
  • And importantly for us, how do we get more Western Force players back into the green and gold?

Will Genia will no doubt be the starting halfback, but I believe there are three options for the second spot that should be considered, the front-runner being Nic White, followed by Nick Phipps and then Luke Burgess who is returning from his stint overseas.  Uncapped Nic White, unluckily ruled out last Wallaby season due to injury, would be a great deputy. He has done well guiding the Brumbies the last two seasons and already has a strong combination with Christian Lealiifano (who I would expect to be the 12 for the Wallabies).

Another area of uncertainty is who will wear the number 10 jersey.  Of those selected in the squad you have James O’Connor, Berrick Barnes or even Lealiifano as possible selections. I believe this position is still up in the air and players in contention can play themselves in or out of the running in the following weeks.

It will be interesting to see how Cooper performs over the coming weeks, especially when the Reds take on the Lions as that will be a good litmus test. A strong showing there could see him catapulted into selection.

It is a great result for Nick Cummins to be named in the squad, especially given his injury-interrupted season. When he is on the field he has shown his value and will continue to grow in stature the more minutes he plays.

It is disappointing that he is the only Force player selected but there will be few possible selections in the six remaining spots.  Hugh McMeniman would not be out of place in the squad.  While his season has been stalled by injury his form at the start of the season, his impact and versatility to swap between second row and flanker should see him return to the green and gold as soon as he is able to return to the pitch.

I would like to see the return of Pek Cowan and the first Wallaby opportunity for Kyle Godwin.  Godwin has been a standout every week and he is showing experience beyond his years.  If he is not selected for the Lions series I would expect him to be an inclusion on the Spring Tour. I have no doubt that he has a long international career ahead of him.

We are still a few weeks away from the start of the series and there are still some positions up for grabs but Australia should be full of confidence given their recent form against Wales and with the Lions featuring many Welsh players.  Australia will need to play their best rugby and if they defend well then they have the attacking weapons and strike power to threaten the Lions.

I predict a 2-1 series win to the Wallabies.

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