The heavy defeat to England at Twickenham has left coach Les Kiss still searching for a solution to his side’s ongoing conundrum at No ١٠
If you thought that Albus Dumbledore had trouble filling the Defence Against the Dark Arts post at Hogwarts, spare a thought for Les Kiss who is the latest Wallabies coach desperate for a solution at fly-half. If only Harry Potter, part of the wider touring group, played at first receiver and not on the wing.
Since the ٢٠٢٣ World Cup, a tournament that ended in ignominy as Australia crashed out at the group stage before Eddie Jones lost his job, there have been seven players who have started in the No ١٠ jersey. Noah Lolesio, who has ١٢ Test starts in that period – more than double the next man – was the incumbent until he was stretchered off against Fiji in the run up to the British & Irish Lions series last year. Fit again and only ٢٦, he is now representing Toyota Industries Corporation Shuttles Aichi in Japan.
An internal selection policy that favours domestically-based players means Lolesio is out in the margins, which partly explains why Kurtley Beale, who turns ٣٨ in January, has been plucked from the wilderness for this European tour. Sometimes, a player’s value increases most when he’s not playing.
Unfortunately, the converse is true. Declan Meredith’s stocks have plummeted after Australia’s ٤٥-٢٢ shellacking at the hands of England on Sunday. Not that Meredith, in just his sixth Test, was solely to blame. The breakdown was a mess. The set piece was a shambles. And no Australian managed to extract consistent go-forward in contact, a crucial factor that often dictates how a fly-half can play. But it was telling that when Ben Donaldson came on before the hour mark (a clear sign that the starting ١٠ is having a stinker), Australia showed glimpses of their potency with ball in hand.
Kiss afterwards admitted that the conundrum at fly-half was an “ongoing conversation”. He did not sugarcoat Meredith’s performance and said that there would be lessons to be learned. But when asked why a team that boasts outstanding outside backs, destructive ball-carrying forwards and a loose trio that ticks every box were so poor, he couldn’t provide a satisfying answer. All he served up was cliched coach-speak that isn’t worth the bandwidth needed to regurgitate here.
Does that mean that the man in charge of the side hosting next year’s World Cup doesn’t have an answer? Or does he simply want to keep his cards close to his chest? Carter Gordon, who, alongside Donaldson, sat in the driver’s seat in ٢٠٢٣, has not fully recovered from the fractured fibula he sustained in the ٢٨-٢٨ draw against Argentina in Mendoza in September. Kiss intimated that he might play a part against Scotland next week, but that just means the revolving door will continue to swing round and round.
As for the game itself, Australia were shockingly short of the standards they’ll have set themselves. In truth, the scoreline flattered them, and were it not for a disallowed Immanuel Feyi-Waboso try in the second minute, as well as two fortuitous Wallaby scores – an intercept by Max Jorgensen just before the break and a Filipo Daugunu finish once the game was all but over – the numbers could have been even more damning.
That second Australian try is a good place to further unpack the broader point. This was a score that felt accidental. Donaldson was already on and adding a degree of calm, but the passage before the slide over in the left corner was riddled with chaos. Australian runners were getting themselves in a tangle as they ran into each other. England pinched the ball in the buildup only to cough up possession. Passes didn’t go to hand. Tackles were slipped. The muted celebrations were indicative of the match situation, but there were a few men in gold who looked embarrassed by what they’d just pulled off.
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Is this what this team is? A group of talented but rudderless athletes who take advantage of moments and vibes? In an ecosystem that gave us Stephen Larkham, Michael Lynagh, Mark Ella and Quade Cooper, is there no one out there who can gown down the gears when everyone else around him is hurtling off a cliff? Is there no one out there who can do the rugby equivalent of putting his foot on the ball to hold a shape, play the simple pass, kick to the corner and shift momentum?
Many will point to the well-worn excuse that rugby league and Australian rules football hog all the best athletes. But that doesn’t wash when every other position in the group is stacked with world class talent. Jorgensen can turn a contest with a wiggle of his hips and Fraser McReight is the best fetcher in the world. There have been famous victories to savour but the body will never be truly healthy until the heart at the centre of the chest is pumping as it should. This latest capitulation will prompt yet another transplant as Kiss searches for an answer to an ongoing problem.
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