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How Lolesio reacted when told he was starting 6 minutes before kick-off

Noah Lolesio of the Wallabies and Wallabies Coach Dave Rennie celebrate winning game one of the international test match series between the Australian Wallabies and England at Optus Stadium on July 02, 2022 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Noah Lolesio aims to further repay coach Dave Rennie’s faith after his rollercoaster rugby career hit another high in the 14-man Wallabies’ breakthrough first Test win over England

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The 22-year-old playmaker was a last-minute inclusion in the starting side when playmaker Quade Cooper injured his calf during the warm-up at Perth Optus Stadium on Saturday night.

Lolesio says it may have worked in his favour, with little time to get nervous about the magnitude of his task as Australia strove to end an eight-game losing streak against the old foe.

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Ardie Savea, Jordie Barrett, Quinn Tupaea and George Bower react to the first test | All Blacks post-match press conference

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    Ardie Savea, Jordie Barrett, Quinn Tupaea and George Bower react to the first test | All Blacks post-match press conference

    After a shaky start with more injuries and a red card for lock Darcy Swain rocking the Wallabies, the five-eighth helped straighten up the attack to steer the side to a heroic 30-28 victory to open the three-Test series, heaping more pressure on England coach Eddie Jones.

    His goal-kicking proved decisive, booting six from six for a personal haul of 15 points.

    “I felt a lot more relaxed before I was told I was going to start which helped,” Lolesio said on Sunday as the team prepared to fly to Brisbane for game two on Saturday.

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    “I was pretty shocked when Rens (Rennie) gave me the tap of the shoulder saying that I was starting.

    “It’s unfortunate for Quade, I know that would have been a tough call for him.

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    “I just grabbed it by the horns and tried to do my best for the team and it took me a while to find my groove in the game, but I’m just happy we got that win.”

    Lolesio was left shattered last month when a poorly-timed drop kick in the dying minutes was charged down, leaving the Brumbies just short in their Super Rugby Pacific semi-final against the Blues.

    With nine Tests now under his belt, he was delighted to stand up in the big moments at Optus Stadium, rating it as a career highlight.

    “I feel like I’m learning every game – I’m still so early in my career,” he said.

    “But I never want to be complacent and I always want to be willing to learn.

    “Obviously that semi-final sucked and my professional rugby career has been a rollercoaster and it’s pleasing…as a bright side.”

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    Lolesio said it was also “pleasing” that Rennie backed him to step up in place of Cooper, ahead of veteran James O’Connor, who came onto the bench.

    “I’m just very privileged that he backs me but in saying that I’ve got to put the work in too.

    “I can take confidence out of that but at the same time I won’t be complacent because I know I’ve got to be a lot better, especially in that first half to put the team in a better position.”

    Cooper will undergo scans in Brisbane on Monday but was still limping on Sunday and looks unlikely to play in the Suncorp Test encounter.

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    The Wallabies allowed two late tries in the final three minutes which flattered the visitors and Lolesio said the end didn’t sit well with his team.

    “We were definitely disappointed with how we let those late two tries in because the scoreboard would have looked a lot a lot nicer so we will look at that defensively and we’ll be better.”

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    J
    Jfp123 11 minutes ago
    France push All Blacks to 80th minute in narrow Dunedin defeat

    So, you think top rugby players’ wages ought to be kept artificially low, when in fact the forces of “demand and supply” mean that many can and indeed are commanding wages higher than you approve of, and even though players regularly get injured, and those injuries can be serious enough to cut short careers and even threaten lives, e.g. Steven Kitshoff.

    .

    As far as I can make out your objections amount to

    1) they’ve sent a B team, which is not what we do and I don’t like it. Is there more to it than that? You haven’t replied to the points I made previously about sell out Tests and high ticket prices, so I take it reduced earnings are no longer part of your argument. Possibly you’re disappointed at not seeing Dupont et al., but a lot of New Zealanders think he is over rated anyway.


    2) The Top 14 is paying players too much, leading to wage inflation around the world which is bad for the sport.

    Firstly, young athletes have a range of sports to choose from, so rugby holding out the prospect of a lucrative, glamorous career helps attract talent.

    Above all, market forces mean the French clubs earn a lot of money, and spend a large part of that money on relatively high wages, within a framework set by the league to maintain the health of the league. This framework includes the salary cap and Jiff rules which in effect limit the number of foreign stars the clubs employ and encourage the development of young talent, so there is a limit on Top14 demand. The Toulon of the 2010s is a thing of the past.


    So yes, the French clubs cream off some top players - they are competitive sports teams, what do expect them to do with their money? - but there’s still a there’s a plentiful supply of great rugby players and coaches without French contracts. The troubles in England and Wales were down to mismanagement of those national bodies, and clubs themselves, not the French


    So if you don’t want to let market forces determine wage levels, and you do want to prevent the French clubs from spending so much of their large incomes on players, how on earth do you want to set player wages?


    Is the problem that NZ can’t pay so much as the Top 14 and you fear the best players will be lured away and/or you want NZ franchises to compete for leading international talent? Are you asking for NZ wage scales to be adopted as the maximum allowed, to achieve this? But in that case why not take Uruguay, or Spain, or Tonga or Samoa as the standard, so Samoa, a highly talented rugby nation, can keep Samoan players in Samoa, not see them leave for higher wages in NZ and elsewhere.

    Rugby is played in lots of countries, with hugely varying levels of financial backing etc. Obviously, it’s more difficult for some than others, but aside for a limited amount of help from world rugby, it’s up to each one to make their sums add up, and make the most of the particular advantages their nation/club/franchise has. SA are not the richest, but are still highly successful, and I don’t hear them complaining about Top14 wages.


    Many, particularly second tier, nations benefit from the Top14, and anyone genuinely concerned about the whole community of world rugby should welcome that. England and NZ have laid down rules so they can’t make the most of the French competition, which is up to them. But unlike some NZ fans and pundits, the English aren’t generally blaming their own woes on the French, rather they want reform of the English structure, and some are calling for lessons to learned from their neighbours across the channel. If NZ fans aren’t satisfied, I suggest they call for internal reform, not try to make the French scapegoats.


    In my opinion, a breach of standards would be to include on your team players who beat up women, not to regularly send a B team on the summer tours for reasons of player welfare, which in all the years you’ve been doing this only some of the pundits and fans of a single country have made a stink about.


    [my comments here are, of course, not aimed at all NZ fans and pundits]

    266 Go to comments
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