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Lealiifano must start at 10 for Wallabies according to former skipper

Former Wallabies captain Andrew Slack believes Christian Lealiifano deserves to wear the No.10 jersey against the All Blacks in Perth on Saturday.

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Lealiifano and Bernard Foley are in the mix as coach Michael Cheika prepares to name his line-up on Thursday for the Rugby Championship match, which doubles as the opening Bledisloe Cup Test.

The pair have shared the duties this year with the Waratahs’ ice man Foley getting first crack in Australia’s opening loss to South Africa and Brumbies ace Lealiifano steering the ship in the win over Argentina in Brisbane.

Slack, who led the Wallabies on the triumphant 1984 Grand Slam tour and to a Bledisloe Cup series victory on New Zealand soil two years later, believes the call on who plays five-eighth is “single most difficult decision” facing Cheika.

Slack says the Wallabies don’t have the attacking brilliance of Kiwi playmaker Beauden Barrett or defensive starch of Ireland’s Johnny Sexton but they should back Lealiifano to guide them through to the tournament in Japan later this year.

“On the back of the two games and form throughout the year I would go for Christian because I thought he was better than Bernard,” Slack told AAP.

“In the 2015 World Cup Foley reached the absolute peak of his ability and was brilliant and I’m not sure we’ve seen it since.

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“It’s an area where we’re not really fantastically blessed – they’re both good, solid international players but they’re not what some of the other teams have.”

With his line-busting prowess, Wallabies vice-captain Samu Kerevi appears to have a hold on the No.12 position but Slack would change his centre partner from Tevita Kuridrani.

“We need another ball player,” Slack said.

“You could arguably put James O’Connor at outside centre but I would probably go with Reece Hodge.”

A former selector, Slack believes Hodge has more ball-playing skills than Kuridrani, so better complemented Kerevi.

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Kurtley Beale, who starred off the bench against the Springboks and started in the win over the Pumas, is Slack’s preference at fullback ahead of Tom Banks.

“I think you’ve got to pick Beale as we’re limited on game-breakers, as against the Boks he showed what he can do when he came on late,” Slack said.

“I just don’t think we’ve got the game-breaking quality in the backs at the moment to use him at our leisure with half an hour to go; he’s got to be there from the kick-off.”

While they offered different skill-sets, Marika Koroibete and Dane Haylett-Petty were Slack’s choices to play on the wing.

“Koroibete is a weapon and needs to be there and I’m a Haylett-Petty fan,” Slack said.

Slack says the Wallabies needed to make the most of their ball if they were to have any chance of upsetting the All Blacks.

“Against the Pumas in the second half we had all the ball but couldn’t do much with it and if we repeat that k ind of performance we won’t give ourselves much chance,” he said.

“We need to play very, very close to our best to be realistic about beating them.”

– AAP

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TI 3 hours ago
All Blacks player ratings vs Italy | Autumn Nations Series

Rieko took literally years to turn from a defensive liability at 13 into a guy, who’s defensively sound as it befits the position. And it all came at the cost of him being much less of an offensive threat, than what he used to be. Proctor is a natural 13, he handles, passes, and kicks way better than Rieko ever will, he just isn’t as fast.


It’s unfair to judge Tupaea on the handful of games he’s had in 2022 before he got nearly crippled by a Wallaby lock. What could Tupaea/Proctor pairing be, if they got the same amount of chances as Jordie/Rieko?


Because no matter how you spin it, playing a player outside of his natural position is a poor asset management. No matter how talented he is, he still competes against players who had years and years of practice at the position. And if said guy is so talented that he actually CAN compete against specialists, imagine how much better still he could have been, if he had all those years to iron the toothing issues at the position. It just drives me mad.


Two things I hate in rugby union beyond description: aping after league, and playing players outside of their natural position. Especially considering, that they all admit they hate it, when they’re allowed to speak freely. Owen Farrell spent 80% of his international career at 12, saying every time when asked, that he is a 10 and prefers to play at 10. Those players are literally held at a gunpoint: play out of position, or no national jersey for you.

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