Seven Wallabies with a point to prove against Lions including ‘destructive’ duo who could ‘turn series on its head’
Rob Valetini and Tom Lynagh need big games for the Wallabies.
It’s do or die for the Wallabies this weekend and the pressure is very much on Joe Schmidt’s team to perform after their disappointing first Test showing in Brisbane.
Ahead of the Test in Melbourne, which will determine if the third Test is a dead rubber or series decider, we’ve picked out seven Australians who are feeling the heat.
Seven Wallabies under pressure to perform
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii
Wasn’t fully at the races last weekend as Huw Jones won their personal battle at a canter, Suaalii simply must up his game at the MCG if the Wallabies are to level matters.
The former rugby league star is such a handful both with ball-in-hand and in the air, but we simply didn’t see those strengths at all at Suncorp Stadium, and Australia will be eager to have Suaalii contesting aerially rather than other less effective players. If he is prominent on Saturday, then the Wallabies’ hopes of a win greatly increase.
Tom Lynagh
There were calls from some quarters to put Ben Donaldson in from the start this week, but Lynagh is given a second chance by Schmidt in a show of faith from the coach.
Lynagh, by his own admission, would have been disappointed by how things panned out in Brisbane, but he cannot shoulder too much of the blame, as there was little front-foot ball for him to work with. Backline combinations, too, are very much untried, and Lynagh will hope another week in the saddle at training leads to greater fluidity.
Jake Gordon
Staying in the half-backs, and there was similar pressure on Gordon, magnified by the impact Tate McDermott had on the Wallabies when he came off the bench in Brisbane.
Gordon’s kicking game in that first Test was simply miles off the standard Jamison Gibson-Park was setting, and he barely fired a shot around the fringes either, which led to calls for McDermott getting the jersey. However, Schmidt has again kept the faith and clearly holds Gordon in high regard, faith that has to be repaid on Saturday.
Rob Valetini
Obviously he could do nothing about that dismal outing last time out, but the expectation that both he and Will Skelton will steady the ship and out-muscle the Lions is a heavy load to carry. However, it’s one that both forwards will handle with pride and determination, and Valetini is more than capable of turning this series on its head.
The blindside flanker is such a destructive force on both sides of the ball as he crucially offers the Wallabies much more of a carrying threat that could wound the Lions.
Will Skelton
The return of the behemoth second-row alongside Valetini is also a major feather in the cap for the Wallabies as they suddenly look a more physical and Test-ready side.
Skelton has been a scourge of many of the Lions players at club level during a glittering tenure at La Rochelle, and Aussie fans will hope that translates to the Test arena.
His sheer size will aid the Wallabies in both the set-piece and around the field, and if he and Valetini bring their A-game, then we are set for a titanic tussle at the MCG.
Harry Potter
One player to also cop some flak from the first Test was former Leicester Tigers wing Potter, who has been given another chance by Schmidt in this must-win match.
Corey Toole and Dylan Pietsch are a couple of wing options knocking on the door, so the pressure is on Potter to find top gear, or the axe may fall going into the third Test in Sydney. Toole is electric while Pietsch has been Mr Consistent for a lengthy spell, and it’s therefore surprising the latter hasn’t been blooded in this Test series.
James Slipper
While the veteran was pretty solid at scrum time up against Tadhg Furlong, there were defensive lapses that will need to be ironed out, or the Lions could well target him.
One of the standout props in the game, Angus Bell, is being used off the bench at the moment, but one has to wonder if the Ulster-bound star needs to be in from the start. Much like Tom Robertson with Taniela Tupou waiting in the wings, there’s a similar pressure facing Slipper to perform in every aspect, or Bell will start Test III.