‘Wallabies to pick experienced fly-half’ – Aaron Cruden

David Skippers

Former All Blacks playmaker Aaron Cruden believes new Wallabies coach Dave Rennie will opt for experience in the number 10 jersey for the opening Bledisloe Test on Sunday in Wellington.

11 months after being named Australia coach, Rennie will name his first team on Friday.

Following the international retirements of a number of players, the departure overseas of a number of others and the introduction of a brand new coaching structure, the Wallabies team to face the All Blacks is expected to be vastly different from the one that was dumped out at the quarter-final stages of the 2019 World Cup by England.

In particular, just who wears the 10 jersey is one of the many intriguing selections ahead of the first Test under Rennie, with the position being the most open in the squad following the departures of Christian Lealiifano, Bernard Foley and Quade Cooper in 2019.

Experience v rookies

In many ways, whoever wears the jersey could symbolise the direction the Wallabies head under Rennie’s watch given that of the four fly-halves in the squad, two are experienced (Matt To’omua and James O’Connor) and two are uncapped rookies (Noah Lolesio and Will Harrison) in their early 20s.

Cruden, who led the All Blacks to World Cup glory in 2011 as a 22-year-old and was Rennie’s playmaker at the Chiefs for six years, revealed that he caught up with his former mentor when he was back in New Zealand in the middle of the year.

Amongst other things, Cruden ran the rule over Australia’s stocks at number 10 given he went head to head with both Harrison and Lolesio during the opening stages of Super Rugby this year.

And in one cunning gaze, Cruden got the impression that Rennie was excited by the stocks developing at fly-half in Australian rugby.

“When I caught up with Rens back home in Palmerston North before they (Rennie and his wife, Steph) jumped on the plane to Australia, I just spoke to him around the young 10s that I played against,” Cruden told Rugby Australia’s official website.

“I was really impressed by both of them and I think with young five-eighths, you want to give them a bit of time as well. There could be a tendency to chuck them in. Some are able to handle it and others just need a bit more time, that’s just the way things go.

“But in terms of the stocks and the talent in the No.10 jersey for the Wallabies jersey right now and looking forward, I told him he’d be pretty happy about it and he just had a big smile and sort of nodded his head.”

Asked who he thought would start, Cruden backed either To’omua or O’Connor, who each have played more than 50 Tests, to be given the first opportunity but reiterated that Rennie constantly picked on form as a coach.

“With James and Matt, you’ve got the experienced guys there too that will hopefully provide the guidance for the younger two in the squad as well,” he said.

“I’m not sure. I read that maybe James and Matt are carrying slight injuries potentially as well.

“But I think one of the more experienced guys might get the first crack.

“In saying that, Rens certainly does like to pick on form as well, so it might just depend on training and who’s putting their hand up and saying they’re ready might get the first crack as well.”

Cruden knows what it’s like to feel the pressure as a playmaker.

After making his Test debut in 2010, he was thrust into the number 10 jersey in the World Cup final after injuries to Dan Carter and Colin Slade during the campaign.

If, indeed, either Lolesio or Harrison were thrown in the deep end, Cruden said patience was important and that it was vital they felt the support from the entire squad and coaching group.

“You’re always going to have games that you play really well and other games where it just doesn’t really work for you,” he explained.

“As long as you have that confidence in yourself but, also, the coaching group, they have the confidence in you that they know what you’re about, I think as a player that just gives you the ability to control some of the nerves, get out there and just enjoy the moment and play the game.”

Genuine threat

Cruden said that the Wallabies would re-emerge as a genuine threat on the world under Rennie and rated him as one of the best coaches he’d played under.

“Rens is right up there, right near the top, alongside the likes of the Wayne Smiths of the world because of their intellect, their ability, not only to coach, but to teach their players,” he added.

“You get a lot of coaches that are really good coaches, but I found that with both Rens and Smithy, they really took the time to teach their players to continue to develop because, ultimately, as a player that’s what you want.

“You want to be able to see yourself continually evolving, continually getting better and to be able to do that you need to be taught different things, because I think whenever you sit back and think, oh yep, things are going well, that’s when you fall into the trap and you sort of become a bit static.”

 

Australia