10 uncapped players have been called up to new coach Ewen McKenzie’s training squad for the upcoming Rugby Championship – 5 of them from the ACT Brumbies

by Paul Cook –

New coach Ewen McKenzie has wasted no time in stamping his mark on the national team, naming ten uncapped players in his fledgling Wallaby training squad for the upcoming Rugby Championship.  As expected, Quade Cooper makes his return from the international wilderness under his former state coach but all the talk was of the new bloods who have been given the opportunity to push for their first taste of the international stage. Peter Betham, Chris Feauai-Sautia, Scott Fardy, Bernard Foley, Tevita Kuridrani, Hugh Pyle, Jake Schatz, Scott Sio, Matt Toomua and Nic White are the new men, while gun Western Force centre Kyle Godwin and Waratahs’ winger Cam Crawford were also under consideration but were ruled out through injury.

McKenzie outlined the fact that bringing the next batch of potential Wallabies through was an important factor in his decisions. “We’ve assessed each case on its own merits, but it’s important that we are, where possible, making investments in players that are going to provide value for Australian Rugby over the next few seasons,” he said. “That was definitely a major consideration in selecting this training squad.”

“At this stage it’s important that as many players as possible gain exposure to our program and that everyone is receiving an opportunity to push their case for selection before we narrow down our squad,” he continued. “The first five days will be invaluable in this respect as there are some players I know very well and others that I’m interested in learning more about.”

Former Reds Director of Coaching Ewen McKenzie has wasted no time in looking at fresh blood in his new role
Photo: seiserphotography.com.au

The potential – and largely predicted – domination of Queensland Reds players due to McKenzie’s previous affiliations didn’t eventuate with Australian conference toppers, the ACT Brumbies, providing the largest contingent of 12, one more than both the Reds and the NSW Waratahs with the Melbourne Rebels and Western Force sharing the remaining six places.

Injuries forced the omissions of Kurtley Beale, Wycliff Palu, David Pocock, Digby Ioane, Pat McCabe and Scott Higginbotham and from the entire squad involved in the recent British & Irish Lions series, only the names of Rob Horne, Ben Tapua’i and the retiring George Smith were absent. There were recalls for Anthony Fainga’a, Mike Harris and Paddy Ryan while James Horwill will retain the captaincy.

With only two weeks remaining before McKenzie’s first side will take it’s bow against the All Blacks at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney, with a follow-up game the week after in Wellington, the ability of players to come on board and buy into their new coaches vision and implement it in such a short time frame was also an important part of the selection process.

“There is only a very short period before our first match, so it’s paramount that the players are in a strong position mentally and physically to be investing all their time now into understanding what we are trying to achieve,” he insisted.  “With new systems to install, we’ve also put a lot of weight on those players who are healthy and able to contribute fully in training in the lead-up to our opening two Tests.”

With the Bledisloe Cup up for grabs – a trophy that hasn’t been in Australian hands for 11 years – the chance to make history within the first two games of his tenure has McKenzie champing at the bit, despite the lofty pedigree of the familiar opponents. “It’s always going to be challenging when you come up against the number one team in the world, but it also gives you the greatest opportunity to make a statement,” he said. “If we want to change where we are in the Rugby landscape, this is a great place to start.

“Effectively, the Bledisloe Cup is there for the taking if we are good enough over two weekends. We’ll be able to go into that first game in our own backyard, in front of a full house, with some element of surprise. I don’t think that’s a bad situation.”

SQUAD: Ben Alexander (ACT Brumbies); Adam Ashley-Cooper (NSW Waratahs); Peter Betham (NSW Waratahs); Quade Cooper (Queensland Reds); Nick Cummins (Western Force); Dave Dennis (NSW Waratahs); Kane Douglas (NSW Waratahs); Anthony Fainga’a (Queensland Reds); Saia Fainga’a (Queensland Reds); Scott Fardy (ACT Brumbies); Chris Feauai-Sautia (Queensland Reds); Israel Folau (NSW Waratahs); Bernard Foley (NSW Waratahs); Will Genia (Queensland Reds); Liam Gill (Queensland Reds); Mike Harris (Queensland Reds); Michael Hooper (NSW Waratahs); James Horwill  (C) (Queensland Reds) ; Sekope Kepu (NSW Waratahs); Peter Kimlin (ACT Brumbies); Tevita Kuridrani (ACT Brumbies); Christian Leali’ifano (ACT Brumbies); Ben McCalman (Western Force); Hugh McMeniman (Western Force); Jesse Mogg (ACT Brumbies); Stephen Moore (ACT Brumbies); Ben Mowen (ACT Brumbies); James O’Connor (Melbourne Rebels); Nick Phipps (Melbourne Rebels); Tatafu Polota-Nau (NSW Waratahs); Hugh Pyle (Melbourne Rebels); Benn Robinson (NSW Waratahs); Paddy Ryan (NSW Waratahs); Jake Schatz (Queensland Reds); Rob Simmons (Queensland Reds); Scott Sio (ACT Brumbies); James Slipper (Queensland Reds); Joe Tomane (ACT Brumbies); Matt Toomua (ACT Brumbies); Nic White (ACT Brumbies)

THE WALLABIES’ RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP/BLEDISLOE CUP FIXTURES:

Saturday 17 August, 2013

Qantas Wallabies v All Blacks – ANZ Stadium, Sydney

Saturday 24 August, 2013

All Blacks v Qantas Wallabies – Westpac Stadium, Wellington

Saturday 7 September, 2013

Qantas Wallabies v Springboks – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

Saturday 14 September, 2013

Qantas Wallabies v Pumas – Patersons Stadium, Perth

Saturday 28 September, 2013 (Sun 29th, 2013 AEDT)

Springboks v Qantas Wallabies – DHL Newlands Stadium, Cape Town

Saturday 5 October, 2013 (Sun 6th, 2013 AEDT)

Pumas v Qantas Wallabies – Estadio Gigante de Arroyito, Rosario

Saturday 19 October, 2013

All Blacks v Qantas Wallabies – Dunedin, New Zealand