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Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.au
As the countdown to yet another new Wallabies era enters its final few days, those wondering just what kind of team Australia will be under Joe Schmidt perhaps shouldn’t look too closely at his hugely successful stint with Ireland.
The secret – or at least the game plan in which the Wallabies hope to execute – may instead lie closer to what the Queensland Reds produced in their much-improved season under first-year coach Les Kiss.
While the Reds eventually bowed out in the quarterfinals after being blown off the paddock in the first 20 minutes by a ruthless Chiefs side, Queensland had earlier in the year been the most consistently competitive Australian side of all against New Zealand opposition as they defeated the Highlanders, Chiefs and Crusaders, the latter on their home patch, and also pushed the Hurricanes and Blues into golden point.
Their brand of up-tempo rugby was certainly easy on the eye, too.
So while Schmidt’s hugely successful stint with Ireland — he won a Six Nations Grand Slam, three-Test series in Australia and enjoyed multiple victories over the All Blacks — was built around all-time great Jonathan Sexton, the Wallabies’ current lack of similarly dominant playmaker in the 10 shirt suggests this new Australian era is unlikely to have a greenish tinge to its approach.
“I think what Joe is trying to bring isn’t too technical, it’s pretty simple when he explains it, and for us it’s now trying to get the repetition of doing it,” Reds back-rower Fraser McReight, who is expected to wear the No. 7 jersey against Wales on Saturday night, said.
“It helps us as Queensland, [because] we’ve sort of done this for the whole eight months of preseason into the season. So when he speaks it’s super simple and super understandable for us. “In terms of the shape, all rugby is a different version of a shape, what’s probably more important is getting those combos right. So understanding, for me, how Jake Gordon or Nic White plays; I know how Tate [McDermott] plays; so I think that’s probably the important part.”
What brings the Reds, Ireland and now the Wallabies together are coaches Schmidt and Kiss.
Former Queensland State of Origin player Kiss spent several seasons working with and alongside Schmidt across Ireland, before moving across to England where he took charge of London Irish.
The Premiership club’s financial woes and eventual expulsion from the Premiership allowed the Reds to swoop in and secure Kiss as Brad Thorn’s replacement, and in just one season the former rugby league winger has reinvigorated rugby in Queensland.
That success saw more Reds players [13] selected in Schmidt’s Wallabies squad than any other franchise, with McReight’s comments in Sydney on Monday perhaps signalling just why that was the case.
“Joe and Kissy have coached a lot together and being able to come from the Reds system to the Wallabies system there is a lot of crossover, which is great for us Queenslanders,” the 25-year-old said. “And being able to help the other boys as to where Joe sees our improvement.
“But in terms of off the field, I think the group is mingling really well. There are some great new additions who have mingled really well, seamless in their induction. We don’t have much time really, we’ve got five days until our first Test, and even before that last week was quite short as well.
“So I think everyone knew that we couldn’t wait and sit around for something to happen, we had to rush into that; so making sure that if we don’t know someone off the field, we’re sitting down and having a good yarn with them, mixing up out of our normal Super Rugby groups and getting to know each other really well.”
The Wallabies’ descent into near World Cup-chaos under former coach Eddie Jones was exemplified in the team’s 40-6 thrashing by Wales in Lyon, when confusing selections and a desire for there to be little to no structure resulted in several comedic moments.
But that doesn’t look like being an issue this year, with Schmidt’s meticulous attention to detail and a far more qualified wider coaching unit already making its impact on the new-look Australian group.
“There’s definitely a lot of clarity and, as players, that’s what you try to chase, you try to chase that clarity in all facets of the game,” McReight said. “Obviously last year was disappointing, but we’re moving on, it’s a new year.
“It’s tough to really predict what’s going to happen on Saturday night, obviously we have a fresh coaching group who are well coached, they know a lot about the game, and they’re trying to put all that information into us, and they know where we need to improve.”
Meanwhile, scans have confirmed Kurtley Beale has suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon, potentially bringing about a devastating ending to the veteran back’s 95-Test career.
Beale had been released to play for Randwick on Saturday as he was not expected to feature in the squad to face Wales, only to suffer the injury midway through the second half of his side’s win over Easts at Woollahra Oval.
Waratahs centre Joey Walton and teammate Lalakai Foketi have both been added to the Wallabies squad as cover, with Len Ikitau also under an injury cloud and David Feluiai having left the group for personal reasons.