Wallabies legend John Eales believes the nation’s captaincy will prove the making of Fraser McReight, and transform him from one of the world’s leading flankers to an all-time great of Australian rugby.
Despite not having the ‘c’ next to his name at clubland for the Queensland Reds, McReight was named to replace Super Rugby Pacific teammate Harry Wilson in the side’s Test defeat to South Africa after the latter succumbed to a knee injury.
While the Wallabies were unable to back up their Ellis Park heroics, suffering a 30-22 defeat amid a host of injury concerns, McReight’s typically relentless nature was on show – topping the clash in the tackle count (17 for no misses) as he sought to galvanise his under siege troops.
Fraser McReight goes over for a try but it’s disallowed.Credit: Getty Images
Eales, speaking from Ballymore at the book launch of his former coach John Connolly’s biography, said history’s best teams each possessed a number of captaincy options.
McReight’s succession of Wilson – who is in line to return for Saturday’s clash against Argentina, and will likely take back the captaincy – was indicative of the direction the Wallabies were heading, according to the former World Cup-winning skipper.
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“I think he’s definitely heading that way,” Eales said, when asked if the captaincy would unlock McReight and forge his path towards being one of the country’s finest players.
“If you look at the No.7s we’ve had over the years, we’ve had some pretty good ones – Jeff Miller, Dave Wilson, George Smith, Phil Waugh – and I think Fraser, the way he plays the game, the influence he has on the game and the amount of touches and impacts he has is pretty special.
“Fraser’s one of these guys who is so consistent week in, week out, and I think that’s the first thing you need from your captain – they need to pick themselves.