He may have enchanted the rugby league world but Clive Churchill Medal winner Reece Walsh is no certainty to be fullback in the Wembley Test against England next weekend, according to Australia coach Kevin Walters.
Speaking after the Kangaroos trained at St Marys University in Twickenham with an opposed session against the French national squad, Walters revealed he would name his starting 13, preferred bench and reserves next Tuesday even though he is only required by domestic rules to pick a 21 in alphabetical order.
But for those sure Brisbane superstar Walsh will be at the top of that sheet, Walters had a big surprise.
“Some players pick themselves and others, there’s still a battle on for positions,” he told NRL.com in the middle of the university training pitch.
“Fullback role is a hotly contested one – and the centre position and then the bench. That’s one as well that I reckon we’ve got to get right with our flexibility and cover off on all the positions. They’re the main headaches.”
Walsh looked on for part of the 90-minute session wearing a bib while Penrith’s Dylan Edwards trained against the tricolours.
Reece Walsh and Dylan Edwards are locked in battle for the Kangaroos No.1 jersey.
©Grant Trouville
When it was suggested to Walters that Walsh missing out would be a bombshell because there is so much hype around him, he responded: “There is a lot… it’s not (simple) because Dylan’s been a good player for a long time.
“His form last year for the Kangaroos was really good so it’s not an easy decision but one I’m happy to make given the candidates that are involved.
“I’ll speak to some of the senior players. Some of the senior ones are pretty close with Dylan as well. We’ll have a good honest conversation and it is only for game one, whoever does get selected. It’s obviously a three-Test series so…
“I’ll get the opinions of the assistants as well and then basically it will be my final decision, yeah, on what we go with. I’m pretty confident the right people I talk with will come up with the right decision on who plays.
“I said to the players ‘even if you’re not contributing on match day, certainly through the week with our performances during training is really important’. That’s my memories from Kangaroo Tours.”
Another memory Walters would have of Kangaroo Tours would be the conjecture in 1994 between whether halves Allan Langer or Ricky Stuart would play in the first Test at Wembley, with coach Bob Fulton studiously giving both equal opportunity to impress in lead-up games and eventually going with both – Langer starting, Stuart off the bench – before losing 8-4 to a 12-man Great Britain.
Walters said he had no reason to abide by the British custom of keeping the opposition guessing with a 21-man squad, trimmed to 19 later in the week and 17 on game day.
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Great Britain v Australia – 1994 Third Test
“I don’t see a point in hiding things, who’s playing where,” he said. “We’ll name them in a team, certainly.”
The training venue – in the heart of upscale rugby union territory – boasts it is the only university in the world with men’s, women’s and wheelchair rugby league sides.
The Aussies’ use of the facility was brokered by former Rugby League European Federation chief Kevin Rudd, who coaches there and whose name has caused some amusement amongst the tourists.
Many of Rudd’s players stayed around to watch the big-name Aussies train, with winger Mark Nawaqanitawase wearing boots printed with a QR code directing anyone who gets close enough to scan them to his website.
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“The opportunity to train against Australia means so much to us that we’ve just come over for this,” said Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson, the sporting director with Les Chanticleers who play a World Cup qualifier against Jamaica on Saturday at Albi.
Both the French and Aussie squads return tomorrow to the picturesque venue, where they are expected to engage in a more physical opposed session.
England – whose players have the weekend off – will train at plush The Lansbury, not far away from the university, next week.
The state-of-the-art facility is used by visiting rugby union teams including the All Blacks and was booked by England before the Aussies could arrange to stay or train there.