Kurtley Beale says Matt Toomua's return to the Wallabies starting XV will create healthy competition in Australia’s playmaking stocks that has not existed since Matt Giteau was around.
Regular No.10 Bernard Foley’s demotion to the bench for the weekend’s 23-18 victory over the Springboks was a major surprise to many, particularly given the World Cup is just over a year away.
Old hand: Matt Toomua made an encouraging return to the Wallabies starting XV against the Springboks.
With Beale shifting to No.10 and Toomua coming into No.12, the pair, even by their own admission, were solid without being completely polished in their first start together in those positions at international level since Australia’s 51-20 loss to the All Blacks in 2014 at Eden Park.
Before Toomua’s return from the UK, Foley had a mortgage on the No.10 jersey and there were concerns others were not challenging him enough for his position.
Greater depth and competitiveness around positions can only be a good thing, according to Beale.
“Having [Toomua] there has created a lot of healthy competition among the playmakers,” Beale said. “We haven't had that for a while – probably not since Matt Giteau left – but once you have that competition there, you get the better out of each other. It's certainly good for the group.”
Giteau’s last outing for Australia was the Bledisloe Cup opener in 2016 and before that he was the Wallabies’ first-choice No.12 at the most recent World Cup.
Coach Michael Cheika has hinted he will stick with the Beale-Toomua combination for Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test against Argentina, so where that leaves Foley going forward is an interesting question.
Having a reliable player with 61 Tests' experience coming on the field with 20 minutes or so remaining is very much a positive for the Wallabies if that is where they believe Foley is best suited.
Beale echoed Cheika’s comments last week that Foley’s reaction to being benched was extremely professional.
“He has taken it really well and he's a tough, resilient guy,” Beale said. “He will bounce back in no time. He's definitely the same guy as he was when he was wearing the No.10 [jersey] there. Nothing really changed for him. That's the quality of player and person that he is.
“He does a lot of work behind the scenes helping myself and Matty going into last week's game.
“I think as a back-line we can definitely get better. Our forwards definitely had a great game on the weekend and laid that platform for us. Now it's about finishing that good work up front and making sure we convert that into points.”
The Wallabies will begin their week on the Gold Coast in far better spirits than of late after their hard-fought five-point win over South Africa.
“It certainly makes things a lot easier to cope with,” Beale said. “Winning any Test match against any team is always a special feeling and I think it's a very important one for us as a group, especially after the first two games of the Rugby Championship. There is a lot to work on and it will be a huge challenge here against the Argentinians. We have to make sure we keep building on that.”
Happy to be back: Matt Toomua at Wallabies training.
Cheika’s troops will be wary of being lulled into a false sense of security this weekend given Argentina’s world ranking (ninth) does not reflect their ability to trouble top-tier teams with an exciting brand of rugby.
A 32-19 victory over the Springboks and admirable loss to the All Blacks in Nelson will give the Pumas reason to think they can claim their first win on Australian soil in 35 years.
Beale said new Pumas coach Mario Ledesma, who was an assistant with the Wallabies last year, would have his men ready by kick-off.
“No doubt it’s going to be a physical encounter, certainly up front and that was his area of the game,” Beale said. "He was very infectious in the group, off the field especially. He was very approachable and he was one guy that was very passionate and showed a lot of care to the Wallaby family and no doubt it’ll be an emotional one for him on Saturday night.”
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