Hodge at 15 but Rennie likes 10
Wallabies coach Dave Rennie sees value in trying to transform Reece Hodge into a longterm No 10, but says he will shift to fullback tonight against Argentina because James O’Connor hasn’t done much kicking in recent weeks while recovering from injury.
Motivation is sky high in Wallabies camp to finish 2020 on a high as the inconsistent Australians aim to bring down an Argentina outfit who are not only playing their fourth test in as many weeks but reeling from a racist tweeting scandal that has seen senior players Pablo Matera, Guido Petti and Santiago Socino pulled from the matchday 23.
Rennie pulled few surprises by confirming O’Connor would return at No 10, with Hodge to replace Tom Banks at fullback.
O’Connor’s foot injury has prevented him from practising kicks off the tee and Rennie said Hodge’s inclusion provided better balance. ‘‘Reece’s selection is as much around the goal-kicking and other aspects to get him on the field with James coming back,’’ Rennie said.
‘‘Rabs [O’Connor] hasn’t kicked a lot of ball in the last month so Reece will have the goal-kicking duties and do a lot of touchfinding and so on.
‘‘He’s played a lot in the back three, he’s played a lot of fullback for the Rebels, so it’s not an unfamiliar position,’’ he said.
Hodge steered Australia to victory against the All Blacks in Brisbane and was one of the side’s better performers in the 15-15 draw against Argentina a fortnight ago in Newcastle.
But the big question moving forward is whether Hodge, who has now played in every backline position for the Wallabies except halfback, is a genuine five-eighth prospect.
He has made just three appearances there at test level and rarely been used at No 10 by the Rebels but when asked what his best position was, Rennie made the call that five-eighth could be his home.
‘‘I think he could be really good as a 10,’’ Rennie said. ‘‘He’s a big man, [has] a big kicking game, can carry in those transitional areas, defends well in there. If he could square things up and play on top, he’s got all the attributes. He’s done a really good job for us.’’ Rennie has one win, two draws and two losses to his name ahead of the final hit-out of the year.
Near misses in Wellington and Newcastle still sting and Rennie will be desperately hoping that if Australia get in a position to win the game, they don’t let it slip.
‘‘We’ve had a couple of tests we should have won and didn’t. We ended up drawing them. That’s frustrating but the key for me is we learn from it,’’ Rennie said.
‘‘A win on the weekend will mean that we’ve got more to build on but certainly we had a chance for silverware if we got it right a couple of weeks ago.
‘‘We’ve talked a lot about this being a springboard to next season [and] not talking about it being the last test of the year.
‘‘Ultimately what we want is just a quality performance.’’ – Sydney Morning Herald