Oz back row ‘getting there’

CANBERRA: The Wallabies back row remains a work in progress for coach Michael Cheika, despite a bright second-half performance from the loose forwards helping Australia to their first win of the Rugby Championship on Saturday.

Captain Michael Hooper, Sean McMahon and rookie Ned Hanigan combined for the fourth straight match and after being bullied by their Argentine opposites in the first half, stepped up their intensity after halftime. The result of their elevated efforts in the trenches was clearly evident on the scoreboard with the Wallabies running in five tries to one after the break to win 45-20.

“It’s been getting better as we get a little bit of consistency playing together,” said No 8 McMahon.

“I think it’s been working well over the last couple of games and we just have to keep working towards getting better and better every week.”

Although quick and powerful, McMahon lacks the heft of a traditional No 8 and is a continuation of Cheika’s policy of using the best talent at his disposal even if it does not fit naturally into the back row positions.

It was a policy he first used, reluctantly but successfully, at the 2015 World Cup when confronted with the problem of having world class openside flanks in Hooper and David Pocock but fewer options at No 8 and blindside flank.

That shortage has continued over the last two years with McMahon, also an openside flank, the latest to fill in at the back of the scrum and 22-year-old Hanigan occupying the No 6 shirt for all seven Tests this year.

Cheika, a hard-man No 8 in his playing days at the famous Randwick club, is clearly still hankering for a player or two in his own mould to complement the skills of Hooper and Pocock, who will return next year after a sabbatical.

“It’s still a work in progress. I think it’s been a good balance with Hanigan, more set piece style orientated, Sean a bit of that hybrid player and Michael on the openside,” Cheika said. – Reuters