WALLABIES MOVE THE GOALPOSTS
U-turn clears way for Giteau to threaten England and Wales
ENGLAND and Wales are facing a new World Cup threat after Australia performed a U-turn aimed at drafting Matt Giteau back into the Wallabies squad.
The master playmaker has been an outstanding force for Toulon in the French club’s back-to-back Heineken Cup triumphs and Top 14 title success last season.
Now, four years after his Test career appeared to be over when he was left out for the last World Cup, the 32-year- old has discovered that he is eligible to play for the Wallabies again.
Like England, Australia had a policy of not picking anyone who plays abroad. But Giteau’s supreme form for Toulon led to a clamour for him to be recalled and yesterday the ARU announced a change which is seemingly tailor-made for the man once known as Kid Dynamite.
With immediate effect, Australia will pick ‘ elite’ players based abroad — providing they have 60 caps and seven years of professional service at home. At a stroke, the Wallabies have gained more experience and firepower for the World Cup, while their Pool A rivals England and Wales have extra cause for concern.
Former England lock Nick Kennedy was a Toulon team-mate during the victorious 2012-13 European campaign and the London Irish academy director told Sportsmail: ‘When I turned up at Toulon there were many excellent players, but the one guy who stood head and shoulders above the rest was Matt Giteau.
‘I had watched him play for years but seeing him in training, seeing what he could do, was a shock. He is just so talented and is still one of the best players in the world.
‘His ability is incredible, as is his decision-making. He’s still got pace, his passing is so accurate and he’s got a great kicking game. Defensively he gets stuck in, too. He’s a great all-round player and, if anything, he has improved from spending time in France. He can do it all.’
Giteau himself greeted the announcement from Down Under yesterday by tweeting: ‘Massive news re policy change. The ultimate honour to represent your country, however form still must warrant selection.’
That shouldn’t be an issue. His Toulon team-mate, Drew Mitchell, is another Australian who could find himself back in World Cup contention but his initial reaction was to champion Giteau’s claims. ‘The fact he is not only playing in Europe but dominating it for a number of years — he not only would be able to handle Test rugby, he’d add a great deal of value in the World Cup squad,’ said Mitchell
The ARU decision has been made in response to an exodus of leading lights to Europe. There are potential implications for the clubs who have recruited these players, who may now be called upon for Test duty rather than being able to commit themselves fully to their new employers throughout the season.
That in turn may lead to renewed club v country tension, but not in the case of Harlequins, who have signed Australia lock and former captain James Horwill.
‘It’s not an issue for us,’ said Conor O’Shea, Quins’ director of rugby. ‘We never want our players to turn their backs on playing for their country and there are windows for that. If the Wallabies wanted to pick James, that’s great.’
Australia’s revised stance will lead to further calls for the RFU to relax their policy against picking players based abroad but Northampton’s England flanker Tom Wood yesterday echoed comments by Tom Youngs of Leicester about the threat to squad unity and morale if the ‘exceptional circumstances’ clause is invoked to call up the likes of Steffon Armitage from Toulon.
‘I am not against it in principle but I wouldn’t like us to backpedal on that now,’ he said. ‘It could have an effect on the team and undermine some of the togetherness we have built.
‘If people start to lose faith and think there is an imbalance, then people aren’t pulling in the same direction.’