Ella 'helps' Deans select Wallabies
Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:57
Wallaby great Mark Ella may not be a member of Robbie Deans's selection panel, but he had plenty of 'advice' for the Australian coach ahead of the announcement of the team for the year-end tour to Europe.
Deans will announce his squad on Tuesday, but Ella felt the team should "look to the future" and even suggested that Deans close the door on some of the side's senior pros.
The year-end tour begins with the November 1 Bledisloe Cup Test against the All Blacks in Hong Kong.
That is followed by encounters with Italy, England, France and Wales.
Ella emerged as one of Deans' first critics in Australia during the Tri-Nations, shattering the former Crusaders coach's honeymoon period with the Wallabies.
And now the former star inside back has called for Deans to look to the younger brigade as the Wallabies aim to end 2008 on a high note.
"I sincerely hope Deans doesn't make the same mistakes that his two predecessors did," Ella wrote in his column in the Australian newspaper.
"In 2005, then-Australian coach Eddie Jones selected a number of exciting young players to go on Australia's end-of-season tour of the northern hemisphere.
"Unfortunately he stayed true to his senior players and the youngsters warmed the bench or watched from the grandstands.
"Jones wasted the perfect opportunity two years before the 2007 World Cup to give the rising stars of Australian rugby a sniff of what it means to represent your country and in the end he fell on his sword, to be quickly replaced by John Connolly upon their return.
"When Connolly assumed control of the Wallabies in 2006, he had to make a decision on whether to introduce young legs to a tiring, battled-scarred team or persevere with what he had and simply hope for the best.
"He stuck with what he had, thus maintaining the clear influence of several senior players within the squad, and the team's downfall against England in the quarterfinals [of the World Cup] proved him wrong and out the door he went."
Ella said Deans should be credited for already giving some youngsters their first taste of test action already in 2008, both in early-season internationals and then in the Tri-Nations.
But he stressed that policy had to continue on the tour if the Wallabies were to broaden their player base.
Ella said it was a policy which could lead to casualties among Deans' senior player base.
But he said it was something Deans had to be prepared to do.
He added Deans had to take young inside backs Kurtley Beale and Quade Cooper on tour.
"I would be disappointed if both Beale and Cooper were not picked in the touring side, not only because of their youth and versatility but as genuine ball players who, over the next couple of years, will really challenge Giteau for the No.10 jersey, which is good for Australian rugby," he wrote.
"A young player who also should be considered because of his versatility is Reds halfback [No.9] Lucas, who is a former five-eighth [No.10] and has all the creative skills needed to keep the opposition guessing at the set pieces.
"Mumm and McMeniman can play either lock or blindside flank and without Elsom they will get their opportunities.
"At No.8, Richard Brown, who made his debut for the Wallabies last weekend in Brisbane, showed a new level of enthusiasm and passion in the position. I hope he gets plenty of game time.
"All these exciting young players may make players such as Nathan Sharpe, Phil Waugh, George Smith, Wycliff Palu, Tuqiri and captain Stirling Mortlock feel old but they are our future."
* Meanwhile it is reported that the Wallaby squad could include an extra player when Deans announces his squad on Tuesday - in order to cover for Lote Tuqiri.
Deans says that the prospect of naming a 34-player squad was being considered by the selectors, the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) and himself.
However, Deans stressed that the final squad number of 33 or 34 players would also hinge on the fitness of Lote Tuqiri who underwent a knee operation last week.
Deans and his assistant selectors Jim Williams and Michael Foley will decide on the line up on Monday and the submit it to the ARU for approval before the announcement tomorrow.
"In my head I am pretty clear now, but I don't know what the other boys are saying," Deans told the Canberra Times.
Deans was tight-lipped about the touring party make-up, but revealed that there may be an extra player included in the squad.
"We have had some discussions around taking 34," he said.
"The organisation [the ARU] is agreeable to considering 34. They won't necessarily [approve] that, but they are agreeable to contemplating it.
"Part of that is going to revolve around Lote and his fitness. If he is not fit and can't tour well, we will take 33."
