Ben Donaldson’s selection by Wallabies coach Eddie Jones at this year’s Rugby World Cup was one that raised eyebrows across the board.
Few expected the NSW Waratahs fly-half to make the plane to Paris, let alone be selected as a utility back.
Carter Gordon is the sole specialist fly-half on the team and Donaldson’s “utility” status had many thinking his role would primarily be as back-up for the No.10 jersey.
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However, Jones has suggested the No.15 will be Donaldson’s first port of call.
“He’s trained predominantly at 15 for us, but he’s done a little bit of work at 10,” said Jones.
“And as a player, who can play 10 and 15 and a goal kicker, he’s a pretty important player for us. He’s got the skill set we want, which is to be able to play the game as it comes.”
Donaldson’s selection comes with a change of tact from the Wallabies.
Jones revealed the team is putting less emphasis on penalty kicking, meaning Donaldson will play less time at fly-half and more at fullback – assuming he gets on the field.
“We’ve tried to restructure, we’re restructuring our attack to be much more… we want to play to play, rather than create points to play and what I mean is points on the field, which has been the Australian style,” Jones explained.
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“So we’re going completely away from that and that suits his natural game. You know, coming out of Randwick that’s how we play, well that’s how Randwick play, a more natural style of game so I’ve been really impressed by what he’s doing.”
Asked whether Donaldson and Suliasi Vunivalu – another surprise pick – would get game time, Jones said there’s a good chance they’ll play.
“They’re good options and both on their arrival into France, have trained well, so they’re putting their name up to be considered for the 23 against France and certainly be good to get each of them a bit of game time,” said Jones.
Helping their cause is Jones’ apparent focus on the Rugby World Cup, hinting that the squad to be named against France in the final warm-up may not necessarily be full strength.
“Everything’s about the World Cup. Our target is the World Cup,” he said.
“We’ll be judged on the World Cup so this is an opportunity for us to take another step forward.”
In any case, Samu Kerevi and Josh Kemeny are unlikely to feature in that fixture as they continue injury rehab.
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Hasibur Rahaman is a passionate sports journalist. He covers everything from cricket to field hockey, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis of sporting events, both within India and on the international stage.
