Fraser McReight has well and truly arrived on the international stage, scoring twice and playing a huge part in the Wallabies surviving a second half scare against Georgia in Sydney.
Twelve months after Michael Hooper played his final match for the Wallabies in the No.7 jersey, McReightโs dart from the back of the lineout in the 54th minute ensured it would be an afternoon to remember after it threatened to spiral out of control on a windy, wintry day at Allianz Stadium.
An upgraded red card to Filipo Daugunu and two extraordinary tries in four minutes early in the second half threatened to dampen the spirits of the 21,000 fans, but McReight and his back-row partners Rob Valetini and Harry Wilson saved the day as the Wallabies won 40-29.
McReight and Valetini scored in both halves, rolled up their sleeves and provided some physicality and composure where others didnโt display the same quality.
The duo helped ease the pressure on fly-half Ben Donaldson, who had a frustrating afternoon in front of his home fans.
Called up as one of ten changes to the starting side, Donaldsonโs kicking once again proved shaky as his wobbles returned on a ground familiar with him.
Teamwork, dreamwork ๐ค #Wallabies #AUSvGEO pic.twitter.com/8hTKtyaE8U
— Wallabies (@wallabies) July 20, 2024
The 25-year-old missed a simple shot from the tee early in the first half, kicked one sideline penalty attempt dead in goal and, later, failed to deal with a Georgian attacking wave where he only managed knock the ball back where fullback Davit Niniashvili ended up kicking the ball and scoring a fortuitous try. Then there was the couple of shanks, including one kicking for the sideline where he barely made ten metres in the second half.
His inconsistent afternoon did little to help first-year Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt get any closer to establishing who his long-term playmaker is 12 months out from the British and Irish Lions arriving on Australian shores.
Nor did his replacement Noah Lolesio help his cause, with the Brumbies playmaker also failing to find touch from a penalty after coming on in the final few minutes of the Test.
Nonetheless, Schmidtโs decision to make wholesale changes ahead of The Rugby Championship to test his depth paid off.
โWeโre just really trying to find our way,โ Schmidt said.
โWeโre not so much looking at combinations. Sometimes we try to put combinations together because we think itโs going to be more cohesive on the night.
โBut weโre also trying to offer opportunity. And some guys have really put their hands up and other guys probably need to do a bit of work.โ
The experienced coach now has more wins in a month than Eddie Jones did during an entire year, with the Wallabiesโ third win of July helping change the narrative in Australia. Itโs also the Wallabiesโ fourth straight victory, having beaten Portugal 34-14 in their final World Cup match last year.
Yet, all four wins have come from opposition currently ranked outside the top 10 on the World Rugby rankings.
But thereโs a massive step-up around the corner, with the Wallabies to host the back-to-back world champion Springboks twice next month.
By beating Georgia by 11 points, the Wallabies also recorded a nine-year first by winning their first three matches of the year. It follows consecutive victories over Wales.
โIโm just proud of the boys and how we dug deep,โ captain Allan Alaalatoa said.
โWe probably didnโt help ourselves with our discipline and we knew that we had to roll the sleeves up, especially with โLipoโ out for 20 minutes.
Fraser McReight has well and truly arrived on the international stage, scoring twice and playing a huge part in the Wallabies surviving a second half scare against Georgia in Sydney.
Twelve months after Michael Hooper played his final match for the Wallabies in the No.7 jersey, McReightโs dart from the back of the lineout in the 54th minute ensured it would be an afternoon to remember after it threatened to spiral out of control on a windy, wintry day at Allianz Stadium.
An upgraded red card to Filipo Daugunu and two extraordinary tries in four minutes early in the second half threatened to dampen the spirits of the 21,000 fans, but McReight and his back-row partners Rob Valetini and Harry Wilson saved the day as the Wallabies won 40-29.
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McReight and Valetini scored in both halves, rolled up their sleeves and provided some physicality and composure where others didnโt display the same quality.
The duo helped ease the pressure on fly-half Ben Donaldson, who had a frustrating afternoon in front of his home fans.
Called up as one of ten changes to the starting side, Donaldsonโs kicking once again proved shaky as his wobbles returned on a ground familiar with him.
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The 25-year-old missed a simple shot from the tee early in the first half, kicked one sideline penalty attempt dead in goal and, later, failed to deal with a Georgian attacking wave where he only managed knock the ball back where fullback Davit Niniashvili ended up kicking the ball and scoring a fortuitous try. Then there was the couple of shanks, including one kicking for the sideline where he barely made ten metres in the second half.
His inconsistent afternoon did little to help first-year Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt get any closer to establishing who his long-term playmaker is 12 months out from the British and Irish Lions arriving on Australian shores.
Nor did his replacement Noah Lolesio help his cause, with the Brumbies playmaker also failing to find touch from a penalty after coming on in the final few minutes of the Test.
The Wallabies beat Georgia at Allianz Stadium on July 20, 2024 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images)
Nonetheless, Schmidtโs decision to make wholesale changes ahead of The Rugby Championship to test his depth paid off.
โWeโre just really trying to find our way,โ Schmidt said.
โWeโre not so much looking at combinations. Sometimes we try to put combinations together because we think itโs going to be more cohesive on the night.
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โBut weโre also trying to offer opportunity. And some guys have really put their hands up and other guys probably need to do a bit of work.โ
The experienced coach now has more wins in a month than Eddie Jones did during an entire year, with the Wallabiesโ third win of July helping change the narrative in Australia. Itโs also the Wallabiesโ fourth straight victory, having beaten Portugal 34-14 in their final World Cup match last year.
Yet, all four wins have come from opposition currently ranked outside the top 10 on the World Rugby rankings.
But thereโs a massive step-up around the corner, with the Wallabies to host the back-to-back world champion Springboks twice next month.
By beating Georgia by 11 points, the Wallabies also recorded a nine-year first by winning their first three matches of the year. It follows consecutive victories over Wales.
โIโm just proud of the boys and how we dug deep,โ captain Allan Alaalatoa said.
โWe probably didnโt help ourselves with our discipline and we knew that we had to roll the sleeves up, especially with โLipoโ out for 20 minutes.
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โYouโve got to give credit to Georgia, they never went away, which is what we expected. But Iโm just proud of the effort.โ
Alaalatoa, who was the third captain in as many Tests this July, highlighted one area the Wallabies would have to urgently address ahead of their August 10 TRC opener against the Springboks.
โIt was a tough win,โ the tight-head prop added.
โI know that a lot of the boys know that thereโs a couple of things that we need to work on, especially around our discipline, but weโre going to enjoy tonight. Weโll refresh mentally but we know that weโve got a tough challenge coming up.โ
While the Wallabiesโ attack showed more than it did over the opening two Tests against Wales, the defensive rolling maul remains a huge Achilles heel.
The unconvincing display by Donaldson will likely see Schmidt return to Lolesio. But after James OโConnorโs eye-catching display for the Reds during their one-point loss to Wales on Friday night, you wouldnโt rule out another twist in the 34-year-oldโs wild journey.
After Angus Blyth gave away an early penalty to allow Luka Matkava to bang over the opening points for Georgia, but the Wallabies responded emphatically as Hunter Paisami, Valetini and rising star Isaac Kailea crossed in quick succession to open up a 19-3 lead.
Despite bombing two tries on either wing, Georgia eventually made it third time lucky as lock Mikheil Babunashvili scored in tight to keep the visitors in touch.
The game turned again when Filipo Daugunu โ one of the Wallabiesโ best during their opening two wins of the year โ was shown an onfield yellow card by James Doleman after making contact in the air with winger Sandro Todua, before it was upgraded to a 20-minute red card.
Despite being reduced to 14, the Wallabies scored next as McReight got on the end of a maul and finished off a clever short lineout play. Donaldsonโs conversion saw the Wallabies take a 26-10 lead into half-time.
But two tries in four minutes to fullback Davit Niniashvili and winger Aka Tabutsadze, with the second an incredible length of the field try that came after a turnover on Georgiaโs line, saw the visitors cut the deficit to two points.
McReight, however, steadied the ship as he broke free near halfway and linked up with his Reds teammate Wilson before being tackled metres short of the line. Seconds later and Georgiaโs momentum was stopped dead in its tracks as Valetini barged over for his second.
McReightโs second try in the 63rd minute ensured the Wallabies would win their second straight match in Sydney, before Tabutsadze crossed for his second to add some respectability to the scoreboard.
