Former Wallabies captain Michael Hooper has suggested sweeping changes that Joe Schmidt should make for the second Test against the British and Irish Lions.
Australia came into the Test series as heavy underdogs and had their backs against the wall when the tourists took a 24-5 lead early in the second half.
However, Schmidt’s charges fought back and ultimately fell to an eight-point, 27-19 defeat.
Halfback debate
Ahead of the second and decisive Test match, Hooper has suggested a plethora of changes, but the first of which will not be at scrum-half as he believes the combination of Jake Gordon starting and Tate McDermott on the bench works well for the Wallabies.
“Tate’s skillset is around seeing opportunity, his run game, and it played perfectly to his strengths,” Hooper said on Stan Sport’s Between Two Posts..
“Now, when you start to look at selection for next week, will we see that at the start of the game, the first 40 minutes? Is it going to be like that? Well, no, because a lot of the ball was being kicked earlier on in the game, and usually that’s how Test matches play out.”
But the legendary Wallaby would like to see a new backline set-up outside of the halfbacks with a midfield tweak having a domino effect.
With Tom Lynagh retained at fly-half, Hooper backs Hunter Paisami at inside centre, which would shift the starting midfielders from the first Test match out a position with Harry Potter falling out of Hooper’s side.
“You talk about Queensland Reds combination, Hunter at 12. Now Hunter in the Queensland Reds-Lions game was the best performer on the field,” he explained.
“He was awesome in that game, superb, so you put him straight into 12, Len (Ikitau) to 13, and then you put the big man, Joseph (Suaalii), out onto the wing.”
Re-jigged backline and adding power
This means that try scorer in Test I, Max Jorgensen, retains his position outwide with Hooper further explaining his thinking.
“Jorgo has been good, so I’d keep Jorgo in there, and then you’re getting some good combinations. You’re playing Len at his best spot, which is 13, where he plays all year,” he added.
“You get a lot of punch with Hunter, and then you start to open up a bit of space for Joseph in the wider channels and the aerial threat, which we’ve already seen has been a big factor in this game, so a bit of a rejig there.”
The changes for Hooper continue in the pack as he wants to see Lukhan Salakaia-Loto back in the Wallabies jersey. Salakaia-Loto will face the Lions for the third time on Tuesday for the First Nations and Pasifika XV after representing the Queensland Reds and AUNZ XV.
“I’d have him, I’d really like him as a number 6 if not starting in the second-row. He can call lineouts. I think he should be in the starting team somehow,” he said.
“I think some of the additions that we’re hearing might be ready for this week coming back, can make a huge difference to the Wallabies’ go-forward.”
The Wallabies struggled to get front-foot ball after losing the likes of Will Skelton and Rob Valetini for the opening match, and Salakai-Loto could go a long way in rectifying that shortcoming for Schmidt.
The aforementioned duo are set to be fit for the second Test with Schmidt naming his team on Thursday, with hooker Dave Porecki also expected to be back in the selection mix.