Western Force fly-half Ben Donaldson has revealed the areas in which he needs to improve his game if he is to return to the Wallabies setup, after being dropped by Joe Schmidt.
The 26-year-old playmaker appeared on The KOKO Show this week to discuss the Wallabies’ recent performance against Ireland. Before they got onto the subject of the recent match, however, Donaldson fielded questions about his own absence from the squad.
Donaldson explained that head coach Joe Schmidt had been happy with the fly-halves who were playing during his recent injury, so there was no reason to change things around. He did admit that he was given a couple of pointers to work on, however.
“One, just consistency. I think my game style – the way I play – I like to try things and express myself and move the ball, and sometimes that comes with errors. Obviously, as a 10, you’re going to touch the ball; you’re going to have a lot of errors. But I think just my consistency hasn’t been great, whether it’s in Super or for the Wallabies, that’s one thing.
“And then just what Joe’s told me around the contact area, my defence, my physicality, and then just the high ball as well. Obviously, the high ball is a massive part of the game, and the Wallabies are probably struggling the most out of anyone.
“So yeah, just those things I can keep working on, and that’s what I’ll be working on when I get back to pre-season.”
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Club vs Country
Donaldson was asked what the dialogue is like with Western Force boss Simon Cron, and how it differs from the advice given by Wallabies head coach Schmidt.
“The feedback is quite similar. Obviously, at the Force we play a brand that Crono wants the ten to drive. The 10 touches the ball the most out of anyone. We like to play with width. We like to move the ball,” he said.
“The Wallabies play a little bit differently. It’s a lot off nine, it’s a lot tighter. The ten doesn’t run as much. He gives the forwards early ball so they can play. So that’s probably where I maybe struggled a little bit when I came into the Wallabies, because it wasn’t my natural game.
“Crono, at the Force, he’s been awesome. He revolves a game plan around the ten because he knows that’s my strength. He wants me to run. He wants me to move the ball and get involved. I’ve just got to go out for the Force and play that way, and if I get another opportunity with the Wallabies, really take my strengths into the world.”