The shake-up has given Michael Cheika, Australia’s famously competitive coach, the chance to blood some new boys and here are three who could make a big impact in the 2016 Under Armour Series.Â
Adam Coleman
The Wallabies have real pedigree in the engine room: who can forget John ‘Nobody’ Eales? In recent years, a number of options have been tried, including Dean Mumm who has had a superb Rugby Championship at six, Kane Douglas, and young pretender Will Skelton. This series, however, has seen 6ft 8in, 19 stone Adam Coleman come to the fore to stake a serious claim to partner Rob Simmons.Â
With only 39 Super Rugby caps to his name, Coleman is still marking his mark domestically but his five Tests, his debut coming as a replacement against England in June, have shown him to be the complete modern lock: athletic, hard-working, capable in the line-out and rangy around the field. He carried seven times and made seven tackles against South Africa, showing up in all aspects of the game. The Western Force second row will be a new name to most rugby fans but he is definitely one to watch this autumn.Â
Dane Haylett-Petty
Drew Mitchell and Adam Ashley-Cooper were stalwarts on the wing for Australia and the duo are a hard act to follow but in his eight Test matches so far, Dane Haylett-Petty has shown he has what it takes to fill the Wallabies jersey of his vaunted predecessors. His two Test tries have come in the series whitewash loss to England and in Perth against the Pumas, when he hit the line with pace at an unstoppable angle to superbly finished a lovely move.
Against South Africa this weekend, he ran 121m, almost twice the distance of any other player and beat three defenders. At 6ft 3in, he is solid under the high ball and has a decent boot too. He might have been born in Durban, but Haylett-Petty is an Aussie hero in the making.
- Under Armour Series tickets are available from www.wru.wales/tickets, starting from £20
Samu Kerevi
Australia’s three-quarter line is in a period of upheaval, with Cheika experimenting with a new wing pairing and playing two fly-halves in tandem. A new face also occupies the outside centre berth, but there seems little doubt that Cheika will persist with Samu Kerevi, whatever else happens. Â
While Quade Cooper and Bernard Foley provide the silk, Kerevi is pure steel. Against the Springboks this weekend in Pretoria, he beat two defenders for 21m but it was in defence, especially an incredible, last-ditch tap tackle on rampaging Springboks hooker Andre Strauss, where Kerevi made the biggest impact. Against the Boks at home in Brisbane he showed the attacking side of his game, beating three defenders and running for 115m, 34m more than the next best player. Kerevi is a danger in attack and dynamite in defence; Wales will have to be at their best in the 2016 Under Armour Series to contain him. Â
