The Wallabies have three Tests coming along following the dismal Bledisloe Cup whitewash at the hands of the Kiwis.
Might it be time for the All Blacks to find new victims?
At any rate, the Green and Gold is off north to play Wales, Italy and England, commencing on 10 November and concluding on 24 November.
Wallabies Coach Michael Cheika is shifting his pieces around, searching for the best possible combination and the best possible chance of success.
Toward that end, he is recalling Test centurion Adam Ashley-Cooper, missing from Test for over two years to provide a veteran presence.
Cheika is also taking the Reds teen wunderkind, Jordan Petaia and Brumbies back-rower Rob Valenti.
Petaia is just 18 and should Cheika get him on, he would become the third youngest player to appear for the Wallabies.
Cheika will take Matt Toomua and Tatafu Polota-Nau will be there in England when the squad arrives in London Saturday coming. At least they will have sufficient time to recover from jet lag and saving plane ticket money on Polota-Nau is a definite positive for the Wallaby ledger.
Ashley-Cooper is 34 and abandoned Australian rugby following the 2015 World Cup final. He is playing in Japan at the moment in the Japanese Top League, a situation that might even be more lucrative than French Top 14. At least it would seem so, as Ashley-Cooper left French Top 14 two years ago to pursue an opportunity to play in Japan.
The other positive on his horizon is that the Waratahs have confirmed that he will be playing Super Rugby once again. He is intent on playing Super Rugby to get into best possible form.
“He’ll (Ashley-Cooper) train with us, we’ll see where he’s at,” Cheika told reporters following Bledisloe III.
As for the youngster Petaia, Cheika said, the Tests are a World Cup tryout.
“He’s just got a lot of good touches,” Cheika said.“He’s a good lad, he wants to succeed, he wants to do the work, he’s eager.”
In other words, if he were a cricketer, Cricket Australia would give him passing marks for character.
