Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Les Kiss is wary of tinkering with his Wallabies playmakers but won’t guarantee anyone the jersey after opting for continuity in the halves for his first Test in charge.
The coach has named flyhalf Declan Meredith to partner ACT Brumbies teammate and scrumhalf Ryan Lonergan against Japan in Osaka on Saturday.
Lonergan, with a long pass and safe boot, has settled into the No.9 jersey nicely this year and Meredith will start alongside him for the third-straight Test.
Carter Gordon wore the No.10 against Ireland and, after missing the next two Tests, was fit to play after travelling and training with the squad.
But Kiss, who has left Ben Donaldson on the bench as playmaking cover, said he was impressed by the Brumbies pair’s connection and was keen for consistency there so he could look at fresh options in the first and second row instead.
Meredith was the Wallabies’ seventh different flyhalf across 17 Tests when he debuted against France last month, former coach Joe Schmidt labelling it the “curse of the 10 jersey” given the amount of injuries suffered in that position.
Kiss will have options as he nears next year’s Rugby World Cup, with veteran Bernard Foley officially back on the books at the NSW Waratahs and James O’Connor also reportedly in talks with the Western Force.
There is also Tom Lynagh, who has barely played since starting in all three of last year’s British and Irish Lions Tests, in the fray.
“You’ve got to get that balance right, about how much you tinker,” Kiss said of how he’ll approach that crucial position.
“But if I said to these guys they had the spot, they’d look me back and say they want to earn it, fight hard for it.
“I never promise anyone anything.”
Meredith, a Cairns product familiar with playing in stifling humidity, has enjoyed the steady hand of Lonergan at Test level and also has Brumbies star Tom Wright at fullback.
Brumbies backrower Charlie Cale, who has overcome two injury-riddled years to earn a spot on the bench, said that connection counted for plenty.
“If you play with the bloke next to you for the Super (Rugby Pacific) season you have that unspoken confidence,” he said.
“Looking at the nine and 10 this week, they’ve got that connection.”
