Wallabies coach Dave Rennie will consider asking his bosses for an extra Giteau Law pick as injuries continue to bite into his squad depth ahead of the Rugby Championship.
Rennie selected Rory Arnold on Thursday as his third overseas-based player to take on Argentina in two Tests next month, replacing the Commonwealth Games-bound Samu Kerevi.
The other two foreign wildcards are Quade Cooper and Marika Koroibete and Rennie hinted he would like to keep all four stars on deck when Kerevi returns to the fold.
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“They’re discussions for post-Argentina, we obviously only used a couple of guys in the English series (because of Cooper’s injury) and so with Samu going to the Commonwealth Games we had the opportunity to bring Rory in,” Rennie said.
“So we’ll assess that once we get back.”
Pressed on whether he would ask the Rugby Australia board to extend its new rules to a fourth pick, Rennie indicated it was on a as needed, case by case basis.
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“The issue from a second row point of view, we’ve lost a number of guys for an extended period,” Rennie said.
“Izack’s (Rodda) gone for an extended period, Cadeyrn Neville’s now gone for an extended period, and a guy who we brought in to give us a bit of cover there, Ned Hanigan, went under the knife last week. So we’re a little bit thin in the second row and we’re probably only one injury away from a fair bit of pressure there.
“So we’re bringing Rory in because we can with Samu being out, and then we need to go back to the board and have a chat around where things are at.
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“And maybe there is only three available anyway when it comes to the rest of the championship, but we’ll assess things once we’re back from Argentina.”
It is unclear whether Arnold will be deemed fit to play the first Test in Mendoza on August 7.
The 2.08m skyscraper has been on holidays after the French Top 14 season and attended brother Richie’s wedding last weekend.
Rennie admitted Kerevi’s absence would leave a big hole in Australia’s backline but supported his desire to chase sevens gold in Birmingham.
“It’s important for our country to send away a strong side that’s got a chance of winning a medal and the sevens boys have been going well of late,” Rennie said.
“Samu will only add to that, so we’re committed to that.”
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Rennie batted away talk that England coach Eddie Jones was being sized up for a Rugby Australia role after the 2023 World Cup.
“I don’t know how much accuracy is in those reports anyway, so I’ll focus on what I need to be focusing on rather than speculation.”
Rennie also had no interest in weighing in on the All Blacks following their historic series loss to Ireland, saying “the emphasis at the moment is on the enemy in front of us.”
That enemy is a Michael Cheika-coached Pumas side that beat Scotland 2-1 in a home series this month.
Cheika has already coached against the Wallabies as an assistant to Mario Ledesma but this will be his first crack at it in the top job.
“I’m not certain of the role Cheik played (previously), how big a role it was,” Rennie said.
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“Certainly Cheik, the team he coached here in Australia (2014-19), they wanted to keep the ball and use the ball and it looks like they’re kicking a bit more now than when he was coaching the Wallabies.
“But they’re a team that’s very good, they fill the field and I know Cheik will have a big defensive focus around that.
“So there’s not a lot of obvious space, most of it is through the middle…
“Defensively they’re very good, so I’m sure he’s had an influence there.”
Rennie also had some interesting things to say about Australia A standout Fraser McReight, who will have to continue biding his time behind the skipper Michael Hooper.
“I’m loath to give away Test caps just to keep people happy,” Rennie said.
“As we’ve seen in New Zealand, people queued up for a long time behind Richie McCaw and you’ve got to earn the right to play.
“So Fraser’s been really good and his job is to play so well that we can’t leave him out and we’re picking him ahead of Hoops.
“It takes a bit of patience and perseverance. He’s in the squad and who knows if he’ll get opportunities but we’re likely to pick one specialist seven in the Tests.”
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