{"id":324464,"date":"2023-08-18T23:55:54","date_gmt":"2023-08-18T23:55:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=324464"},"modified":"2023-08-19T00:59:03","modified_gmt":"2023-08-19T00:59:03","slug":"curious-wallabies-selection-raises-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=324464","title":{"rendered":"'Curious' Wallabies selection raises questions"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Wallabies squad for this year's Rugby World Cup was littered with surprise selections, none more so than Ben Donaldson.<\/p>\n

The NSW Waratahs star was included as a "utility" player and the de facto back-up to Carter Gordon.<\/p>\n

Capable of playing fly-half and fullback, Donaldson presents as a versatile bench option or injury replacement for head coach Eddie Jones.<\/p>\n

Watch the 2023 Rugby World Cup and Summer Nations Series on the home of rugby, Stan Sport.<\/strong><\/em> All matches streaming ad free, live and on demand<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Donaldson was picked ahead of Quade Cooper and other star fly-half options, namely Bernard Foley.<\/p>\n

\"Ben<\/p>\n

The 24-year-old who hails from Sydney hasn't played a Test since facing Wales last November.<\/p>\n

For ex-Wallabies international Justin Harrison, Donaldson will play an important role in keeping Gordon on his toes.<\/p>\n

"It's really important that he fits into putting pressure on the whole squad and whoever is perceived to be ahead of him," said Harrison on Stan Sport's latest Rugby Heaven<\/em> episode<\/a>.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Kerr demands that World Cup spurs change<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Matildas' coach 'strong candidate' for US job<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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"It's a curious category he's put in; utility player. He's one of the best tens, or can be one of the best tens \u2013 let's qualify that \u2013 one of the best tens in the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"He's one of the most skilful footballers when he's playing well. We know he's had a bit of a wobble, there has been some speed wobbles there.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"His job is to put pressure on Carter Gordon and not make him think he's measured for the starting jersey already."<\/p>\n

\"Ben<\/p>\n

It stands to reason that Donaldson's primary role is as an insurance policy for Gordon given he is the sole fly-half.<\/p>\n

"You would think that if Carter Gordon is the preferred No.10, Ben Donaldson could have a mortgage on the No.22 jersey," Morgan Turinui explained.<\/p>\n

"Is Eddie Jones brave enough to go into a Test match without a recognised No.10 on his bench? Can Nic White do both? Probably not.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"Who else is in the squad that could cover No.10 in case Carter Gordon goes down five minutes into the Georgia match."<\/p>\n

\"Ben<\/p>\n

Speaking with The<\/em> Sydney Morning Herald<\/em><\/a>, Donaldson said he doesn't read too much into the commentary surrounding his surprise selection over Cooper.<\/p>\n

"It's always in the back of your mind," Donaldson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"I try not to read too much on social media. You can get caught up in that pretty easily.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"Someone like Quade, with his calibre, he's been there and done that. He's been great for myself and Carter over the past six weeks. We've taken a lot from him.<\/p>\n

"I'll be working with Carter and the coaches to really put our best foot forward and drive the team around," he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/StanSportRugby\/status\/1692376650527203617<\/a><\/p>\n

"We're both young, but we're both very confident in that position and we feel that we can do a good job.<\/p>\n

"If we worry too much about the outside noise, all that stuff is going to creep in.<\/p>\n

"Obviously there were a few surprises (in the squad). You can't hide that. It's a reasonably young squad.<\/p>\n

"We're just extremely ambitious. We believe we can win the World Cup. No matter who is in the squad, we know we're here to do one job.<\/p>\n

"Eddie is a very smart coach. He's done a lot around the world in different teams and he knows what he's doing. He's got a plan and the boys back him and each other."<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Wallabies squad for this year's Rugby World Cup was littered with surprise selections, none more so than Ben Donaldson. The NSW Waratahs star was […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":324466,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324464"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=324464"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324464\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":324470,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324464\/revisions\/324470"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/324466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=324464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=324464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=324464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}