Two-Test Waratahs rookie bolts into Wallabies squad for Rugby World Cup
By Iain Payten
He hasn’t played a minute of Test rugby this year but Waratahs five-eighth Ben Donaldson is set to be named as a bolter for the Wallabies’ Rugby World Cup campaign when Eddie Jones reveals his 33-man squad on Thursday.
After using more than 60 players in training camps and in a winless Rugby Championship campaign, Jones will name the players who have made the cut for the World Cup, which begins for the Wallabies against Georgia in Paris on September 9.
The location for Jones’ squad announcement is Darwin, at the start of a four-day camp in the Northern Territory organised to replicate a similar trip to Darwin and Arnhem Land made by Jones and the Wallabies before the 2003 World Cup.
Players began receiving good and bad news on Wednesday, with Nic White and Rob Valetini taking calls about their selections in the squad while at Parliament House with Rugby Australia boss Phil Waugh and president Joe Roff, presenting jerseys to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, opposition leader Peter Dutton, other politicians and Governor-General David Hurley.
Informed sources said Donaldson had also been given the nod for a utility role.
The 24-year-old made his Test debut last year on the Wallabies’ Spring Tour - starting against Wales - and has been picked by Jones in every squad this year, although he wasn’t selected to play in any of the Rugby Championship games. Donaldson’s value as a versatile utility back who can cover No.10 and No.15 - and goal kick - was clearly also noted by Jones.
Ben Donaldson lines up a kick for the Wallabies against Wales.Credit: Getty
Jones’ squad will be revealed on Stan Sport on Thursday night, and all eyes will be on whether Jones names injured co-captain Michael Hooper. Hooper missed most of The Rugby Championship with a calf injury and his recovery has been slow.
Informed sources say Hooper is expected to be fit for the World Cup opener, but with Fraser McReight and Tom Hooper having performed well in his absence, there is potential for Jones to leave the 125-Test veteran out, and use the pick to bolster another position.
Informed sources say McReight will be named in the 33-man squad.
Without Allan Alaalatoa’s leadership and with a new coaching staff at a high-pressure tournament, Hooper’s experience would be regarded as hugely valuable, however.
Rugby Australia president Joe Roff, Nic White, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Sports Minister Annika Wells, Rob Valetini and Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh.Credit: Brenden Hertel/Rugby Australia
World Rugby has increased squad sizes from 31 players to 33 to give extra cover for the likely loss of players during the tournament due to new mandatory concussion stand-down rules.
However, Jones is already facing injury problems before the Rugby World Cup even starts.
As reported on Sunday, Samu Kerevi sustained a broken hand in the second Bledisloe Cup fixture and had surgery on Monday to attach plates to two fractures. Informed sources say hooker Jordan Uelese, who was a late withdrawal from the Dunedin clash due to a previous ACL injury, also had a surgical procedure on Monday on his injured knee.
The pair are expected to be available for the start of the World Cup, but they are two of many uncertain starters. Also carrying injuries are Taniela Tupou (ribs), Len Ikitau (fractured shoulder), Hooper (calf) and Dave Porecki (shoulder).
Though Jones will want to keep his 33-man squad as settled as possible, the busy casualty ward has raised the prospect of him needing to make some late adjustments before squads are finalised on August 28.
Eddie Jones at Wallabies training in Dunedin.Credit: Getty
From then, under Rugby World Cup rules, all injury replacements must be signed off by tournament officials and new players cannot play within 48 hours of arriving.
Jones has a penchant for intricate planning, and he will take up to five extra players on the Darwin trip – on top of the 33-man squad – to continue training with the Wallabies, and likely play a role in the team’s final warm-up game against France in Paris on August 27.
There will be many fringe Wallabies who will be disappointed to miss the 33-man squad, but they won’t be cut adrift. They will instead be flown to France to be part of an Australia A squad.
Michael Hooper posing at the Wallabies’ World Cup jersey launch.Credit: Steven Siewart
The Australia A side – selected by Jones and coached by Jason Gilmore – will play Portugal in Paris on August 26, a day before the Wallabies take on France at Stade de France.
Meanwhile, Rugby Australia boss Phil Waugh has set a semi-final appearance as the pass mark for the Wallabies at the 2023 World Cup ahead of coach Eddie Jones revealing his 33-man squad for the tournament.
Waugh, meanwhile, has laid out his World Cup expectations, saying a second consecutive quarter-final exit would not be acceptable.
“If we get through the pools to the quarters, we either play Argentina or England,” Waugh told SEN Radio. “We need to win the quarter and get through to the semis.
“Once you get through to the semis, anything can happen. I’d say that getting through to the semis is a pass mark, and anything short of that would be disappointing.”
Watch all the action from Rugby World Cup 2023 on the Home of Rugby, Stan Sport. Every match ad-free, live and on demand in 4K UHD from September 9.
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