As the Waratahs prepare for a backline switch for Friday’s important clash against the Fiji Drua in Sydney, new coach Dan McKellar has backed Lalakai Foketi to get back to his best form and re-emerge as a Wallaby after falling down the pecking order last year.
The Roar can reveal Joey Walton is set for a stint on the sidelines after hurting his groin in his side’s first-up victory over the Highlanders.
The loss of the Australia A inside back, who last year was called into the Wallabies squad for the Wales series, is set to see Foketi return to his preferred position at inside centre, with Western Force recruit and Junior Wallaby Henry O’Donnell poised to join him in the midfield.
O’Donnell, 21, was a standout for the Junior Wallabies in 2023 and starred for Northern Suburbs in their narrow Shute Shield final defeat to Easts.
A strong, direct runner, the 186cm midfielder has the chance to make the No.13 jersey his own.
McKellar could have shifted Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii from fullback to outside centre, where he excelled on his professional rugby debut against England last November, but the respected coach has been clear on his desire to give the code-hopper an extended run at fullback.
Joey Walton is set for a stint on the sidelines following a groin injury. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)
Although McKellar wasn’t about to let the cat of the bag, the former Wallabies assistant hinted that a couple of changes were on their way.
“I think I said the week leading into the Highlanders it was one of the hardest teams I’ve had to pick, and it’s the same (this week),” McKellar told reporters on Monday.
“There’s some good players who will miss out.
“What we’ll try and do is the guys that did just miss out and had really good pre-seasons, and have worked hard and shown the right attitude and ready to play Super Rugby, we’ll give them an opportunity throughout the course of the first few rounds and, obviously, over the next few months we’re going to need to be smart around rotating and we’ll be forced to do that at some point.”
After having an early season bye-round, the Waratahs got a timely reminder of this week’s threat after the Drua pushed the Hurricanes until the final whistle on Saturday afternoon.
“We won’t go out there and try and play like Fiji, I think we’d be well-beaten if that was the case, but we’ll play our game,” McKellar said.
The Waratahs also got an early season reminder of the action-packed international season ahead too, with Wallabies assistant coach Laurie Fisher once again popping his head into Daceyville.
“It’s always good to get him in here and get him to observe our training sessions, and no doubt he’ll pick the eyes out of it and give me plenty of feedback,” McKellar quipped.
Dan McKellar is set to keep Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii (R) at fullback despite an injury to midfielder Joey Walton. Photo: Waratahs Media
But Fisher’s appearance came at a timely time, with his expertise around the breakdown and defence being two vital areas in denying the dangerous Fijians the opportunities they crave.
Indeed, just as the Wallabies were smashed at the breakdown during their World Cup upset, the notoriously physical Hurricanes also struggled at the ruck against the Drua during their great escape.
“You need to make sure that you’ve got your error count nice low, tackle well because they’ll hurt you on turnover attack,” McKellar said.
Having worked with Foketi with the Wallabies for a couple of seasons, McKellar said he was thrilled with the way the Test midfielder had responded after being left out under Joe Schmidt last year following an injury-disrupted start to the season.
“I think injury didn’t help him, so that would have impacted his confidence and knocked him around a little bit,” said McKellar.
“But when he’s playing well, having coached him at Wallaby level, he’s a really good player, powerful on both sides of the ball, and whether he’s at 12 or 13 it doesn’t really matter, in this system or Joe’s system, it’s a number on your back, once you get to phase play, he’s very good defensively. I know he’s really motivated to have a big year.
“I certainly know that he hasn’t been forgotten about from a Wallabies coaches perspective.”
One of the biggest omissions from Schmidt’s squad last year, Foketi admitted it was an “ego hit” when he was dropped but couldn’t argue with the decision either.
“At the start, when he was selecting teams, he was nice enough to give me a call and tell me that I didn’t do enough for the Tahs that year, which is fair enough,” Foketi said.
“I’m probably my harshest critic and I didn’t expect to be in there.
“It’s an ego hit when you get the call saying you’re not in the team, but I quickly brushed that off.
“We had a few conversations, but obviously that tip-tackle (in the Shute Shield during The Rugby Championship) didn’t help me. But that probably summed up my year.”
Lalakai Foketi went from being a World Cup Wallaby to being left out in the cold in 2024 under Joe Schmidt, but the centre says his axing was fair. (Photo by Adam Pretty – World Rugby, via Getty Images)
Foketi said the lines of communication were clear about what he needed to do to get back into the selection frame.
“It was more my movement around the field and how I get involved,” Foketi said.
“I pride myself on my ball carry and that wasn’t up to scratch, and defensively making good reads.
“It was good honest feedback and I probably needed that.”
Off the back of his first pre-season in years Foketi, who suffered a scary injury at a breakdown ahead of last year’s season-opener where he was rushed to hospital in a neck brace, said he was in the best space to attack the season in a long time.
“Last year, did I wake up and get excited to come in? Probably not, because of myself and where I was at with the game,” he said.
“This year it’s changed. I get in here every day and I’m excited, so my main priority is to perform consistently with the Waratahs.
“It was the first pre-season I’ve done every day in the last few years, so it was great.
“At the start when I didn’t make the Wallabies side, I just had to reflect. I wasn’t happy about the season, and I didn’t deserve to be there.
“Coming back and doing pre-season and the hard yards and grinding and trying to figure out what I can do this year and rectify last year, it was great. I’ve just got to go out there and deliver when it matters.”