Izaia Perese has firmed as favourite for a dream shot at the All Blacks in his specialist position of outside centre on Saturday night.
Finding the right replacement for injured fixture Len Ikitau has been a real head-scratcher for the Wallabies approaching the Bledisloe Cup showdown at the MCG.
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Wallabies coach Eddie Jones has been consistent with his messaging from the moment he touched down in Australia in January.
“Pick yourself” has been his regular line because he wants players to build their own irresistible case for selection.
It seems Perese, 26, has been doing just that in training camp with the Wallabies on the Gold Coast.
Before the caravan packed up and headed to Melbourne on Sunday, Jones gave a strong inkling that the NSW Waratahs outside centre is right in the frame for his first experience of the Bledisloe Cup.
“He’s definitely a big option for us. He’s trained really well,” Jones said.
“When he came into (first) camp in June he was probably just making the squad (of 34). He’s really elevated himself, he’s got a great attitude to learn and is impressing us all round.”
If you were watching a police drama on TV, the Waratahs centre would be a fearless, burst-through-the-front-door type rather than the sneak finding a sidedoor for an ambush.
The Perese mentality clearly has struck a chord with Jones who quickly grabbed for one of his favoured cricket analogies.
“He wants to go, mate. He’s off the long run, he’s banging it in short and not waiting for anyone to tell him what to do.
“That’s the sort of player we want," Jones said.
“It reinforces the point I keep making. Australian rugby is at its best when we’ve got a bit of arrogance, got a bit of aggression, got a bit of boldness and we’re going at the opposition. It always has to come with smartness.
“That’s the team we want. A team that goes at the opposition.”
The Perese case is instructive in a wider sense. He was fit but enjoying lukewarm results when he first returned to the Waratahs line-up this season after a long lay-off to repair a ruptured patella tendon.
His renowned leg strength just wasn’t up to par initially until he snapped back to his destructive best with games like his two-try effort against the Western Force in April.
Both flyhalf Quade Cooper and centre Samu Kerevi are both on the comeback trail after major injuries, an Achilles tendon and a knee reconstruction respectively.
Jones is giving both the time in the saddle to be at their best at the World Cup in September-October.
He’d need to have serious reservations about putting another ring rusty figure beside them at outside centre in Jordan Petaia, fit again after 10 weeks without a match because of wrist tendon surgery.
Petaia’s terrific versatility as a winger-fullback-outside centre makes his high-impact return far more likely from the bench.
“We have a number of players coming back from long-term injuries. We know those players, as much as we’d like them to be at their best now, they are not going to be at their best until the World Cup,” Jones said.
“We have a plan in place to get each player back to their best. This is part of the process. Quade and Samu are a handful of games back from serious injuries.
“With more exposure to quality training and games, they are going to get a lot sharper.”
Props Taniela Tupou and Angus Bell, as well as backrower Rob Leota, are also in this category.
You can dream up permutations like Kerevi at outside centre beside Lalakai Foketi against the All Blacks.
The fact is Perese is the only back in Australia’s 34-man squad who has been playing regularly in the hot spot this season as a specialist outside centre. Petaia’s season was huge before his injury but as a winger or fullback.
