Former Wallaby Morgan Turinui believes Tate McDermott is currently the front-runner to start at halfback against the British and Irish Lions, and a Queensland Reds teammate could very well join the No. 9 in Australia’s starting halves pairing.
McDermott scored a try on Friday night during the Reds’ clinical 35-21 win over defending Super Rugby Pacific champions the Blues. The skipper led by example, offering a mix of composed gameplay and attacking flair around the ruck.
With Jake Gordon out injured, McDermott seems to be leading the race to wear the golden No. 9 jersey against the Lions in about two months. Nic White is another contender, and Ryan Lonergan also continues to knock at the door with impressive performances.
If McDermott were to feature in the Wallabies’ run-on side, current form suggests fly-half Tom Lynagh could also start in Joe Schmidt’s team . 1999 Rugby World Cup hero Matt Burke was full of praise for Lynagh, who received Player of the Match against the Blues.
“I’d pick Tate. If you asked me to pick a team today, I’d pick Tate,” Turinui said on Stan Sport’s Between Two Posts.
“It’s going to be the theme of the next few weeks… who drags their team deep into the finals, that’s what we want to see from our 10s, our nines, our sevens, our fullbacks. Who’s playing the tough knockout games and doing well.”
Burke added: “If you’re talking about combinations, you look at that nine-10 combination of Queensland and they could sit very well in a gold jersey as well.
“I think Lynagh’s… kicking’s great, controlling the game’s great.
“He got a couple whacks last year… he’s someone unassuming, he’s got his ego in check as well and he’s just guiding this team around and enjoying it.”
After 11 rounds, the Reds are one of the favourites for the title, with the Queenslanders sitting in fourth place behind the Chiefs, Crusaders and Brumbies. After back-to-back losses to the Chiefs and Brumbies, bouncing back against the Blues was a crucial result.
The Reds head to Fiji this week to take on the Drua in Suva, before rounding out their quest for a top-four finish against the Waratahs (away), Brumbies (away), Hurricanes and then another clash with the Drua.
This Queensland side is full of international-quality players, with a fair few tipped to start for Australia alongside potentially McDermott and Lynagh. Harry Wilson is the incumbent Wallabies skipper at No. 8, and Fraser McReight is highly likely to be picked at openside.
Reds players may dominate the Wallabies’ starting side to face the Lions, starting with McReight and seven through to Hunter Paisami at inside centre.
“If they play (Rob) Valetini at six at the Wallabies they could have seven, eight, nine, 10 the Reds,” Turinui explained. “And if Joe wants to play (Joseph-Aukuso) Suaalii at fullback instead of 13, Hunter’s not too far off at 12.
“Those combinations are important.
“The thing about Lynagh is, in a Lions Series you want a 10 that’s not going to cost you the game… we don’t need a hero. Low error rate, high goal kicking percentage.”
