Has Wallaby coach Ewen McKenzie made an inspired decision to drop fly-half Bernard Foley to the bench andreplace him with Kurtley Beale for the Bledisloe Cup opener at ANZ on Saturday night?
Or is he playing another form of Russian roulette?
There are four questions to be answered.
Inside backs Foley, Beale, and Adam Ashley-Cooper were instrumental in the Waratahs capturing their first Super Rugby title in 19 years.
Their combination, vision, and flair were there for all to see.
But McKenzie has split them up with Beale, Matt Toomua, and Ashley-Cooper for Saturday. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Russian roulette.
Secondly, with international rugby always likely to be a penalty shootout, why drop one of the best goal-kickers in the business, and by far the highest points-scorer in Super Rugby 2014, with no replacement of similar quality?
In the selected side for Saturday, Nic White will take the shorter shots for goal, Beale the longer.
But both would willingly admit that they are not in the Foley class.
Foley topped the Super Rugby with 257 points, that included 45 conversions, 44 penalties, and seven tries.
Next best was Hurricane Beauden Barrett with 209.
Russian roulette.
And thirdly, what of team morale? If you asked any of the current Wallaby squad if was Foley in danger of being dropped, they would look at you as though a straitjacket was in order.
Russian roulette.
And fourthly, where has Ewen McKenzie come from with the Foley-Beale selection?
It’s quite obvious the coach has Toomua firmly cemented in his thinking as the Wallaby 12.
But McKenzie couldn’t possibly overlook the fact Beale, as Waratah 12, played superbly in both the semi-final win over the Brumbies where Toomua was 10, and again in the final against the Crusaders.
Simply put, Beale had to be in the starting lineup.
So rather than bench Toomua, which was the obvious selection, McKenzie has moved Beale inside one spot making Foley the scapegoat, despite the fact he’s in the best form of his career.
