Former Wallace star Will Zenia has urged selectors to carefully manage Waratahs No. 10 Ten Admed after his tumultuous rise this season.
New South Wales has surpassed expectations in this campaign and has been one of the biggest success stories in the AdMed Super Rugby Pacific since joining the starting team in Round Six and consolidating his position.
The role of Wallabis playmaker in the five weeks since the first Test against England has sparked much controversy, with Quad Cooper expected to play some domestic Tests, James O’Connor injured and Edmund and Noah Lolesio in good form.
Speaking on The Roar Rugby Podcast Xenia, who was capped 110 times for Wallaby, he said Admed should be given time to reach a consistent performance if he rushes before he is ready, but the risk is enough.
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“I think he was very, very good but I think taking him there and saying ‘we want you to play or sit on the bench’ would be detrimental to him,” Xenia said.
“It’s really important that you set your ambitions for the players. If you take a player there too early, you can stunt his development.
“Of course a good series of rugby games at a good level for the Waratas, the focus should be on keeping him at that level so that he can perform consistently on a weekly basis for a year or two, bring him to the team, see him. What it feels like to be at this level, what it takes to train at this level and what it takes to perform at this level and then go from there.
“The England series is huge. Such series can create or break people’s careers. Go well and it gives you a reputation as a big-game player. Or it goes the other way and it can destroy you.
“Someone like him, just allows him to grow, develop and get better. As well as playing, he has only played six or seven games at this level. It’s a little unfair to expect too much too soon.
“She is OK. But you have to be really careful about managing expectations. “
Zinnia said her first four games were off the bench when she joined international rugby in 2009, and the game stalled.
Tane Edmed (Photo by Getty Images)
“It’s amazing how much it works for you to learn what it takes to be at that level and then slowly increase your minutes and move to a starting position,” Xenia said.
“It simply came to our notice then [he’s not had] Lots of games starting at Super Rugby level and I promise you that Test level is a huge step.
“Especially when you play against England who are a world class team.
“And Eddie is a smart coach. One of the things about Eddie is that he knows how to address certain weaknesses of individuals and groups for the benefit of his party. “
England are likely to be accompanied by a young Flyhoff from Marcus Smith, but Zenia points to differences in the level of experience between her and Admed.
Smith has played just 10 Tests for Harlequins but 120 matches.
“This foundation cannot be underestimated,” Xenia said. “You are playing at a high level for Harlequins, playing against some of the best players in Europe.
“It gives you a foundation in your game where you can continue to grow and learn. It makes the transition to Test rugby a bit easier.
“It’s a drawing to talk about Ten. He’s played seven or eight games at this level and then made a huge jump to play against 2019 World Cup finalist England.
“I really think that in the interest of the players, for their welfare, for their continuous growth, these expectations need to be managed.”
For his part, Edmund kept no secret of his desire to wear a gold jersey.
“It’s human nature to think about such things,” he said Wednesday.
“It simply came to our notice then. I would like to wear 10 jerseys for Walabi.
“But that says I’m trying not to worry about it and trying to focus on winning games every week and for Tahas because our job as 10 is to manage games and achieve those wins.
“As good as it would be to be in the Wallabies jersey, I’m really trying hard to focus every week and get better and winning games for Tahas and take care of these kinds of things myself.”
Zinnia has just finished a season playing with Quad Cooper in Japan and got some wonderful insights about her longtime friend as she prepares to return to the Wallabies fold.
Zinnia also looked at the England series and talked about other important selections, saying Nick White was locked in No. 9 and called on Jock Campbell to give a shot at fullback.
“Nick White has been outstanding throughout the season. It gives some freedom to pick someone like Noah if the quad is not available because of Nick’s experience Brumbis 9 plays off, “said Xenia.
“It simply came to our notice then. You can rely on Nick to be able to control the game a bit more while giving Noah some more freedom. If you pick Samu from the outside, it’s like a buffer – you can do a World Class 12, World Class 9 and your 10 basically simple things.
For the number 15 jersey, Zinnia says: “Like the look of Jock Campbell. He needs to spend his time and experience good series rugby at the super level.
“She is OK. He’s always got the amazing ability to beat the first defender, he’s strong through the buttocks and exceptionally fast.
“The thing I like about him is that he is a normal fullback who is a good kicker on the ball and understands when to kick and how to kick.
Jock Campbell of the Reds (Photo by Bradley Canaris / Getty Images)
“It will be very important to come up against a team like England because they like to play a lot of territory but then you don’t want to give them the ball aimlessly, so there should be someone behind who understands space, understands fullback. The game, will be a big difference.
“I want to see him get a chance. The guys who have been playing fullbacks, obviously Banksy and Hodge over the last few years, I don’t think they’ve taken full advantage.
“Having a traditional fullback against England will make a big difference. He does simple things and the basics really well. He takes his high ball, he knows where to inject himself and play from the fullback position and he doesn’t make many mistakes.
Will Zinnia will return as a columnist for The Roar for the Rugby Championships.