Walsh Keeps No.1 Jersey as Kangaroos Name Side for Samoa Semi-Final
Reece Walsh will wear Australia's No.1 jersey when the Kangaroos meet Samoa in the Rugby League World Cup semi-final in Sydney on Sunday, after coach Kevin Walters picked him ahead of James Tedesco. The kick-off is 8:05pm at Allianz Stadium.
Walsh has been hard to leave out. Australia beat New Zealand 24-22 in their opener, then thrashed the Cook Islands 66-6. Walsh had a hand in five of the tries in that second game, and was named man of the match.
The fullback is the last line of defence and often the first to launch an attack, so the choice matters. Walsh said Australia's forwards have been "disrespected a lot" during the tournament, according to NRL.com. Forwards are the big men who take the ball up and fight for it at the ruck, the contest on the ground after a tackle.
Walters has made several other calls. Bradman Best gets the left centre spot ahead of Latrell Mitchell. Jack Bostock is on the wing, and Kotoni Staggs is at centre. Tom Dearden and Cameron Munster will run the game together at halves, the pair who pass the ball and direct the team from the middle of the field.
Tedesco and Mitchell are both on the six-man bench, along with Ethan Strange and Cameron Murray. Benches are the players who can come on during the match to bring fresh legs, and in league, a substitute can make a real difference in the last 20 minutes when tired defences start to slip.
Samoa have made one change. Ronald Volkman replaces Chanel Harris-Tavita, who is out with a hamstring injury, at five-eighth. The five-eighth is the playmaker who links the forwards with the outside backs, and the swap puts a new man in charge of the Samoan attack.
The other semi-final is also set. New Zealand meet Tonga at McDonald Jones Stadium, with Tonga unchanged from their last match. Keono Kini starts at fullback for the Kiwis, and Phoenix Crossland is among the extended reserves.
New Zealand's biggest name is missing from the lineup. Kalyn Ponga, who officially switched his international allegiance to New Zealand earlier this year, made his Kiwis debut in their opener and scored two tries, running for 254 metres. He broke the radius, a bone in his left forearm, in the 22-24 loss to Australia and was booked in for surgery.
For Australia, the task is simple to state and hard to do. Win on Sunday and they reach the final. Walsh, Walters and the forwards will all be asked the same question: can they keep the pressure on for 80 minutes against a Samoan side that has shown it can hurt teams in the same way?
