Wallabies Mr Fix It Reece Hodge has won the hotly contested fullback jersey for Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test against Argentina in Townsville.
The versatile Hodge has been promoted from his bench role to replace Tom Banks, who broke his arm in the memorable 30-17 win over the world champion Springboks.
Australia coach Dave Rennie had plenty of viable alternatives in James O’Connor, Jordan Petaia and Andrew Kellaway but instead plumped for the 27-year-old from the Rebels.
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Hodge has played every position in the backline except for halfback and Rennie has admitted that his versatility is both a blessing and a curse at the selection table.
His size, game knowledge and massive boot are all pluses against a Pumas side reeling at 0-4 in the competition following heavy losses to the All Blacks and Springboks.
Petaia looms as the more exciting long-term option in the 15 jersey and Wallabies great Tim Horan has been pushing for that experiment to happen ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
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The full Wallabies team will be named later today.
Halfback Nic White said the side was determined not to rest on its laurels after rising to third on the world rankings.
“It’s something we’ve spoken about, that two good performances doesn’t make up for a couple of years of bad ones,” White said.
“There was a lot of hard work that went into those two performances.
“No short memories, we did have two draws with the Argies last year.
“They’re a very good side and we know how hard it is to play the All Blacks so we’ve got the utmost respect for them and we’re going to have to be at our best in order to get results.
“A lot of hard work went into those results against South Africa but if we think that’s just going to set up another win, we’re dreaming.
“We’ve continued to work hard this week and we’ll continue to get better, there’s plenty of parts where we think we can better and if we’re not on our game, they’re a good enough side that can hurt you.
“We know we’re in for it this weekend.”
