One of the more fascinating positional moves among the Australian teams in Super Rugby Pacific this season edges closer and closer to resolving itself every week.
Wallabies outside back Jordan Petaia’s talent and natural ability has been clear since he debuted as an 18-year-old in 2018, but he was setting himself up for a difficult showdown toward the end of last season when it became known that he was keen to switch from wing and the occasional cameo at outside centre, to a permanent move to fullback.
Petaia spent much of his junior and schoolboy rugby time in the number 15, and expressed a desire to get back to what he considered his preferred position.
And he had support in high places, too. Wallabies coach Dave Rennie made it known late last year that he viewed Petaia as a long-term fullback option and was even ready to select him in the number 15 Barbarians jersey to face Samoa last November, until a hamstring injury cut Petaia’s spring tour short.
Back in Queensland, the Petaia plans where generating momentum heading into the preseason, with Reds general manager Sam Cordingley admitting around the same time last year that Bryce Hegarty leaving Australian rugby to play for Leicester in the English Premiership was an opportunity for coach Brad Thorn to try Petaia at 15.
“Thorny’s always had his eye on this for quite a while,” the former Queensland and Wallabies halfback said.
“He played a lot of his school rugby at 15, Thorny’s seen that as a potential opportunity for 2022.
“Without giving too much away, I’m sure Thorny sees that as a future position for Jordy.”
There was only one hurdle, and it came in the shape of Jock Campbell’s excellent start to the season as the Queensland fullback. Campbell had played plenty of fullback for the Reds himself in the past, and his form over the first three rounds and particularly his ability to play 80 minutes was seen as a major plus, while Petaia wasn’t finishing games on the wing.
Campbell’s form and Petaia’s fitness had many a rugby fan and pundit alike wondering why the Reds would weaken an obvious strength by switching the two.
But the switch did happen in round four, with Campbell moving to the right wing, and Petaia finally getting his shot at fullback.
And the first few outings were … well, tentative.
Petaia working his way into full-time 15 status
Petaia’s attacking instincts certainly benefited from the extra time and space that comes with playing in the middle of the backfield, but his positioning wasn’t really tested in his first three games at fullback, and the defensive part of a fullback’s job weren’t really called upon.
He also didn’t finish any of those first three games in the number 15 spot. But things changed last week in the Reds’ 21-7 win over the previously undefeated Brumbies in Brisbane.
For one thing, he played the full 80 minutes, the first time in about a year he finished a game he had started. And importantly, he just looked like a natural fullback.
The Brumbies looked to test his positioning with some short kicks in behind the defensive line on attack, but he covered them well. One he might’ve been better to let roll dead, but his evasion skills kicked in and he did well to make it back to the field of play and maintain possession for the Reds.
Soon after, he roosted a clearing kick down the centre-field channel from inside the Queensland 22, and found Brumbies fullback Jess Mogg, but Petaia’s excellent kick chase contained the Brumbies fullback before he ever got going.
The Brumbies failed to find touch from a penalty, with Petaia well positioned to take advantage of the mistake, launching another thumping clearing kick to find touch just inside the Brumbies half.
He claimed marks in his own 22 from over-clubbed Brumbies kicks, his support lines were good when other players fielded kicks and he regularly tested defences when he did carry into traffic.
From what should have been an easy clearing kick again inside his 22, Petaia stepped a player and ran, breaking through the Brumbies’ disjointed defence and made it to the Brumbies 22, offloading to a teammate and setting up a try-scoring opportunity.
It was his best performance as a custodian by several significant margins, and it made people take notice. All of these aforementioned moments came before half-time.
Curiously, when Rennie included Campbell in his first Wallabies squad of the year, for last weekend’s low-key training camp on the Gold Coast, he said the now-injured Campbell’s “best position is 15”.
But Campbell is in for a battle, not just to get back on the field, but to mount any case for international selection as a fullback. In his absence, Petaia has grabbed his opportunity with more than both his hands, and it’s clear there’s going to be some awkward selection conversations approaching for the Reds.
Petaia as a Wallabies fullback is still a way off being confirmed, and it’s even doubtful that he would be preferred ahead of more experienced options like Tom Banks or even Reece Hodge for the England series in July, never mind the Bledisloe Cup leading into The Rugby Championship later in the year.
But it’s clear in a few short weeks that he’ll wear the Australian number 15 jersey sooner rather than later.
What felt like a long shot even just a few months ago suddenly has a whole lot of upside.
