MENDOZA The second coming of prop Greg Holmes has continued, with the scrum specialist returning to the Wallaby starting side for the first time in eight years as part of a raft of changes ahead of Saturday night’s clash with the Pumas in the Argentinian city of Mendoza.
Holmes takes the place of Sekope Kepu and joins Stephen Moore and James Slipper in the front row of a scrum that will come under intense pressure against the Pumas at the foot of the Andes.
The 32-year-old helped steady the ship against the Springboks in Brisbane and gets the chance to get the Australians on the front foot from the start in a pack that also features David Pocock at openside flanker and Ben McCalman at number eight.
Bernard Foley returns to No.10 ahead of Quade Cooper (bench) and links with Nick Phipps, while Matt Toomua (12) and Joe Tomane (wing) complete the changes to the backline.
Coach Michael Cheika has given Dean Mumm a chance to impress off the bench in place of the unfortunate James Horwill, who was good when he came on against the Springboks.
Equally as unlucky is Michael Hooper, who was a defensive dynamo in Brisbane but such is the quality of Pocock and the ongoing competition between the pair, who bring elite but differing skill sets to the cause.
Cooper, Nic White and Kurtley Beale have all been named on the bench, with Beale returning from injury and White in the squad in place of the injured Will Genia (knee). Scott Higginbotham has gone from starting to missing out altogether.
Holmes has never been fashionable but has been rewarded by Michael Cheika for his excellence at the set piece, which shapes to be vital in a World Cup year against northern hemisphere nations.
The Pumas are nothing to be sneezed at either and Holmes said he felt he had plenty to give to the Wallabies despite failing to crack the squad since 2007.
“It’s been a long time between drinks. I was always confident I was capable of playing for the Wallabies again. Being selected is another thing. I think I played pretty well this year and I’ve close in years past. This year I pushed my case enough,” Holmes told Fairfax Media.
“There’s no doubt I’m playing the best footy of my career. I’m a lot stronger then when I played way back and I’m a lot smarter as well. I’ve got a lot of good footy ahead of me.”
Holmes thought his chance may have arose when his Reds coach Ewen McKenzie took charge of the Wallabies. Little did he suspect his salvation would instead come from a coach of the interstate arch-rival.
“Yeah I did. He often said to me before he was Wallaby coach ‘you’ve got to be close, they’ve got to be looking at you’. It was disappointing but the guys that were there were doing a good job.
“Who would have thought the call would end up coming from a Waratahs coach.”
Wallabies James Slipper, Stephen Moore (c), Greg Holmes, Will Skelton, Rob Simmons, Scott Fardy, David Pocock, Ben McCalman, Nick Phipps, Bernard Foley, Joe Tomane, Matt Toomua, Tevita Kuridrani, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Israel Folau. Reserves Tatafu Polota-Nau, Scott Sio, Sekope Kepu, Dean Mumm, Michael Hooper, Nic White, Quade Cooper, Kurtley Beale.
