To chop and change or stick with picks.
That’s the dilemma the Wallabies face as they prepare for their final two pool matches, against Uruguay and Georgia,in the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Had Australia won against Wales in Tokyo on Sunday , the temptation might have been to give some players a rest in Saturday's match against Uruguay, as they did in their 2015 Rugby World Cup match against the South Americans, but with the defeat, there is little margin for error in their results.
The Wallabies will be clear favourites in those matches but Japan and Uruguay have shown already that favouritism is no guarantee at a World Cup and the Wallabies won't be taking any team lightly.
Looking one step further, Australia look likely to finish second in their pool, putting them in line for a quarter-final against England.
That final eight match would be a game they would need to be match-hardened for, rather than bringing players in off limited minutes or a two-week rest.
Outside of striking the right balance when it comes to physical management, the biggest headache might be at 10 for Australia with no single player able to stamp their authority on that spot so far in the tournament.
Brumbies 10 Christian Lealiifano came into the tournament shaping up as Australia’s first-choice playmaker but was physically battered against Fiji and Bernard Foley took the reins against Wales, one of four changes to Australia's backline.
Strength and conditioning coach Brad Harrington said Lealiifano, who was undergoing treatment for Leukaemia just two years ago, was as physically strong as he has ever been but his recovery from games needs to be managed closely.
"‘Since he came back from his illness he went through a reconditioning program and he's actually stronger and more powerful than he was in the past,” he said.
“He had some great work put in when he was at the Brumbies and coming back through that.
“From a physical point, he's stepped up and he's not behind there.
“It's just probably the intensity of the game takes more out of him and he's getting older too, so we've got to manage our older athletes a little bit differently.”
Foley turned in a disappointing performance in the first half against Wales in a Wallabies attack that looked wide too often and made frustrating errors.
Matt To’omua came on and straightened the ship, and the attack, and helped spark a 17-point Wallabies run in the second half, though they ultimately fell short.
Centre Samu Kerevi said To’omua had made a positive impact when he was introduced into the game.
“Matty really likes to play at the line. He's a strong ball carrier as well which allows us to be on the front foot,” he said.
"He stands real flat and goes at the defence so it's really helpful for our backline.
"But, we could have adapted a little bit earlier as a whole backline, especially as centres, we could have just controlled our feet a bit more
"Wales were really coming hard at us in defence and were giving us little seams but just controlling our feet so we can get that pass away or hit that gap.
"Matty, I guess the tempo of the game, he really picked it up with Whitey (halfback Nic White). So that little combination that they had, they worked really well together.”
To’omua last started at 10 in Australia’s loss to England at the end of 2018 but has looked effective off the bench in both of his outings in the World Cup.
Asked whether he felt he was pushing for a start, To’omua kept his cards close to his chest.
“Probably the wrong guy to ask,” he said.
“Everyone wants to start but in saying that I got 35-odd minutes today off the bench and I'm glad that's getting more and more and more.
“I'll keep doing what I can to push for a starting job but if it means impact off the bench, then I'll do the best I can there as well.”
To'omua warned of the perils of changing up the 23 too much, given the already proven dangers of a World Cup upset.
“I don't want to have a go at other teams but you've seen what happens when you do chop and change too much,” he said.
“It's a World Cup, they're going to be at us, in terms of their enthusiasm and excitement.
“I don't know what the (selection) plan is, we don't have a pre-plan that we're aware of so we'll see what happens.”
Whatever they do, addressing a trend of slow starts will be critical for the Wallabies before the knockout stages.
For the second week in a row, the Wallabies let their opponents get out to a big lead, trailing Wales by 18 points early in the second half, and would have needed to complete the biggest comeback in World Cup history to take the victory.
In their opening match against Fiji, they were down by nine points before clawing their way back to a 39-21 win.
To’omua couldn’t put his finger on the cause of their opening halves but said they needed to address the issue.
“We do feel like we're a very fit team, we do feel like in the back end of games we can come over teams but getting that start right, whether it's matching or even increasing or just matching the team, we know we can come back with a wet sail,” he said.
“We need to take those moments because it's no use, I don't want to be here three weeks in a row going ,"Geez we finished well, but we weren't good enough from the start" so we've got to learn from that.”
Reece Hodge is the only player unavailable for the match, still suspended for two more matches, while rookie Jordan Petaia could be in line for his Wallabies debut on his comeback from a hamstring injury.
Australia plays Uruguay on Saturday October 5 at Oita Stadium, kicking off at 2:15pm local, 3:15pm AEST, LIVE on Foxtel, Network Ten and via RUGBY.com.au RADIO, Rugby Xplorer and Amazon Alexa.
