Henry Speight a ‘lethal weapon’ for Australia
Fijian winger’s tackle-busting performance for the Brumbies earns him higher honours
Australia added another hefty offensive weapon to their armoury on Wednesday when Fijian winger Henry Speight was named in their squad for the Rugby Championship.
Fresh from his tackle-busting against the Waikato Chiefs last weekend, the 26-year-old ACT Brumbies winger was included despite not being eligible to play for the Wallabies until halfway through the competition.
The reason was not hard to fathom for anyone who has seen him deceive tacklers with his sidestep, barrel through them with his knees pumping high or brush them aside with a powerful hand-off.
Call it X factor or game-breakers or whatever you like, the All Blacks have been blessed with many of them over the years and it’s nice to have a few ourselves
The 12 defenders beaten in a rampant display in Canberra last Saturday are one of the main reasons why the Brumbies will take on the New South Wales Waratahs in a Super Rugby semi-final on Saturday.
All but 10 of the players named in Ewen McKenzie's 32-man Wallabies squad will be on display at Sydney Football Stadium this weekend but many eyes will be focused on Speight and his future international teammate, Israel Folau.
McKenzie knows all about Waratahs fullback Folau, who has scored 13 tries in 18 tests since his debut last year, and in Speight he sees another of the sort of player who might help take Australia back to the top of world rugby.
"You've got to be able to win the ball and do the fundamental parts of the game but there's no doubt that they are the guys who can make things happen," McKenzie said.
"Call it X factor or game-breakers or whatever you like, the All Blacks have been blessed with many of them over the years and it's nice to have a few ourselves."