Fraser McReight

For a few seasons Fraser McReight was the best openside in Australia and not the openside Australia picked.

That is a strange thing to be. He captained the Junior Wallabies, was nominated for World Rugby’s under-20 player of the year, and then spent an extended period as the answer to a question the senior coaching staff kept rephrasing — whether a specialist jackal was worth a place in a back row that could otherwise be built entirely out of size.

The turnover numbers made the argument for him. McReight is quick to the deck, low over the ball, and unusually good at picking the ruck he can actually win rather than the one that merely looks available. Referees give very little to a flanker who guesses. He rarely guesses.

He is also a genuine link player, which separates him from the pure specialist — comfortable enough in possession to be used as a second-receiver option rather than only as a breakdown tool.

He has spent his career with the Reds and has captained them.

Australia’s back row heading into a home World Cup is one of the few areas of the squad with real competition. He has spent his whole career winning that kind of argument slowly.