Australian Rugby
Matt Toomua ready for baptism of fire
August 16, 2013
Australia's Matt Toomua speaks to the media, The Rugby Championship, August 15, 2013
"I've got to work on executing and doing what I can to keep it," Matt Toomua says of the No.10 jumper © Getty Images
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Matt Toomua hopes to make the Wallabies' No.10 jersey his own after being handed a baptism of fire against the All Blacks in the Rugby Championship-opening Bledisloe Cup Test at ANZ Stadium in Sydney on Saturday.

New Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie opted for the 23-year-old uncapped rookie over Queensland Reds favourite Quade Cooper after Toomua steered the Brumbies to the Super Rugby final against the Chiefs.

Toomua learned of his starting duties only on Thursday morning, and will have just two training runs knowing he is Australia's playmaker for the first of three Bledisloe Cup Tests. "It's obviously a big occasion for Australian rugby fans and also obviously for myself a personal milestone in getting my first cap," Toomua said.

McKenzie's predecessor, Robbie Deans, used a string of big names in the playmaker role during his five-year reign, selecting James O'Connor against the British & Irish Lions having previously used Matt Giteau, Berrick Barnes, Cooper and Kurtley Beale.

"I hope Ewen doesn't use five or six," Toomua said. "Obviously I have ambitions to keep that number, but everyone who's played that has as well so I don't want to stand here and say 'I'm going to keep it' because that's just naive. I've got to work on executing and doing what I can to keep it."

Follow live text commentary of the Bledisloe Cup Test between Australia and New Zealand on Saturday, August 17, from 730pm (AEST), 930pm (NZT), 930am (GMT)

Ewen McKenzie backs Matt Toomua to succeed
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Toomua, a schoolboy rival of Cooper and Beale, said he was "massively honoured" to follow in their footsteps, and he paid special tribute to his Brumbies mentor, Stephen Larkham, for helping him get there.

"I've been working with a guy who was a Wallaby great at 10 down in Canberra, so to wear that 10 jersey that he wore is special," Toomua said. "But, like I said, I can't get hung up on sentiments too early. It's about performing out there, and I think doing that will give me the best chance of keeping the jersey."

While Toomua was on a Skype call to his girlfriend and parents relaying the big news, Cooper was digesting his selection on the bench after being widely expected to return from an 11-month Test exile under Deans in the starting line-up.

McKenzie has been Cooper's greatest ally, but he opted for Toomua because the Brumbies playmaker was an in-form "man for all seasons". He said he'd coached Cooper "in a very specific environment" at the Reds, and Toomua, as well as the other new caps, had proved his worth to the Wallabies over the course of the Super Rugby season.

"I've also got very specific thoughts about how we need to play this game," he said. "We've got three playmakers and they all do different things. In the end, we're favouring some certain skills that we think will be handy for us at the start of the game. "Quade's still there on the bench. It doesn't mean Quade's not going to be part of the game and not have a big role."

© AAP

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