Wallabies: Red cards, sin-bins and HIAs spark Eddie Jones to add diversity to squad

Not that he’d been selected for his debut Wallabies squad – that had been on the cards for a while – but at the word next to his name: “utility”.

Sitting with his mum, sister and partner after finishing breakfast on Sunday morning, the Melbourne Rebels back rower celebrated his selection ahead of the Rugby Championship while digesting the fact that he might need to play on the wing.

“It was news to me,” he said of the shock selection twist. “But to be part of the squad and to be able to add impact is part of what I want to do.

“So, if they want me out on the wing and let me run into open space, I’m very happy to do that.”

Waratahs winger Dylan Pietsch had a similar reaction when the squad was announced.

The 25-year-old rookie was a standout for the Waratahs in 2023, safe out wide and willing to do the hard yards in the middle of the park too.

It’s probably the reason he’s been told he’ll need to cover flanker.

At least he has experience in the position, having only switched to the wing after going through the grades at Randwick as a back rower.

“I didn’t know what (utility) meant, but I don’t really care, because I’m in the squad,” he said. “Wherever I need to be, I’ll be there.

“I was a bit confused at the start, but figured with my past in the back row, I’d probably end up there or in the centres, but I was just so happy I was in the squad I didn’t really care.”

The selection of Kemeny, Pietsch and Ben Donaldson as utilities highlights Wallabies coach Eddie Jones’ push for versatility in his team.

With red cards, sin-binnings and HIAs making the game more unpredictable than ever, Jones said he needed players who can cover multiple positions without worry.

“We need a back rower who can play wing,” Jones said on Sunday. “I am serious about this.

“Kemeny is quick enough to be a winger. He is a tall rangy guy, good in the air.”

Kemeny and Pietsch actually played age group rugby for New South Wales in the back row together, with Kemeny wearing the number six jersey and Pietsch playing openside.

They took very different paths to get to the Wallabies though.

Kemeny – who on Monday sported a shiner picked up in training last week – was a bolter in a Wallabies training squad selected by then-coach Dave Rennie in 2021. An ACL injury ruled him out of the entire 2022 season, and his Wallabies selection caps off a long comeback.

Pietsch ended up at the Waratahs via the Sevens circuit, having represented Australia at the Tokyo Olympics.

The pair join six other Wallabies debutants as Jones ramps up preparations for the World Cup.

“(Jones) sat me down this morning and said, ‘You’re an option (for the back row), so get your head around the lineout calls and everything that’s involved in the back row’,” Pietsch said.

“At the moment I’m just training in the backs. I’ll probably go in and out and try and avoid most of the forward stuff – I don’t want to get a shiner like him (Kemeny).

“I’m focusing on my job as a winger, but knowing my role as a back rower as well.”

When he does get on the field, Pietsch will become just the 15th Indigenous player in Wallabies history.

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A proud Wiradjuri man and talented artist, Pietsch designed the First Nations jersey the Waratahs wore for Culture Round against the Highlanders in April, and also runs his own Indigenous art company, Wulwaay.

“Being the 15th Indigenous Wallaby would be pretty cool,” he said. “It’s something I want to do to grow the game so there’s more than just 15 Indigenous Wallabies.

“It’ll mean the world to me to be able to put that jersey on.”