Former Wallaby declares Fraser McReight world’s best openside flanker

Rugby World Cup winner Jeremy Paul believes Fraser McReight is the best openside flanker in the world at the moment. The Wallabies’ breakdown specialist returned from injury in time for the Bledisloe Cup series, where he was clearly Australia’s best player in both Tests.

McReight started the international season strongly with some solid performances in the back-to-back wins over Warren Gatland’s Wales. The 25-year-old followed that up with a try-scoring double in the Wallabies’ hard-fought 40-29 win over Georgia during the July series.

But, unfortunately for the Wallabies and their star backrower, McReight ended up missing the team’s first four Rugby Championship Tests with a thumb injury. Instead, Carlo Tizzano was injected into the Test arena in the No. 7 jumper and performed very well.

When McReight was named in the Wallabies’ squad for the two Bledisloe Cup Tests, that was still received as a welcomed boost for the men in gold. The Queenslander ended up scoring Australia’s opening try in the Sydney Test, and he did the very same a week later in Wellington.

@goodbadrugby Is Fraser Mcreight the best number 7 in the world right now?! Jeremy Paul thinks so… Watch or listen to the new episode by searching for GBRANZ on all streaming apps now! #wallabies #rugbyaustralia #gbranz #fyp #rugby #aussierugby #rugbytok #foryou ? original sound - The Good, The Bad & The Rugby

It can be easy to look at tries as a standout statistic but McReight’s influence goes well beyond the scoreboard. The loose forward was the equal-top tackler in the Wellington Test, and he was also lethal at the breakdown with some telling involvements.

That’s led a former Wallaby to rank McReight above the rest as the world’s leading openside flanker. Ireland’s Josh van der Flier, Charles Ollivon from France and South Africa’s Siya Kolisi would likely be considered other contenders by fans around the world.

“I think Fraser McReight is the best seven in the world currently at the moment,” Paul said on The Good, The Bad & The Rugby. “I really do.

“He’s the complete player. He’ll jackal, he’s incredibly sound in defence – can even do dominant tackles. He’s that covering, supporting defender as well, scrambler.

“But then you’ve got the attack game. If you are second last pass, first last pass or try scorer, for you to be in those positions like come attack, it’s because you can read the game exceptionally well, not just because you coincidentally be there, man.

“He is, he is a genuine player this kid.”

McReight’s scored the first try of the evening over in New Zealand’s capital, and the Wallabies were quite generally on song to start that Test. They even led late in the first half but a try to Caleb Clarke saw the All Blacks take a slender lead into the sheds.

New Zealand ran riot in the second term as they recorded a commanding 20-point win. That was the Wallabies’ fifth loss in six Tests, and that saw them finish in last place in The Rugby Championship behind South Africa, New Zealand and Argentina.

Coach Joe Schmidt remains confident the team is heading in the right direction, but there’s no doubt they have their work cut out for them up north. During their upcoming Spring Tour, Australia will take on England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

That’s ideal preparation for the Wallabies ahead of next year’s British and Irish Lions Tour – a representative team made up of the best players from those four nations.

“If you look at the teams we’re coming up against, you’ve got semi-finalists, quarter-finalists, tough teams over there,” McReight told journalists from RugbyPass, Nine’s Wide World of Sports and AAP in Wellington.

“I feel like we want consistency on the board. Obviously, we want wins… we want to be competitive. It’s probably the way you want to put.

“Wins are obvious but to be competitive on the scoreboard, competitive in most things around the park; set-piece, defence, attack.

“We don’t want it to be one way or the other for sure.”