Corey Toole has waited a while for his Wallabies debut but finally gets his chance to showcase his blinding pace on Saturday when Australia look to back up their stunning upset of the Springboks in last week’s Rugby Championship opener.
A fractured jaw suffered by Dylan Pietsch in the 38-22 win at Ellis Park opened the door for Australian rugby’s quickest man, who will start on the left wing more than a year after being first called in to a Wallabies squad.
“It’s just excitement,” the 25-year-old said of his selection to win his first cap in Cape Town on Thursday.
“I’ve been around the squad for a little while now, so I’ve been quite excited for a little while now.
“Obviously, I wanted to play last year but didn’t get the opportunity. But the longer you’re amongst the squad, and the more training you do, you definitely get a lot more confidence out of that.”
Toole’s hopes of making his test debut last year were in part stymied by his release back to the Australia sevens squad for the Paris Olympics.
He had been a standout for Australia in the Sevens World series in the 2021-22 season before moving to Super Rugby with the ACT Brumbies in 2023.
Toole, who hits speeds of 10.2 metres a second at full pelt, has scored 28 tries in 43 appearances for the Brumbies and is convinced he is ready for the step up to test rugby.
“It’s quite a different game to sevens,” Toole explained. “There’s not that much space, and there’s a lot bigger guys … on the field, so making those tackles is always gonna be on bigger guys.
“It’s really a completely different game, but I’ve had three years at the Brumbies now, so I have a lot of confidence and belief (that) I can go out there and do a job this weekend.”
Coach Joe Schmidt said Toole had done a lot of work on his tackling but would still face a “steep learning curve” at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday against a Springboks side determined to exact revenge for last week’s loss in Johannesburg.
Toole is likely to have his hands full in defence against the tall, athletic Canan Moodie, who has been promoted from the bench to start on the right wing for South Africa in place of the injured Kurt-Lee Arendse.
Many expect recalled South Africa flyhalf Handre Pollard to put up a barrage of high balls and Toole, a rookie winger giving up five inches (12.7cm) to his more experienced marker, would be an obvious target.
“That aerial contest will be very competitive again,” said Schmidt.
Twice World Cup winner Cheslin Kolbe starts on the other wing for South Africa and Toole said the transition he and Arendse had made from sevens was proof that diminutive and fast could be a winning combination in the 15-man game.
“They’re sort of smaller wingers a bit like myself,” he said.
“I guess looking at those guys play so well, and be some of the best wingers in the world, definitely gives me a lot of confidence coming into this weekend.”
