Gregan’s eye-popping comparison to late-blooming Wallabies gun

Exclusive: George Gregan has likened Ryan Lonergan to Springboks great Fourie du Preez as the late-blooming halfback’s influence continues to grow within the Wallabies.

Lonergan only made his Test debut last year as Jake Gordon and Tate McDermott were consistently preferred by previous Australia coach Joe Schmidt.

But with Gordon sidelined with a ruptured Achilles tendon, the 28-year-old has taken an iron grip of the No.9 jersey under new boss Les Kiss.

The ACT Brumbies star’s game isn’t as flashy as that of All Blacks rival Cam Roigard as the pair prepare to go head-to-head in the opening Bledisloe Cup Test at Auckland’s Eden Park on Saturday.

But Gregan - a hard marker and one of the world’s greatest ever halfbacks - gushed about Lonergan’s influence and game management during an extensive interview with nine.com.au.

“I thought he was amazing (against the Springboks),” Gregan said during a visit to Sydney with the Global Rugby Players Foundation.

“I’ve been a big fan of Ryan for a long time, and I’m a big fan of Tate too. Our nines, they’re different but similar in what they bring. They bring energy and a slightly different picture to how we play, but both really important players.

“But Ryan was outstanding (in the 42-38 win over South Africa in Perth). His stats: 11 kicks, 302 metres, 74 passes - like he was a busy bee, working both sides of the ruck. Kicking goals - missed one kick, like he’s not perfect - but he was very Fourie du Preez like in the way he played and that’s a big rap.

“Like I’m a big fan of Fourie (76 Tests between 2004-15). He could control the game in many ways and the way he played because he’d kick from the source (ruck or maul).

“Which takes a lot of pressure off the 10 or the other people clearing. So then it gives people like Benny Donaldson and others a really nice chance to get themselves in a position where if they do get the ball, they can get some good purchase on it because they don’t have two or three people trying to charge them down because there’s the threat of a long kick.

“The way he exited from deep in our 22 to halfway, that wasn’t in my repertoire. Someone who can go long is a really great thing to have within your team.”

Lonergan rejected multiple opportunities to head overseas to keep perfecting his craft under Stephen Larkham and the Brumbies.

He made his Test debut against the All Blacks at Eden Park last year and came off the bench after 20 minutes to replace the injured McDermott.

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“Sometimes it’s hard to get an opportunity, you know, competition’s good,” 1999 Rugby World Cup winner Gregan said.

“A long apprenticeship, I’m sure he would have liked to have gone to the last World Cup, and just missed out. That makes you hungry.

“He’s 28 years of age, so his best rugby’s still ahead of him. There’s still room for improvement and just feeling really familiar and comfortable in that international environment. Against the best team in the world, he looked like he had time.

“Time’s not easy to have against the Springboks, they come at you. They’re not known for giving you time and defending soft, you know what I mean, it was impressive. A very impressive performance.”

Gregan now splits his time between London and Melbourne and has marvelled at how halfbacks like Lonergan, Roigard, Antoine Dupont and Jamison Gibson-Park had evolved the position.

“Dupont shows off, he kicks off both feet, and he can kick short, he can do everything, so that aspect of evolution of a nine has been really impressive.

“And the fundamentals of a nine never really changed too much,” he said.

“All of those players we mentioned are really good off the deck with their passing. They look at both sides of the ruck, they’re running threats, especially Roigard and Dupont, if you’re loose around there.

“The same with Jamison Gibson-Park - you know you’re going to be in a lot of pain, but then if you get too tight they can rip the pass, and then you’ve beaten four or five defenders. So they’re very good players, they’re very important for the teams they play in; hence those teams are pretty good internationally.”

GRPF chairman Gregan visited in Sydney with fellow legends and founders Richie McCaw and Dan Carter.

The two-day visit was aimed to raise awareness and support for rugby players facing significant challenges post their playing careers.

“It’s a great cause, and it’s not the only sport which has that situation and scenario, armed forces etc. That purpose, that loss of purpose, that loss of identity to a degree, and then what am I doing next because you’re a young person,” Gregan said.

“Like if you’re in your mid-30s, and you’ve had a really good career, if you’ve done that, life’s ahead of you, so what are you going to do?

“The mission is by the players, for the players to really create that sort of toolbox of support and understanding and learning for players doing that.”

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