AS TIMANA Tahu comes to terms with the disappointment of being dropped for tomorrow night's Tri Nations decider, Australia's most capped midfielder, Tim Horan, has given him a boost - by predicting he could succeed Stirling Mortlock's at outside-centre.
Despite a forgettable display on his starting debut against the Springboks last month, Wallabies coach Robbie Deans believes Tahu is an inside-centre. But Horan looks upon the former Kangaroo more as a No.13 and the man who could eventually take possession of the jersey when Mortlock retires.
Horan, one of Eddie Jones's Test selectors, believes Tahu was harshly dealt with following Australia's 53-8 thrashing at Ellis Park, a result which which saw him omitted from the 22-man squad for tomorrow's Brisbane showdown.
"Timana made one, probably only two defensive errors in that South African Test, and there has been a lot of talk about him, which wasn't warranted," Horan said yesterday. "But what the Wallabies have to do is find the right position for him. Is it No.12? Is it No.13? Or the wing?
"He's probably a bit crowded at No.12, and I'd probably look at him more as a No.13. You get more room at No.13, and I would definitely persevere with him.
"[Tahu] has to be careful he is not looked upon as a utility player, and that's potentially where he'll end up until Stirling finishes. So for the next 12-18 months, he could be used a bit like Mat Rogers - wing, outside-centre, and No.12.
"I do rate him highly, but it was just a shame that after the Johannesburg Test, he didn't get a chance to redeem himself straight away and take that question mark away, which some people may have [had].
"I remember missing two tackles in the first 1- minutes against the All Blacks in 1996 in Wellington, when Frank Bunce ran straight over the top of me. But six days later we were back in Sydney beating the Springboks when they were world champions, and that was great for the confidence."
Horan said Tahu needed more time to understand the midfield defensive patterns.
"The hardest thing in the centres is to back the guy next to you. I had Daniel Herbert and Jason Little outside me, and there was no way they would come in and try to take my player because they knew I'd make a tackle, and I knew they would take their man. And that's the self-belief which is required.
"In Tahu's first game with Stirling Mortlock, the combination wasn't there. And it takes time to build those combinations."
Horan said the Wallabies will have to change their game plan to accommodate for Mortlock being out of position at No.12 tomorrow night. The loss of Berrick Barnes will also be difficult to overcome.
"Stirling will have No.12 on his back. But will he play there all the time? Probably not. He will play there 60 per cent of the time. It wouldn't surprise me if he and Ryan Cross interchange a little bit," Horan said.
"Berrick gives [five-eighth] Matt Giteau so much confidence, and people don't see that, because he [Giteau] doesn't have to look outside him to see whether a bloke makes a tackle. And if he's stuck in a ruck, he knows that Berrick will be first receiver. If Matt wants to have a go, he knows that someone will fill his position. That allows Matt to have a run. But what was lacking the last Test was that there weren't two first receivers."
On Saturday, with Mortlock not an established first receiver, the onus will again be on Giteau. "You will see that Matt will rarely get caught in contact," said Horan, who predicted a Wallabies triumph tomorrow night. "He will have to offload it … so that he is the first receiver all the time."
