Moses, Munster chase hot start as Kevvie plays it cool

'We pretty much have four of the best halves in the world'.

And with that, Mitch Moses sums up the firepower the Kangaroos have at their disposal and the dilemma coach Kevin Walters faces in choosing who gets first crack at the scrumbase.

For the tournament opener against New Zealand at a heaving Allianz Stadium on Thursday night, Walters has opted for Blues Origin hero Moses and his Maroons counterpart Cameron Munster, with Tom Dearden on the bench and Sam Walker cooling his jets in the grandstand.

In his previous three Test matches for Australia in 2024, Moses was paired with Dearden in the halves as they guided the green and gold to Pacific Cup glory.

Munster joined forces with Nathan Cleary at the 2022 World Cup to steer Australia to victory and again on last year's Ashes tour of England as the Kangaroos won 3-0.

With Walker fresh off steering the Roosters to a premiership and Dearden looking to add to his tally of six Tests, Walters has plenty of options to mull across the tournament.

“Sam, I’m just resting him this week. He’ll play next week, and Tommy’s a fix-it man - he could find himself in the game in any position,” Walters said.

“Very fortunate to have such high-quality players at our disposal.”

For Moses, Thursday night presents an opportunity to strengthen his claim in the halves after returning to the Australian set-up. 

The Eels skipper represented Lebanon at the 2017 and 2022 World Cups before pulling on the Australian jersey for the first time at the 2024 Pacific Championships.

Squaring off against Kiwi superstar Jahrome Hughes on Thursday night, Moses gets an early opportunity to showcase what he can bring to Australia’s World Cup defence.

“They’re very calm, they know what we need to do in different situations,” Walters said of his 6 and 7.

“We’ve just got to defend well which I’m sure they’ll both do.”

Moses is relishing the competition for spots as Australia look to extend a World Cup winning streak that stands at 18 games.

“We pretty much have four of the best halves in the world,” he said.

“Here, you get really good practice at training, going up against them and them coming against you.

“I think it’s healthy competition. Any time you get to train against the best, and you are, I felt like we got a lot out of that in the Ashes last year. There’s a lot of competition here. 

“The Pacific Championships [in 2024] was the last time I put on the jersey, and you never know when it’s going to be the last time you pull it on.

“So wear it with pride and passion every time you do it, and I get the chance to do that on Thursday night."

Having spent years coming up against Munster at club and Origin level, Moses is looking forward to finally sharing the field with the Melbourne star as a teammate.

“I’ve admired him from afar for a long time now. We’re the same age, I’ve been playing my whole career against him,” Moses said.

“To be able to go out there and share the field with him for the first time, it’s exciting. I get along with him really well.”

Walters has also settled another selection battle, with Reece Walsh retaining the Kangaroos No.1 jersey ahead of James Tedesco.

The Roosters captain capped off a stellar season by collecting the Clive Churchill Medal in the grand final, and Walters believes a week’s rest will benefit the 33-year-old.

“Just for the team’s sake, everything that I make decisions on is around the team, and this week I feel it’s best that Reece is the fullback,” Walters said.

“Teddy will get his opportunity next week. He’s had a good week’s rest. It’s been a big campaign for him the last four or five weeks, not just him but Sam as well.”

Kiwis coach Stacey Jones faced a tough call of his own in the halves with 10-Test veteran Hughes to team with Kodi Nikorima, who is coming off a superb season with the Dolphins.

“Jahrome has been part of the squad for quite some time, and the last couple of years he’s had injuries that have kept him out,” Jones said.

“And I think Kodi’s had a fantastic year. There’s parts of his game he’s on top of at the moment, and that’s what we like. I think his footy is just too good to keep him out.”