SYDNEY - Former Wallaby Will Genia sees a bright future for Tate McDermott, but only if the young Queensland Reds scrumhalf does not have his natural attacking instincts coached out of him.
McDermott, widely considered one of the most promising talents in Australian rugby, has been working with Genia while the former World Player of the Year nominee is stuck in Brisbane because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
With the 110-cap scrumhalf having retired from Test rugby after last year's World Cup, new Wallabies coach Dave Rennie will be on the lookout for fresh talent to occupy the gold No 9 shirt when the coronavirus lockdown ends.
Genia, who is contracted to play in Japan's Top League with the Kintetsu Liners this year, said McDermott was "a very, very good player" and might ultimately fit the bill.
"I definitely think he's got the game, he just needs to make sure he doesn't get that coached out of him," Genia told Rugby.com.au.
"I just love how he plays off instinct, he's got that good balance with that attacking brand of rugby, he sees the breakdown and in anticipation he might do something, whether he runs or whether he's putting someone into space and I like watching him play heads-up footy.
"He needs to keep that attacking mindset ... because that makes him the player that he is. (We) don't want to coach those things out of him."
Genia famously worked with the instinctive talent of flyhalf Quade Cooper to help the Reds to the Super Rugby title and Australia to the World Cup semi-finals in 2011.
The 32-year-old said McDermott had proved "hungry to improve" and that they had been working on the specific skills of playing scrumhalf, such as passing from left to right.
Genia said he was being careful not to tamper with the 21-year-old's natural approach to the game, however.
"He's got something in his game not many other halfbacks in world rugby have, he’s just got that really attacking mindset and the ability to get players in the game," said Genia.
"He's got a good ability to read space and fill space - you never want to coach that out of them and have that 'get to the breakdown, pass, get to the breakdown, pass' approach, you want to encourage him."
McDermott might have to wait a while to put Genia's tips into action on the pitch with Super Rugby suspended indefinitely because of the restrictions put into place to prevent the spread of the virus.