Australia team winners and losers as ‘lucky’ veteran starts and future superstar debuts against Springboks
We pick out our winners and losers from Joe Schmidt's selection for the Rugby Championship clash against the Springboks.
Following the announcement of Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies team to tackle the Springboks in Perth, here are our winners and losers.
Schmidt has been forced into several changes to his matchday 23 after the 33-7 humbling in Brisbane last week as the injury-stricken Wallabies lick their wounds and look to bounce back.
There is however some good news in the squad as a world-class winger makes his return to international rugby while another rising star earns his Test debut.
While Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus has rang the changes, making 10 alternations to his starting XV, Schmidt’s charges will be well aware that they will be in for another stern test.
Here are our winners and losers from the Australia team selections for the Rugby Championship clash.
Winners
Angus Bell
At 23 years old, Angus Bell is one of the brightest front-row prospects in the international game but the livewire loosehead is another who has had a hard time with injury. His Super Rugby Pacific season was cruelly cut short as he played just six of the 14 matches for the Waratahs.
Schmidt has taken somewhat of a risk throwing him back into the starting XV having last played a top-flight match in April this year but frankly, he is going to have to play again at some point and the Wallabies cannot afford to endure a scrum demolition as they did last week.
His return to fitness is a huge boost for the side and Schmidt clearly sees his quality, but his ability to sort the scrummaging issues will be crucial.
Allan Alaalatoa
Sticking with the big men up front and put plainly captain Allan Alaalatoa is lucky to still be in the matchday squad following his performance in Brisbane.
He was monstered in the scrums by Springboks powerhouse Ox Nche and had Taniela Tupou been available this week, then one wonders if Alaalatoa’s leadership would keep him in the squad. He has enough credit in the bank to be deserving of another shot particularly because he squares up against a Springboks rookie prop who has played the entire season with the Bulls at hooker in Jan-Hendrik Wessels.
Angus Blyth
After pretty solid performances in the mid-year internationals, Angus Blyth was overlooked for the Rugby Championship opener last week but injuries to Nick Frost and Jeremy Williams means that he comes into the starting XV for the second Test against the Springboks.
The 26-year-old has had a tough time with injuries that have hampered his involvement with the Wallabies but now he gets his shot to shine against the double world champions.
Nic White
Like many of the changes to Schmidt’s starting XV, Nic White returns to matchday 23 due to an injury to one of his teammates as Jake Gordon misses the second Test. The experienced scrum-half will bring his usual gamesmanship and pestery to the Wallabies team and is the kind of player who can get under the skin of the young Bok side. Still, he is a quality operator and possibly just the kind of player that the team needs in the starting line-up.
Marika Koroibete
After making a U-turn on his decision to retire, Marika Koroibete marks his return to the Wallabies set-up against the Springboks, a team he has enjoyed success against in the past. He will be eager to front up against Makazole Mapimpi once again.
Frankly, the Wallabies are short on world-class talents at the moment and there is no doubt about Koroibete’s ability.
Joe Schmidt recalls ‘retired’ Test star as Wallabies wonderkid finally set to make debut
Max Jorgensen
Max Jorgensen will finally make his Test debut nearly a year on from his Rugby World Cup disappointment where he was denied a first cap through injury. He is set to come off the bench in Perth against the Boks in what could well be the world’s introduction to a future Wallabies superstar.
Max is the son of ex-Wallaby Peter Jorgensen and there is plenty of hype Down Under over the 19-year-old and rightly so, he is just the kind of player the Australian team is screaming out for but the faithful may need to be patient with him.
Tom Hooper
A standout performer from a struggling Wallabies team in 2023, Tom Hooper finally gets his cap under new boss Schmidt. Hooper has been named on the bench as a back-up lock but is more accustomed to the back-row where he impressed in the Australian jumper last year and will be hellbent on forcing his way back into the side. He had an underwhelming shift against the Springboks in Pretoria last year and will want to right those wrongs in Perth.
Ben Donaldson
Injected onto the bench ahead of Tom Lynagh, Ben Donaldson gets a fresh opportunity to impress despite the former doing little wrong. Donaldson was a player heavily favoured by the ex-head coach and now has the chance to press his claim for more regular minutes with Noah Lolesio not making the most of his chances in the starting XV.
James Slipper
When James Slipper comes off the bench on Saturday, he will take one step closer to levelling legendary Wallabies scrum-half George Gregan’s tally of 139 as he moves within just one cap of the ex-skipper. The prop continues to be a leader in the squad and even at the age of 35, he is one of the team’s most consistent players.
Last week, his inclusion off the bench went a long way in levelling the scrum battle and he will be crucial in doing so yet again if Bell starts to struggle. Having played for his country for well over a decade now, Slipper is really amongst one of the finest front-row forwards Australia has ever produced.
Losers
Isaac Kailea
Lessons at Test rugby are learnt the hard way and that was undoubtedly the case for rookie prop Isaac Kailea who shone against Wales in July but was decimated by the wily Frans Malherbe in Brisbane.
It’s not all doom and gloom for Kailea who is bound to return to the Wallabies in the near future as he is a rising star in Australia but he will need to lick his wounds this week and bounce back.
Tom Lynagh
As mentioned above, Lynagh’s exclusion from the squad does seem rather harsh after reasonably solid shifts from the bench. Like Kailea, we have not seen the last of Lynagh in the Wallabies colours.
Matt Faessler
Schmidt simply had to make changes to his starting front-row after the side’s performances in the set-pieces and Matt Faessler pays the price this week. He drops out of the squad altogether with Josh Nasser replacing him in the starting XV with Billy Pollard added on the bench.
Nick Frost
One of the bright lights in Brisbane, the towering lock misses the chance to clatter into the Springboks pack due to an injury he sustained in the first Test. Nick Frost is the kind of player that Schmidt can build his pack around going forward and it’s a shame that he misses out on another opportunity against a powerhouse Bok pack.
Tate McDermott
Following the injury to Gordon, Tate McDermott would have fancied his chances of getting a start against the Springboks but it is not to be as White beat him to the starting role. The energetic number nine is favoured by Schmidt in the impact role but he is certainly pressing for the starting jersey and may well be rewarded against Argentina if he performs well again this week.
