Rugby Australia’s ‘gross negligence’, ‘three blunders’ that hurt the Wallabies against Ireland and the ‘resources’ Joe Schmidt ‘can’t waste’
The Wallabies feel the pain of their loss to Ireland in what was the third-last match that Joe Schmidt, inset, will be in charge for
Saturday’s buffet of rugby served up a delicious treat for fans across the globe, but one alarming factor stood out that should rock Australians to the core.
The sight of watching Australian-born-and-raised Tom Staniforth running out for France, with another Aussie-raised lock Emmanuel Meafou waiting in the wings to return, as well as Harry Hockings starring in Japan’s win over Italy, should make Rugby Australia’s stomachs squirm and its fans angry.
The locking trio could quite legitimately be playing for the Wallabies but for the folly of Australian rugby’s head honchos.
Of the trio of foreign-based locks, only Meafou failed to play Super Rugby. The giant tighthead lock did spend time in Australia’s wider squads, but none of the franchises were prepared to invest in the giant. Now, he’s one of the most sought-after power locks.
“A 128kg ruck-hitting animal…”
Staniforth and Hockings, however, came through the Australian U20s pathway and played Super Rugby. Hockings was always considered a rising generational talent but irked many, including some current Rugby Australia figures, when he decided to head to Japan during the covid pandemic. Now, he is one part of one of the best locking pairs in world rugby.
Staniforth – the younger cousin of former Wallaby, Scott – spent years in Super Rugby, and while he was always a hard-working figure who played for the Brumbies and Waratahs, he has only really come of age in recent years. That’s come after transforming his body from a lightweight 114kg hybrid forward to a 128kg ruck-hitting animal.
That factor alone should concern RA figures because like Will Skelton, who was an unfit, though immensely talented, lock when he was with the Waratahs before transforming into a fit monster with Saracens, Staniforth has gone overseas and been turned into a giant.
That isn’t necessarily a surprise either, because locks generally are at their peak around 30… and Staniforth is 31. But the extraordinary factor in all of this is that RA weren’t interested in picking up the phone and seeing if Staniforth was interested in playing for the Wallabies.
Not last year when he was knocking on the door, nor after the Six Nations when he was included in France’s squad but wasn’t capped. While a return to Super Rugby would have been unnecessary – RA can’t afford to lure home every Australian who has ventured overseas for opportunity and financial security – it shouldn’t stop them from trying to cap them.
Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust.
Instead, RA included a couple of rising stars in their U20s World Championship squad. That’s all well and good, but will they return on a pittance? Plus, they have got years of growth ahead of them. Staniforth, meanwhile, is at the peak of his powers – and it showed on Saturday, as he got through ample work on debut against the All Blacks on both sides of the ball.
While the Wallabies’ starting locks Josh Canham and Jeremy Williams were excellent against Ireland, tournaments are won because of a squad’s depth and the ability to play the game in different ways. For a nation currently ranked eighth in the world, to look past a couple of locks over the past 12 months seems like gross negligence.
Wallabies blew Ireland Test
Joe Schmidt will have tossed and turned more than most nights on Saturday because he will have recognised that the Wallabies blew it against Ireland. Leading 24-12 deep in the first-half, the Wallabies could have put the Test to bed if Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii had pinned the ears back like Israel Folau once did and scored.
Instead, the $1.6million-man was tackled by the brave Hugo Keenan, and Ireland lived to fight another day. It proved to be a match-defining play as Ireland scored soon after, as they caught the Wallabies napping on the stroke of half-time and ran 80 metres to score.
The two plays proved to be sliding doors moments for the Wallabies. But beyond the individual moments, Schmidt will have known Ireland – in part because of the Wallabies’ pressure in defence and at the set-piece – were far from their best.
The Irish, who were missing a handful of regular starters, lost four lineouts, were belted late at the scrum, were cut to pieces in the midfield and struggled in general phase play other than the try to play off Jamison Gibson-Park.
The Wallabies, meanwhile, were close to full strength, with only Skelton injured, and they still bottled the Test. It was a huge miss despite an excellent first half-hour.
The other two minutes that killed the Wallabies
After a 2025 campaign defined by second-half fadeouts, Schmidt will highlight two wasteful minutes just after the 60-minute mark that hurt the Wallabies’ hopes of knocking over the world No.3 Irish.
While the try on the stroke of half-time to Gibson-Park and Ben Donaldson’s two late penalty misses proved match-defining moments, earlier, from the 61st to the 63rd minute, the Wallabies spurned possession on three occasions in quick succession inside Ireland’s half.
First, Max Jorgensen threw a ball into touch when the Wallabies had an overlap; then Suaalii once again gifted away possession when they had the Irish defensive line at sixes and sevens; and, lastly, Jorgensen backed himself down the touchline after Jock Campbell put him into space but was tackled into touch.
The three blunders were hugely significant in the context of the Test because the Wallabies struggled for possession and territory in the second half. Those factors would have been playing on Harry Wilson’s mind when the captain backed Donaldson to tick the scoreboard over later in the half.
Rugby Australia must get involved to keep born-again Wallaby
Campbell might have starred in the No.15 jersey for the Wallabies on Saturday in his first Test in almost four years, but the full-back is at risk of leaving the Queensland Reds in a World Cup year. Having been overlooked during the past three international years, the 31-year-old thought his days in gold were over and has long been sniffing an overseas opportunity.
At the same time, the Reds have long been considering what’s next beyond Campbell and view NRL-target Treyvon Pritchard as a permanent replacement for him in the No.15 jersey. The Reds also only have so much in their salary cap to play with and, as such, have offered Campbell a modest deal to stay.
The full-back’s value will have only increased on the overseas market following his strong display against Ireland – his pick-up off his bootlaces ahead of Dylan Pietsch’s opening try was class – and that will stretch the Reds even further.
While many believe Tom Wright will quickly be back in the No.15 jersey after his slow-ish return from last year’s ACL injury, surely RA must offer Campbell a national top-up given his brilliant season. It would be madness to lose the Wallabies’ current starting full-back over a bit of short change.
Schmidt must get bench right to finish tenure on high
Ahead of the Ireland Test, many suggested the Wallabies’ bench had been stacked as a means to finish the game stronger after some serious fade-outs in late 2026. But, in reality, it was unbalanced.
Schmidt got much of his selection right for the first XV – Ryan Lonergan and Carter Gordon are Australia’s two best options to start, hooker Josh Nasser and Canham were outstanding and Campbell was excellent – but he got the bench wrong.
While the replacement front-row annihilated Ireland’s, most of the others were ineffective. That’s because Tom Hooper and Wright are 80-minute players. Hooper got a tick over 10 minutes of action, while Wright was introduced in the 78th minute. That’s a waste.
Against France, whose physicality will be a massive step up on Ireland’s, Schmidt can’t waste any of his resources on the bench.
