Wallabies squad: Winners and losers including Joe Schmidt’s ‘real U-turn’ selections while veterans are snubbed for British & Irish Lions series
Our winners and losers from Joe Schmidt's Wallabies squad ahead of the British and Irish Lions Series.
Following the announcement of the Wallabies squad ahead of the British and Irish Lions series, we pick out the winners and losers from Joe Schmidt’s selections.
The Wallabies head coach has made several tough decisions in his selection process, particularly with the call to overlook overseas-based players.
Just two uncapped players feature in the 36-man squad, while seven players have been added as training cover.
Prior to the three-Test Series against the British and Irish Lions, Australia will tackle Fiji, while the Wallabies plan to release some players from the squad to feature for their Super Rugby Pacific clubs against the touring side.
Winners
Will Skelton
A rather unsurprising selection considering the quality in performance and leadership attributes that he adds to the squad. Will Skelton was not selected by Schmidt at this stage last year, but earns a recall this time around.
The powerhouse second-rower was perhaps aided by the fact that La Rochelle failed to qualify for the Top 14 knockout stages, allowing for an earlier return to Australia this time around.
His availability is also a huge boost for the Wallabies as he provides a real point of difference in the lock position compared to the other second-rowers in the squad and having played the last eight years in the northern hemisphere, he brings back valuable insight on some of the players Schmidt’s charges will come up against.
Noah Lolesio
Japan-bound Noah Lolesio was under threat of missing the squad after making the decision to sign a contract abroad, with Schmidt prioritising players who have committed their future to Rugby Australia.
Added to that, Lolesio has had his fair share of injury concerns during the latter stages of the Super Rugby Pacific season with the Brumbies. However, his inclusion just highlights his importance to the squad.
He played all but one of the Wallabies of November internationals last year as well as the three mid-year internationals and every game of the Rugby Championship.
Langi Gleeson
Schmidt has done a real U-turn on his decision not to select players who would be leaving Australian shores at the end of the season, with Montpellier-bound Langi Gleeson joining Lolesio in the squad.
Gleeson has been in sublime form during Super Rugby Pacific and earns a deserved call-up to the squad ahead of the Lions series, with his performances making it difficult for the Wallabies boss to overlook him.
He is also aided by the number of injuries in the loose trio – more on that later – but Schmidt also needed to keep some continuity in his selections from 2024 to 2025 and the back-rower was a regular feature on the bench for the Wallabies and made telling impacts in big Test matches.
Tom Robertson
While the Wallabies boss has stuck with many of the same selections that impressed for him last year, he has found space to reward form and that is very much the case for Western Force utility prop Tom Robertson.
Robertson provides cover on both sides of the scrum despite spending much of the Super Rugby Pacific season at tighthead and adds much-needed experience to the squad with 31 international caps.
The scrum was a real area of concern for Australia in multiple Tests last year and the addition of the 30-year-old could go a long way in shoring up the set-piece.
Darcy Swain recall
On the topic of the set-piece, Darcy Swain’s recall to the Wallabies set-up is surely because of his and Jeremy Williams’ excellence at lineout time. The two second-rowers won a joint Super Rugby high of steals at the set-piece, while the Force also had the best lineout success in the competition.
Swain’s discipline has been a troublesome part of his game in recent seasons, but he showed serious improvement in that area of his performances in 2025, conceding an acceptable 10 penalties in his 14 appearances and was not yellow or red carded throughout this campaign.
The 27-year-old has always had the physical attributes to be a quality second-rower, but he looks to be finally becoming the finished product being a mighty lineout threat and combining that vastly improved discipline.
Uncapped duo
As mentioned above, Schmidt has largely stuck with the same players that did well for him last year, but still has space for two uncapped players in Western Force back-rower Nick Champion de Crespigny and ACT Brumbies flyer Corey Toole.
The experienced head coach explained that Champion de Crespigny has earned a call-up for some of the same reasons that Swain has been recalled. The Force’s lineout was sublime throughout the Super Rugby Pacific season and the loose forward played a key role in its success. Additionally, he adds versatility in the loose forwards as he can slot in all three positions.
As for Toole, he has been sensational for the Brumbies and will be eager to finally get that elusive Test debut after spending time with the squad last year. He crossed for 11 tries in 16 appearances for the Canberra-based outfit this year and beat several sterling speedsters in Australia for a place in the squad.
Western Force seven and B&I Lions
There have been serious concerns about how competitive the Australian Super Rugby Pacific teams will be against the British and Irish Lions with Schmidt previously stating that several top players won’t be available for the mid-week matches.
“To come all that way to play an inadequate side is a betrayal of an invitation to the Lions and this time they really should have put their foot down and had the strengths of opponents written into the tour contract. They did not. Why?” Veteran journalist Stephen Jones wrote in his Sunday Times column.
“Otherwise, the Lions should have gone elsewhere. It is high time that they worked hard to develop another touring location so that they can, blatantly, hold to ransom one of the regular hosts. Sometimes, there just is no gratitude.”
However, Schmidt has confirmed that a handful of Force players will be available for selection for the Lions’ first touring match, they are De Crespigny, Dylan Pietsch, Tom Robertson, Swain and Nic White.
Ben Donaldson, Harry Potter, Jeremy Williams, and Carlo Tizzano were crucial players for the Force this season, but won’t be available to the club for the clash against the touring team, which is a disappointment, but frankly, they could all well be featuring in the matchday 23 against Fiji.
Losers
Overlooked Japan stars
Schmidt has been reluctant to get overseas players into his squad during his tenure with the Wallabies but made exceptions last year with the world-class talents of Marika Koroibete and Samu Kerevi. The latter enjoyed another excellent season in Japan and was voted as the Urayasu D-Rocks’ Players’ Player of the Season and despite returning to Australia early and training with the Wallabies this month, he has still been overlooked.
Kerevi was red-carded in his only appearance for the Wallabies last year which may well have influenced the coaching staff’s decision but there is also depth in the midfield with the likes of Len Ikitau, Hunter Paisami, and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii.
Schmidt revealed that he had talks with the aforementioned duo as well as Bernard Foley, who starred for Kubota Spears who reached the Japan Rugby League One final, but has opted against selected them.
James O’Connor
Another veteran back based overseas who has been snubbed. Perhaps James O’Connor could come into the mix following his involvement in the Super Rugby Pacific final with the Crusaders with Schmidt admitting that the value of players coaching their peers and passing on knowledge.
O’Connor has made no secret of his desire to play against the British and Irish Lions and while this is a setback, his dream of doing so is perhaps not entirely crushed just yet.
Lolesio looks to be the clear front-runner for the role with Donaldson and Tom Lynagh competing for the bench role but if there were to be one injury in the position, the stocks are quite thin. O’Connor would also provide utility value and has shown this year what he can do off the bench.
Injured trio
Unfortunately, injuries come with the territory of being a professional sportsman and for Charlie Cale, Massimo De Lutiis and Liam Wright, their setbacks have come at the worst time.
Wright is particularly unlucky, as he was Schmidt’s first captain last year but didn’t get the opportunity to lead the side then due to injury and has been plagued since then. He played just twice for the Queensland Reds this season and looks set to miss the Lions series.
Tom Hooper
While Lolesio and Gleeson have been selected despite their pending departures abroad, the same luxury has not been afforded to Exeter Chiefs-bound Tom Hooper.
He was also overlooked for much of last year after being one of the few standouts for the Wallabies under Eddie Jones at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
However, he took his performances to another level this year in Super Rugby and was perhaps the form Australian in the competition, so much so that he came in second place in the voting for the Player of the Year to Ardie Savea.
That award was decided by the captains and coaches of the Super Rugby Pacific teams and while they recognised his form, it was not enough to convince Schmidt and his coaching team.
Snubbed trio
Lastly, Schmidt has left out some serious heft when selecting his pack with Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Seru Uru and Brandon Paenga-Amosa all missing out despite featuring on the end-of-year tour.
Salakaia-Loto struggled with injuries earlier in the season while Swain looks to have usurped him in the pecking order. Still considering his pedigree and experience, he could well earn a call-up after featuring for the Reds against the Lions. Meanwhile, Uru enjoyed a fine Super Rugby Pacific campaign. He featured twice for the Wallabies last year, against Wales and South Africa, but he has not been recalled for the first squad in 2025.
