Wallabies team: Joe Schmidt forced to name FIFTH different captain of his tenure as three changes made for Boks clash
Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt and Fraser McReight hugging Nic White after victory over Springboks.
Joe Schmidt has been forced to make three changes for the Wallabies’ second clash against the Springboks in the 2025 Rugby Championship.
After stunning the back-to-back world champions 38-22 in Johannesburg, they will be looking to repeat the feat in Cape Town.
However, that victory came at a cost with James Slipper, captain Harry Wilson and Dylan Pietsch being ruled out of this weekend’s match.
Thankfully for Schmidt, Wilson’s absence has been offset by the return of Rob Valetini, who will play for the first time since the second British and Irish Lions Test.
Change in Wallabies captain
He lines up at number eight, joining Tom Hooper and Fraser McReight, who takes over the captaincy to become the fifth different skipper since July 2024, in the loose trio.
Ahead of them at lock is Will Skelton and Nick Frost while in the front-row, Tom Robertson comes in for Slipper and combines with Billy Pollard and Taniela Tupou.
Behind the scrum, there is one alteration due to Pietsch’s broken jaw as Corey Toole is named on the left wing for his Wallabies debut.
Toole has big shoes to fill having watched Pietsch impress over the past two Tests against the Lions and the Springboks.
He has slightly more speed, however, and forms a lightning quick back three alongside Tom Wright and Max Jorgensen.
Elsewhere, it remains unchanged for Australia as Len Ikitau once again partners Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii in an exciting midfield duo and James O’Connor is alongside Nic White in an experienced half-back pairing.
“The squad as a whole has recovered pretty well from what was a very draining and physical Test match on the highveld last week,” Australia’s head coach said ahead of their Rugby Championship encounter.
“We struggled to contain a powerhouse Springbok start last weekend and we know that we have to improve leading into what’s likely to be a bruising encounter in Cape Town on Saturday night.”
Schmidt has also slightly tweaked the bench with Nick Champion de Crespigny coming in for Langi Gleeson in the 20 jersey.
Champion de Crespigny was initially named among the replacements last weekend but missed out when the head coach switched from a 6-2 to a 5-3 late on, but he gets his opportunity in Cape Town.
The Wallabies have once again gone with the traditional bench split for Saturday with Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Angus Bell, Zane Nonggorr and Jeremy Williams the other forward cover, while Tate McDermott, Tane Edmed and Andrew Kellaway are the backline replacements.
Wallabies side to face the Springboks
Wallabies: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Corey Toole, 10 James O’Connor, 9 Nic White, 8 Rob Valetini, 7 Fraser McReight (c), 6 Tom Hooper, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Billy Pollard, 1 Tom Robertson
Replacements: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Jeremy Williams, 20 Nick Champion de Crespigny, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Tane Edmed, 23 Andrew Kellaway
Date: Saturday, August 23
Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 17:10 local time (01:10 AEST Sunday, 16:10 BST, 15:10 GMT)
Referee: James Doleman (NZR)
Assistant referees: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR), Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)
TMO: Richard Kelly (RA)
FPRO: Tual Trainini (FFR)
