Wallabies team: Joseph Suaalii boost for Joe Schmidt but key injuries disrupt hosts in British and Irish Lions dress rehearsal
Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt and star back Joseph Suaalii.
Australia have been boosted by the return from injury of Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and Max Jorgensen for their clash against Fiji this weekend.
In their only Test ahead of the British and Irish Lions series, head coach Joe Schmidt has effectively named his strongest available side.
However, they are without gargantuan forwards Rob Valetini and Will Skelton, who as reported earlier in the week have picked up injuries.
Valetini’s last game was on June 14, while Skelton’s was the week prior, which raises fears of some players going into the contest with the Lions undercooked.
It is why the return of Suaalii, whose most recent appearance was in early May, and Jorgensen (late-March) are so important for the Wallabies.
They are part of a gifted backline which sees the former line up alongside Len Ikitau at centre and the latter feature in a back three that contains Tom Wright and Harry Potter.
Change to overseas policy
Schmidt has also decided to roll back on his previous policy of not selecting players who are committed overseas.
That is evident at fly-half, where Japan-bound Noah Lolesio has been picked, and at blindside flanker, with Langi Gleeson, who has signed for Montpellier, starting in place of the injured Valetini.
The future Exeter Chiefs player Tom Hooper has also made the squad, situated in the 19 shirt which was where Skelton was initially pencilled in.
Elsewhere, another concerning injury sees Jake Gordon miss the Fiji Test and as a result Tate McDermott takes that slot at scrum-half.
Up front, Harry Wilson captains the side from number eight, and he is joined in the loose trio by Reds team-mate Fraser McReight.
The front five sees Jeremy Williams and Nick Frost combine at lock, while Allan Alaalatoa, Dave Porecki and James Slipper are the front-row combination.
Schmidt has gone for a 5-3 split on the bench with Billy Pollard, Angus Bell, Zane Nonggorr and Carlo Tizzano joining Hooper as forward cover, while Nic White, Ben Donaldson and Filipo Daugunu are the backline replacements.
“The whole squad has worked hard on and off the field and reconnected well with a short runway from our assembly through to the Test on Sunday against Fiji,” Schmidt said.
“I think the players and the wider management are keen to get underway, especially in front of a big crowd here in Newcastle, as we kick off an exciting but incredibly demanding 2025 Test match schedule.”
Wallabies team to face Fiji
Wallabies: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Harry Potter, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Max Jorgensen, 10 Noah Lolesio, 9 Tate McDermott, 8 Harry Wilson (c), 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Langi Gleeson, 5 Jeremy Williams, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 David Porecki, 1 James Slipper
Replacements: 16 Billy Pollard, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Tom Hooper, 20 Carlo Tizzano, 21 Nic White, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Filipo Daugunu
Date: Sunday, July 6
Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
Kick-off: 13:30 AEST (04:30 BST, 03:30 GMT)
Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant referees: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Angus Mabey (New Zealand)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
FPRO: Richard Kelly (New Zealand)
