Wallabies team: Fly-half crisis worsens as Joe Schmidt hands Brumbies ace the reins against France
Declan Meredith and an inset of Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt.
Declan Meredith will make his Wallabies Test debut against France on Saturday in Brisbane.
The Brumbies pivot gets the nod for the number 10 jersey with both Carter Gordon and Ben Donaldson ruled out through injury, the former suffering a calf strain and the latter a contusion.
Joe Schmidt’s penultimate Wallabies Test
The clash against Les Bleus is the second-to-last match that Joe Schmidt will oversee before handing over the reins to Les Kiss, and the New Zealander has kept changes to a minimum, with Meredith being one of two changes to the starting XV. Tom Wright shifts into the starting full-back position because of the injuries at fly-half, with Jock Campbell moving to the bench in order to cover full-back and the playmaker position.
Max Jorgensen and Dylan Pietsch are again selected on the wings with Len Ikitau and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii partnering up in the midfield once again.
Meredith debuts with his Brumbies teammate, Ryan Lonergan, at scrum-half while Schmidt has named an unchanged pack. Harry Wilson captains the side from the number eight jersey with Fraser McReight at openside flanker and Rob Valetini at blindside.
Josh Canham and Jeremy Williams pair up in the locks once again whilst Josh Nasser packs down in the middle of the front-row with tighthead Allan Alaalatoa and loosehead Angus Bell either side of him. Western Force hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Wallabies appearance record holder James Slipper and Paris-based Taniela Tupou make up a highly experienced replacement front-row.
Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust.
Lachlan Shaw retains his position amongst the replacements after his Test debut last week, while Nick Champion de Crespigny is named on the bench as forward cover, as Tom Hooper has also been ruled out through injury.
Tate McDermott provides cover at scrum-half, with Campbell and Filipo Daugunu selected to finalise the matchday 23.
“The group has reset this week in Brisbane after what was a tough ending to the first game of the Nations Championship,” Wallabies coach Schmidt said.
“We have worked hard on continuing to improve after missing some vital opportunities last weekend. We know we can be better on Saturday, and we know that we will need to be against the back-to-back Six Nations Champions.”
Australia team v France
Wallabies: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Dylan Pietsch, 10 Declan Meredith, 9 Ryan Lonergan, 8 Harry Wilson (c), 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Josh Canham, 4 Jeremy Williams, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Josh Nasser, 1 Angus Bell
Replacements: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 James Slipper, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Lachlan Shaw, 20 Nick Champion de Crespigny, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Jock Campbell, 23 Filipo Daugunu
Date: Saturday, 11 July, 2026
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Kick-off: 17:40 (local Brisbane), 08:40 (UK), 09:40 (France), 09:40 (South Africa), 17:40 (AEST), 19:40 (New Zealand), 04:40 (Argentina), 16:40 (JST), 03:40 (EDT)
Referee: Karl Dickson (RFU)
Assistant Referees: Christophe Ridley (RFU) and Katsuki Furuse (JRFU)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (RFU)
FPRO: Glenn Newman (NZR)
Broadcasters: ITV (United Kingdom), TF1 (France), Virgin Media Television (Republic of Ireland), Sky Italia (Italy), Wowow (Japan), Sky Sport (New Zealand), Nine Network / Stan Sport (Australia), SuperSport (South Africa)
READ MORE: World Rugby Rankings: Scotland equal best-ever position as All Blacks hunt down Springboks