Wallabies squad: Schmidt has done an Eddie, he’s just sticking around to see it unfold

Despite all the buzz around James O’Connor’s resurgence across the ditch, Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt stuck to his guns on Thursday – the next six weeks will determine whether that decision was smart or stupid.

Schmidt on Thursday named a 36-man Wallabies squad that sent a profound message to Noah Lolesio, Ben Donaldson and Tom Lynagh, that being that Schmidt believes it’s time to move on from the old guard — for good.

If ever there was a series a rugby coach might err on the side of the experience when it comes to selection, it is for a visit from the British & Irish Lions. And while Schmidt’s group is, for now, only preparing for the one-off Test with Fiji, without an injury to either of the two fly-halves Schmidt selects for that game in a fortnight’s time, it’s hard to see how O’Connor, or perhaps Bernard Foley, will feature against the tourists.

Lynagh and Lolesio have both suffered head knocks this season, so a cameo from one of the Wallaby veterans is not completely beyond the realms of possibility – but Schmidt’s message is for now emphatic: these are my 10s and I am sticking with them.

“We’ve invested in three guys in that 10 spot and we felt trying to balance things up, we’re going to keep investing in those guys,” Schmidt told reporters in Sydney on Thursday afternoon.

“What I like about those players is they were investing in themselves really well in our environment last year. I think we saw all three of them make improvements to their game, increase their own confidence to drive the game, and to communicate the game to other players.

“We didn’t want to interrupt that. I’m not saying we got it right, I’m just saying that’s what we chose to do.”

Coincidentally, this was the approach former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones took to the 2023 Rugby World Cup when he selected only Carter Gordon and Donaldson as No. 10 options. That is, of course, before Jones up and left 11 months into a five-year deal.

And, after he started in 11 of the Wallabies 13 Tests last year, it is clear that Lolesio is the man Schmidt wants to start against the Lions. Beyond that, given his decision to head offshore, Lolesio’s future in the gold jersey is anything but secure.

But Lolesio’s improvement across the 2024 Test season, and the way he built into Brumbies’ Super Rugby 2025 after an early-season injury, have him as the clear standout candidate, at least in Schmidt’s mind.

Whether he would benefit by having a player like O’Connor behind him, adding surety and experience off the bench, as Quade Cooper suggested in a column for News Corp last week, may end up being one of the defining talking points of the tour.

Elsewhere, Schmidt’s squad was as pragmatic as you would expect it to be. He rewarded the form of Langi Gleeson and Tom Hooper, the duo’s consistently-strong performances so good that they demanded selection even when they too had committed their futures offshore.

Schmidt did opt for experience in retaining veteran scrum-half Nic White ahead of the Brumbies’ Ryan Lonergan, though the ACT’s long wait for a Test call-up surely cannot be too far away.

The selection of Will Skelton among his locking quartet was inevitable, such is the La Rochelle enforcer’s sheer size, presence and status as a trophy winner. Skelton looked fit when speaking to media on Thursday and genuinely motivated by the opportunity and task that lies ahead of the Wallabies.

Skelton is a winner, and in an Australia group that has only a few one-off Test trophies to show for itself, the importance of the gigantic lock’s club success cannot be understated.

“Weight-wise, massive,” Alaalatoa said of Skelton’s power at scrum time. “But I think just also the value that he adds from his experience, he’s been a part of some world-class teams and won some trophies there [with Saracens and La Rochelle].

“Physically he’s massive on the field, but it’s also what he adds off the field, around his leadership and experience; the way he is able to galvanise a group is very valuable.”

At the other end of the experience spectrum is Nick Champion De Crespigny, a player for those who do not engage with Shute Shield rugby, nor the Top 14 at any great length, will not have heard of before the start of this year.

But so tough, so physically abrasive were Champion De Crespigny’s performances for the Western Force this year, that the back-rower earned himself a maiden Wallabies call-up and the tag of squad “bolter”.

He will get the chance to impress Schmidt further when he lines up for the Force against the Lions, alongside Wallabies squad members Darcy Swain, Nic White and Tom Robertson, on Saturday week.

And there is also the opportunity for any player to mount a compelling case for selection by starring against the Lions for their Super Rugby franchise, by turning in an individual performance that truly worries the tourists.

That is unless you’re James O’Connor or Bernard Foley, who must rely on an opportunity with the AUNZ Invitational squad, which in the case of the former it is understood will not transpire.

The usually pragmatic Schmidt is all in on Australia’s playmaking future, history will tell whether he should have considered its past.

Source: espn.com