Schmidt turns to experience after Wallabies suffer more injury drama

The Wallabies have suffered more bad news on the injury front after injured Queensland stars Hunter Paisami and Fraser McReight were ruled out of the two-Test tour of Argentina.

Paisami left the field with a leg injury in the Wallabies’ loss to the Springboks in Perth on Saturday, and the hard-running midfielder is set to miss the remainder of the Rugby Championship.

There was no call-up for the Japan-based Samu Kerevi, meaning Paisami’s spot in the midfield will likely be taken by one of two uncapped rookies, with David Feliuai and Hamish Stewart both included in Joe Schmidt’s 35-man squad.

McReight missed the two Tests against South Africa after undergoing surgery on a thumb injury, but there were hopes the flanker would be fit to return on the Argentina tour, which will see the Wallabies play in La Plata on September 1 and in Santa Fe on September 8.

But the star flanker was named among the injured troops on Schmidt’s list and will not depart with the team on Friday. Luke Reimer was also left out of the squad, meaning Schmidt will gamble by having just one specialist open-side flanker on the tour. Jeremy Williams and Tom Hooper are seen as potential back-row options.

Schmidt bolstered his front-row stocks for the two-game trip by calling up experienced Force pair Tom Robertson and Brandon Paenga-Amosa – both after long absences from the Test arena.

Hunter Paisami on the charge against Wales.Credit: Getty Images

After debuting in 2018, Paenga-Amosa played his last Test for the Wallabies in 2021 before moving to France to play for Montpellier, but the 28-year-old recently returned to Australia and signed with the Force for next season. He has replaced Brumbies hooker Billy Pollard in the Wallabies squad.

Thirty-one cap prop Robertson, 29, was on track for the Wallabies’ Rugby World Cup campaign in 2023 but suffered a season-ending ACL injury. He spent the year on sabbatical at Oxford University, where the former medical student completed Master of Public Policy (in health) and played for the famous university against Cambridge in the Varsity match in March.

A versatile, two-side prop, Robertson returned to the Force and spent last week in camp with the Wallabies.

After missing two Tests due to the death of his father, Taniela Tupou will travel with the side to Argentina, and Langi Gleeson also returns from an ankle injury.

Nick Frost returns after a concussion stand-down, and Reds and former Rebels lock Josh Canham was also named after initially missing the Wallabies’ squad for the July series.

Along with Pollard and Reimer, Zane Nonggorr and Seru Uru were also left out of the squad.

The Pumas will be formidable opponents, after recently beating the All Blacks in Wellington. The Argentinians subsequently lost heavily at Eden Park but their last home game against the Wallabies ended with a record 48-17 victory in San Juan.

The Pumas, under former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, also downed the Wallabies 34-31 in Sydney last year before going on to make the Rugby World Cup semi-finals. Cheika moved on after the tournament but his successor Felipe Contepomi has enjoyed success early.

“It’s been a challenging couple of weeks but as a coaching group we are keen to continue trying to help a mostly consistent group go forward,” Schmidt said in a statement.

“The Pumas have a talented and robust squad, which, along with the travel, will require further improvement from our squad.”

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