Superstar teen set for long-awaited Wallabies debut for second Springboks test in Perth
The Wallabies will finally unleash one of the most exciting youngsters in Australian rugby as the world champion Springboks swing the axe ahead of their Perth test.
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Teenager Max Jorgensen is set to make his Test debut for the Wallabies this week, getting a spot on the bench of a revamped squad to take on South Africa in Perth.
The 19-year-old outside back, who rejected an offer to join NRL club Sydney Roosters to re-sign with Australian rugby on a two-year deal worth nearly $1 million in March, now gets his chance in gold.
Jorgensen was taken to the World Cup by previous coach Eddie Jones and would likely have debuted during the tournament in France, only to suffer a fracture in his leg and return home without playing a game.
He’s now being given a chance by Joe Schmidt in one of the toughest challenges of all, a rampant world champion Springboks team.
Despite making 10 changes to the side that hammered Australia last week in Brisbane, the Boks will still field a tremendously strong and gifted squad that is likely to receive significant support at Optus Stadium, as they did at Suncorp Stadium last Saturday.
Marika Koroibete is set to come straight into the starting side as a replacement for the injured Filipo Daugunu, while Nic White is understood to be replacing halfback Jake Gordon, who started last week but is set to miss the 23-man squad altogether following an errant kicking performance.
Tate McDermott and Tom Lynagh are again set to come off the bench to support White and starting five-eighth Noah Lolesio.
The Wallabies team will be formally announced on Thursday afternoon.
SPRINGBOKS, WALLABIES, DISMISS ‘B-TEAM’ FARCE
The Boks have completely overhauled their team, with coach Rassie Erasmus resting captain Siya Kolisi, last week’s double try-scorer Kurt-Lee Arendse, centre Damian de Allende, halfback Cobus Reinach, hooker Bongi Mbonambi, fullback Willie le Roux, and props Frans Malherbe and Gerhard Steenekamp.
Halfback Morne van den Berg and lock Ruan Nortje will make their Test debuts in a side captained by lock Salmaan Moerat.
In all, 10 changes have been made to the team which thumped the Wallabies at the first sold-out Suncorp Stadium test match in a decade last week.
But Erasmus dismissed the notion he was fielding a B team.
“There are still 14 Rugby World Cup winners in there and only two guys that are earning first starts,” Erasmus said.
“This is not disrespect to Australia and this is not us feeling nonchalant about the game, this is us picking a team that we feel is good enough to still get us the win against a tough Wallabies team that wants to bounce back.
“I think if this week’s team played against the Springboks team that beat the Wallabies last week, they would give them a hell of a go.
“It is going to be interesting to see who steps up in the Test arena, in Perth where there are a lot of South African supporters and Australian supporters too.
“But we trust every one of the players selected and, hopefully, we can get the result.
“It is a bit of a slap in the face for the guys playing this weekend if we think that they are not as good as the guys that played last weekend. We trust them fully.
“We have full faith in the younger generation of players coming through, and we feel this is the right time to test them against an Australian outfit that will be desperate to bounce back strongly from last weekend.”
Second-row wrecking ball Lukhan Salakaia-Loto quashed suggestions the Springboks disrespected the Wallabies.
Moerat captains the side for just the second time, with two debutants named in a Springboks starting squad that looks more like the team that played minnows Portugal last month than a legitimate first XV.
“They’ve still got 14 World Cup winners in their squad, and they’re back-to-back World Cup winners,” Salakaia-Loto said at a training session with UFC fighters in Perth on Wednesday.
“You don’t get that without depth.
“It’s no disrespect at all. We’ve got a tough match to win on the weekend, and that’s a challenge for us.”
Salakaia-Loto said the new look Boks side hasn’t been discussed at all within Wallabies camp.
“No. Nothing changes for us,” he said. “It’s 23 green and gold jerseys we’ve gotta face and they’re all World Cup champions.
“It doesn’t matter who you face, it’s gonna be a tough challenge and we expect nothing less from them.
“Their game plan hasn’t changed over the last eight years. The challenge is how to stop that, and that’s something we’re up for this week.”
In what sometimes felt like an away game given the huge South African fan turnout, the Wallabies were blown off the paddock at Suncorp Stadium by a typically physical Springboks side last week.
South Africa dominated the scrum and employed a revolutionary new lineout technique as poor discipline from Australia saw the visitors score a record-equalling win on Aussie soil.
New Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt said he wouldn’t panic and make wholesale changes for the second Test, but there have been some brutal team talks this week.
“It’s been a tough week for us,” Salakaia-Loto said. “We’ve worked hard, so we’re looking to do more of our game plan this weekend and put on a performance our fans can be proud of.
“A week is a long time in sport, and it’s no easy feat coming up against the World Champs, but we just need to do our job better individually and as a collective.
“The responsibility is on us as players. We’ve got the right framework and game plan to take it to these guys, and as players, we’ve just gotta be better.”
Meanwhile, Perth UFC star Jack della Maddalena – who was a talented age group rugby union player before making the switch to MMA – says plenty of the skills he learned in union apply to fighting.
“I played a lot of rugby until I was about 18 and when I transitioned to MMA there was a lot of crossover stuff,” he told this masthead after teaching the Wallabies a few tricks of the trade at Scrappy MMA Gym in Perth. “There was a lot of stuff around the ruck, using your base and hips.
“I felt like there was a solid transition where a lot of the stuff naturally made sense.”
SPRINGBOKS (15-1): Aphelele Fassi, Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Lukhanyo Am, Makazole Mapimpi, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Morne van den Berg, Elrigh Louw, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, Salmaan Moerat, Thomas du Toit, Johan Grobbelaar, Jan-Hendrik Wessels
Reserves: Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche, Vincent Koch, Eben Etzebeth, Kwagga Smith, Grant Williams, Manie Libbok, Handre Pollard.
Referee: Paul Williams (NZ).
Originally published as Superstar teen set for long-awaited Wallabies debut for second Springboks test in Perth
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