McReight, Paisami return for Bledisloe series as Schmidt sticks solid with Wallabies
By Iain Payten
The Wallabies will be bolstered by the returns of Fraser McReight and Hunter Paisami for the Bledisloe Cup series against New Zealand, but coach Joe Schmidt has otherwise elected to stick solid with most of the squad from the tumultuous tour of Argentina.
In the wake of a two-Test swing that saw the Wallabies beat Argentina in La Plata, and then get thumped by a record score in Santa Fe, Schmidt named a largely unchanged 36-man squad for the two-Test series against the All Blacks, beginning in Sydney next week.
The size of the 67-27 defeat did not prompt Schmidt to swing the selection axe, with the only omission coming in the form of lock Angus Blyth, who didn’t play in the Test. There were no SOS selections of overseas players such as Will Skelton, either.
McReight returns to the squad after hand surgery that has seen him miss four Rugby Championship fixtures so far. The Queensland flanker was a star performer for the Wallabies in the July Test series against Wales and Georgia, but he has been capably replaced in the No.7 jersey by Carlo Tizzano, the young flanker from the Western Force.
Tizzano has made a huge impact in his first four Tests. He leads the competition for tackles with 74, and, incredibly, is yet to miss a tackle. Whether McReight returns to the starting team or via the bench will be an interesting selection choice for Schmidt.
Fraser McReight crashes over for a try against Georgia.Credit: Getty Images
Paisami returns after injuring a knee against the Springboks in Perth. He, too, has been well covered by Hamish Stewart, in his first two Tests, but the return of the powerhouse centre into the starting side would seem a little more straight-forward.
Liam Wright (shoulder), Filipo Daugunu (leg) and Rob Leota (hamstring) remain on the injured list.
“After getting a much-needed win in the first Test, then making a good start in the second Test, we had a very disappointing final 40 minutes in Argentina,” Schmidt said.
“The upcoming Bledisloe Test in Sydney offers a great opportunity to turn that poor finish around in front of what looks like being another big home crowd.“
Wallabies squad for the Bledisloe Cup series
Forwards (19) Allan Alaalatoa (#896, West Harbour Juniors)
Angus Bell (#940, Hunters Hill Rugby Club)
Josh Canham (#987, Harlequin Junior Rugby Club)
Matt Faessler (#969, USQ Saints) Nick Frost (#953, Hornsby Lions)
Langi Gleeson (#960, Harbord Harlequins)
Tom Hooper (#964, Bathurst Bulldogs)
Isaac Kailea (#975, Harlequin Junior Rugby Club)
Fraser McReight (#937, Albany Creek Brumbies)
Josh Nasser (#979, Easts Rugby (Brisbane))
Brandon Paenga-Amosa (#918, Southern Districts)
Tom Robertson (#898, Dubbo Kangaroos)
Lukhan Salakaia-Loto (#914, Randwick)
James Slipper (#843, Bond Pirates)
Carlo Tizzano (#982, University of Western Australia)
Taniela Tupou (#917, Brothers Rugby)
Rob Valetini (#929, Harlequin Junior Rugby Club)
Jeremy Williams (#973, Wahroonga Tigers)
Harry Wilson (#933, Gunnedah Red Devils)
Backs (17)
Ben Donaldson (#962, Clovelly Eagles)
David Feliuai (uncapped, Sunnybank Dragons)
Josh Flook (#972, Brothers Rugby)
Jake Gordon (#925, Canterbury Juniors)
Len Ikitau (#944, Tuggeranong Vikings)
Max Jorgensen (#984, Balmain Wolves)
Andrew Kellaway (#943, Hunters Hill Rugby Club)
Marika Koroibete (#913, Nasinu Secondary School, Fiji)
Noah Lolesio (#934, Tuggeranong Vikings)
Tom Lynagh (#977, University of Queensland)
Tate McDermott (#936, Flinders Rugby Club)
Hunter Paisami (#932, Harlequin Junior Rugby Club)
Dylan Pietsch (#978, Leeton Phantoms)
Hamish Stewart (#986, Toowoomba Bears)
Corey Toole (uncapped, Wagga Waratahs)
Nic White (#875, Maitland Blacks)
Tom Wright (#939, Clovelly Eagles)
Unavailable for selection
Kurtley Beale
Charlie Cale
Filipo Daugunu
Harry Johnson-Holmes
Bayley Kuenzle
Rob Leota
Lachlan Lonergan
David Porecki
Blake Schoupp
Liam Wright
‘Lucky loser’ finals system to feature in Super Rugby restructure
Super Rugby Pacific will adopt a six-team finals series – with a “lucky loser” still proceeding to the semi-finals – and ditch Super Round in a new 11-team competition structure in 2025.
The recent closure of the Melbourne Rebels forced Super Rugby Pacific officials to come up with a new competition format for next year, and the plans were finalised at a Super Rugby summit in Auckland this week, featuring coaches and chief executives from all teams.
With no appetite to keep even numbers by adding a new team or cutting another, Super Rugby Pacific will be played with 11 teams and have an extra round added, shifting from 15 to 16 regular season rounds.
Teams will still only play 14 regular season games - seven home and seven away - but have two byes per season and play four “rival” teams twice.
Super Round will be shelved in 2025, according to informed sources. But, as reported, there are plans for Super Round to return in 2026 and be played around an ANZAC Test weekend in Perth.
The biggest change will come in a finals shake-up, where the contentious system of eight teams of 12 making the finals finally became untenable with 11. As forecast, the new competition structure has been stripped back to six teams.
Max Jorgensen runs the ball for the Wartatahs against the Crusaders.Credit: Getty
The first weekend will see three qualifying finals - 1 v 6, 2 v 5 and 3 v 4 - but with only three winners, a fourth team to fill out the semi-finals has to be found. That spot will be claimed by a “lucky loser” - the highest-seeded team to lose in the qualifying finals.
How a finals weekend will be scheduled remains to be seen but if the 3v 4 qualifying final is the last one played, it could open a can of worms for organisers. Based on the historical results, there is a strong chance the 3 v 4 qualifier final would be inconsequential, with both teams progressing regardless of the result. Theoretically, the 3rd and 4th-seeded teams could even choose to rest players.
Meanwhile, Wallaroos coach Jo Yapp has named three debutants to take on Ireland in Belfast on Saturday night, with Alapeta Ngauamo, Lucy Dinnen and Tiarah Minns all included on the bench.
On a two-Test tour that also includes a clash with Wales, the Wallaroos meet Ireland for the first time since 2017.
Starting prop Brianna Hoy suffered an ACL injury on Tuesday and is returning home. She joins fellow forward Piper Duck on the injury list.
WALLAROOS TEAM LIST v Ireland, Kingspan Stadium, Belfast (11:30pm AEST)
1. Bridie O’Gorman (#180 - Sydney University) – 22 caps
2. Ashley Marsters (#117 - Booroondarra) – 29 caps
3. Eva Karpani (#171 - Onkaparinga) – 26 caps
4. Kaitlan Leaney (#179 - CSU Marlins) – 20 caps
5. Michaela Leonard (#168 - Tuggeranong Vikings) – 27 caps
6. Siokapesi Palu (c) (#194 - Rockdale Rangers) – 11 caps
7. Leilani Nathan (#202 - Hamilton Hawks) – 7 caps
8. Tabua Tuinakauvadra (#200 - Tuggeranong Vikings) – 6 caps
9. Natalie Wright (#213 - Wests Bulldogs) – 2 caps
10. Faitala Moleka (#199 - Blacktown Scorpions) – 11 caps
11. Desiree Miller (#204 - Eastern Suburbs) – 7 caps
12. Cecilia Smith (#190 - Leeton Dianas) – 15 caps
13. Georgina Friedrichs (#178 - Wests Bulldogs) – 24 caps
14. Maya Stewart (#196 - Nelson Bay Gropers) – 11 caps
15. Lori Cramer (#172 - University of Queensland) – 23 caps
Reserves: Tiarna Molloy, Alapeta Ngauamo*, Lydia Kavoa, Tiarah Minns*, Lucy Dinnen* , Layne Morgan, Arabella McKenzie, Biola Dawa
*Uncapped
WALLAROOS TOUR OF IRELAND AND WALES
- Saturday September 14 - Australia v Ireland at Kingspan Stadium, Belfast (11:30pm AEST)
- Saturday, September 21 - Australia v Wales at Rodney Parade, Newport (4:00am AEST)
WALLAROOS WXV SCHEDULE
- Saturday, September 28 - Australia v Wales at DHL Stadium, Cape Town (8:30pm AEST)
- Sunday, October 6 - Australia v South Africa at Athlone Stadium, Cape Town (1:00am AEST)
- Sunday, October 13 - Australia v Scotland at Athlone Stadium, Cape Town (2:00am AEDT)
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