Men for the job: What we learnt from the Wallabies’ spring tour squad

When Joe Schmidt took over from Eddie Jones there was a presumption the New Zealander would swiftly restore a sense of normality to the Wallabies.

Jones had gone out with a madcap plunge on youth at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, which resulted in a starting XV with just 455 Test caps in the crunch game against Wales – and James Slipper held 132 of them.

But while Schmidt did recall a few Jones’ discards in his first squad for the July Test, he also defied expectation and kept on smashing the “new” button. Schmidt named 13 uncapped players in his first squad, and by late August had handed out 16 debuts – the most since 1962.

By late August, Schmidt had finished auditioning and finally settled on his favoured troops. And this week, with the naming of a Wallabies’ squad for the spring tour, we appear to have finally landed back in the world of normality.

Minus a shiny new recruit from rugby league, Schmidt’s 34-man squad has the look of a settled group of grown-ups, deliberately picked to go into battle with the Home Nations, not just gain experience.

There are no uncapped players among the 19 forwards, and just three in the backs: Joseph Suaalii, Tane Edmed and Harry Potter. But even those three are not rookies, with 67 NRL games, 54 Super Rugby-NPC games and 67 Premiership games on their respective CVs.

Joe Schmidt posing at Rugby Australia headquarters on Tuesday.Credit: Getty Images for Rugby Australia

From an average age of 24.6 in the first July squad, the Wallabies’ average age is up to 26.4. Almost half of the 2024 squad have 30 Test caps or more.

Value of experience

Schmidt is trying to get more greybeards in his team environment, for both on and off-field benefits, and perhaps the best example is the recall of Samu Kerevi. With 49 caps, Kerevi will be the fifth-most capped player on tour, but the 31-year-old hasn’t played since May and hasn’t shown the barnstorming form he’s known for since a knee reconstruction in 2022.

Inside centre is a position where the Wallabies lack depth. Hunter Paisami is the first-choice and Hamish Stewart is one of a handful who was sent back to the Australia XV side to get game time. But Kerevi is unique in that he’s the only genuine heavyweight midfielder, one who can carry past the line with his 110kg frame.

And, like most of the questions Schmidt got at Tuesday’s press conference, all roads lead to Suaalii. In an answer about Skelton and Kerevi, Schmidt said their presence will be as valuable as mentors, as anything else.

“If Joseph is at fullback or wing or centre, someone like Samu Kerevi and his experience, he’s ideal to help grow the players around him,” Schmidt said. “So it’s not just for their expertise, and what they bring as an individual player.”

Starting Suaalii

The idea Schmidt will ease Suaalii into action got thrown straight out the window on Tuesday when the coach confirmed he’d likely give him a Test debut on tour.

There is an obvious rush involved in getting Suaalii back up and running in rugby, with the Lions tour next July and nothing in between. But asking the 21-year-old to play his first adult game of rugby in a Test match seems a tough ask, even for an athlete like Suaalii.

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii at his first Wallabies campCredit: Alex Ellinghausen

Particularly, when two low-stakes Australia XV games are being played in England in the first two weeks of November. They could be ideal for a consequence-free first trot for Suaalii.

For some reason, however, the Wallabies and Australia XV squads apparently won’t cross paths, let alone train together.

The two groups have been picked based on that strategy, that is, many Australia XV players are lower-tier Wallabies squad players deliberately sent back to play instead of another month of holding pads at training. And the likes of Edmed and Potter will be main squad ballast. But the inflexibility still seems odd – and could place even more pressure on Suaalii.

Captain Harry

Schmidt was asked if Harry Wilson would continue as captain on the spring tour, based on his impressive work in the Rugby Championship. But far from being a Dorothy Dixer, Schmidt gave a long-and-winding answer to the question that basically left a door open for another change.

Schmidt is a coach who picks a team first then a captain. And it would be a surprise if Wilson didn’t keep the armband. But if he doesn’t, who else? Skelton is not in the frame after missing the winter, Liam Wright suffered an injury setback and isn’t touring and Allan Alaalatoa often doesn’t start. Fraser McReight looms as the smoky candidate.