Scottish freeze prompts another round of Wallabies changes

Edinburgh: An “arctic blast” that has hit the United Kingdom and France and frozen training fields was among the contributing factors to Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt changing his starting side for the clash with Scotland on Monday (AEDT).

For the second straight week, Schmidt elected to change at least a third of his starting side, despite the Wallabies downing Wales by a record score in Cardiff.

The inclusion of Force winger Harry Potter for a debut headlined the selection changes, which also included Fraser McReight and Nick Frost being rested, and Max Jorgensen moving back to the bench.

There were more complications on match eve, too, with hooker Matt Faessler ruled out with a calf injury, meaning a call-up for Brandon Paenga-Amosa to the starting side and Billy Pollard to the bench.

The Wallabies team bus parked on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, with snow falling.Credit: Iain Payten

The arrival of heavy snow in Edinburgh also saw the Wallabies call off their captain’s run, with most buses halted on slippery downhill roads near their hotel on the famous Royal Mile. The team did training drills at their hotel and kickers were due to go the stadium later in the day.

The snow is not expected to impact the Test on Monday morning (AEDT), with forecasts for the weather to get warmer on match day and Murrayfield also having underground heating.

Samu Kerevi’s suspension means the star centre pairing of Len Ikitau and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii will also be reunited at Murrayfield, two weeks after a strong showing together at Twickenham.

Jake Gordon also returns as the starting halfback, while captain Harry Wilson is back at No.8 after missing the Wales win due to concussion.

Schmidt said McReight, who has been replaced by impressive youngster Carlo Tizzano, and Frost, whose spot has been taken by the returning Jeremy Williams, were both fit but had been banged up after two big Test matches during the past fortnight.

Jorgensen also fell into the same category, said Schmidt, and the Wallabies coach is a big believer in making an early call about availability to maximise training time for the weekend team.

The problem in Edinburgh this week is that training time has been majorly impacted by a cold snap in the northern hemisphere with temperatures barely climbing above zero all week. The cold has meant most grounds are frozen and the Wallabies had to swap to 4G synthetic pitches.

That reduced training loads due to concerns about the impact on players, most of whom have limited experience of training on 4G pitches.

“They [McReight and Frost] both played 80 minutes, and they had accumulated quite a bit of fatigue and a few knocks,” Schmidt said. “So, they’re OK, but our plan for the week was to get up here and train Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday.

Joe Schmidt braving a pair of shorts while watching the Wallabies train at Murrayfield.Credit: Getty Images

“As it happened, we’ve been quite limited in what we’ve done. Maybe they could have been all right by now, but we just thought we’ve got a confidence in the squad and it was important to demonstrate that.”

The Scotland Rugby Union gave the Wallabies rare access to Murrayfield, which has undersurface heating, to train on Friday.

“They let us onto Murrayfield so that we could train and it meant that we could actually get a session on the grass,” Schmidt said. “And hopefully, you know, that just sharpens the boys ready for Sunday.

“We would certainly go lighter and less duration, less density [on 4G pitches]. We wouldn’t do as much in a short space of time, which is fine. At this end of the season, maybe it’s not a bad thing.”

Harry Potter at Wallabies training on the spring tour.Credit: AP

Schmidt said the decision to back Potter, Tizzano and even Zane Nonggorr over Taniela Tupou – who trained fully on Friday after a knee injury – was a deliberate strategy to show faith in the squad and build valuable depth.

“We’re trying to build a squad going forward and that’s part of it, and it helps us sustain a competitive element to our squad,” Schmidt said.

“Because I think if you’re not internally competitive it’s hard to be externally competitive. But at the same time, there’s a lot of continuity as well.”

Tizzano makes his return to the side for the first time since his impressive debut, and a run of four Tests, when McReight was injured during the Rugby Championship.

“He made 66 out of 67 tackles, and he got half a dozen turnovers and added value,” Schmidt said.

“So, again, when somebody gets an opportunity and takes it – I’m not saying that Fraser didn’t come straight back in for the Bledisloe Cup games and play really well, and he’s played well so far – but I think it’s a vote of confidence for how Carlo went.”

Potter will become the 18th player to make his Test debut this year, which is the most for the Wallabies since 1920 and 1928, when Australian rugby was still finding its feet again. All Australian rugby competitions stopped during World War I, so players could serve in the armed forces.

Schmidt pointed to Potter’s familiarity with UK rugby and conditions. The Melbourne-raised 26-year-old played three seasons for the Leicester Tigers before returning to Perth to try and make a Wallabies squad.

“Harry’s played a lot in this hemisphere and quite successfully,” he said. “It’s a good opportunity to give Harry his first start. Max was exactly like the other two boys; we’re trying to let him heal a bit.”

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