‘It gives belief’: Schmidt praises Wallabies fight and gives good news on injured star

If the last 20 minutes at Suncorp Stadium didn’t provide enough hope for the Wallabies fans to be positive ahead of a must-win second Test in Melbourne, news delivered by Joe Schmidt an hour or so after the hooter might have done the job.

“Rob’s fit. Will Skelton’s fit,” Schmidt said. “They both trained really well this morning.”

The “Rob” is Rob Valetini, and while it is unusual for a player who didn’t play in a Test to still hold centre stage in the wash-up, that was the inescapable truth of a first Test lost by the margin of Valetini’s broad - but missing - shoulders.

In what looked like it was headed towards a record walkover by the Lions after halftime at Suncorp Stadium, the Wallabies managed to give their fans a dash of optimism with a spirited fightback in the second half in Brisbane. It saw them rally from 24-5 down to finish at three tries-all, and a final scoreline of 27-19.

The Wallabies’ last two tries were in the too little, too late category, both coming in the last 13 minutes and without enough runway left to be a realistic chance to win. But they also delivered a ‘second-half win’, and enough for Schmidt and the Wallabies to emerge from a Test defeat with confidence about their ability to beat the Lions at the MCG and keep the series alive.

Dan Sheehan on his way to scoring a try.Credit: Getty Images

“If you do win the second half ... it helps at least give some belief. We had a very comparatively young side out there who are still finding their way,” Schmidt said.

“I’m not sure what the predictions were before the game but to have a margin of eight points I think is testament to the character of the players, and the way they fought back.

“This time last year, I think we probably would have melted. But I love the way this team is developing.”

But the encouraging last 20 minutes were preceded by an hour of unmistakeable physical dominance by the Lions, with and without the ball. It resulted in the Wallabies mostly spinning their wheels as they tried to bend the Lions’ defensive line, which came up hard and fast and with aggressive intent.

As it tends to do, losing the contact zone led to rivets popping all over for the Wallabies, with handling mistakes, penalties and set-piece turnovers then leading to the Lions routinely escaping their end, and putting pressure on the Wallabies at the other.

Tommy Freeman of British and Irish Lions gets past Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii Credit: Getty Images

The final stats sheet showed the Wallabies had considerably more carries than the Lions, but considerably less metres as well. Trying to get past the impressive backrow of Tom Curry, Tadgh Beirne and Jack Conan, the Lions kept the Wallabies post-contact metres to 255 - at an average of 1.8 metres per carry.

The Lions? They had an average of 2.5 post-contact metres per run.

Which leads us back to Valetini. The big Brumbies backrower was ruled out of the first Test with a calf injury, along with Will Skelton (calf) and Langi Gleeson (cork), and as seen in the narrow win over Fiji as well, Valetini was very sorely missed.

As the Wallabies’ top ball carrier for the past four years, the winning performances of Australia in that time - and particularly under Schmidt - have come when “Bobby V” is taking every third carry, most of them into the teeth of the defence. When he is not there, the Wallabies struggle to go forward, recycle with pace and launch their attack.

So it unfolded at Suncorp. It was only when the Wallabies began moving the ball to midfield channels in the second half that they got better ruck speed, and challenged the Lions’ defence.

Rob Valetini poses with the John Eales Medal during the 2024 Rugby Australia Awards at Royal Randwick Racecourse.Credit: Getty Images for Rugby Australia

“There’s very much some of our collision area work that has to be better, because we know they are coming so hard there,” Schmidt said.

Valetini’s return at the MCG would make a huge difference, and so too other potential tweaks to beef up the physicality, like Angus Bell starting and possibly even big winger Dylan Pietsch as well. Tate McDermott’s late-game impact, and existing combination with the impressive Tom Lynagh, may also see him get a shot to start.

Schmidt said he would look at possible changes on Sunday after getting a medical update.

It all goes on the line in Melbourne, as it did in 2001 and again in 2013. The Wallabies managed to win in both those tours, and when asked for the one thing that gave him confidence they could get a similar result in Melbourne, Schmidt nominated the courage of his side.

“I know it’s a cliché, but you can’t coach character. You live and die by the effort you make to contribute to the team,” he said.

“I just felt guys kept getting up and contributing. It’s tough against the quality they’ve got and some of the momentum they’ve built. I thought we stayed in the fight.

“I’m not saying the Lions didn’t deserve to win it, because I feel that they did. We’ll have a look in the cold light of day probably and be a little bit more analytical, but very proud of the way the players fought their way back.”