Most Wallabies debutants in 62 years: Schmidt’s rebuild continues

The expanding scale of Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies rebuild will be highlighted by Hamish Stewart becoming the 15th debutant of the season against Argentina on Sunday morning - the most Wallabies Test debuts in a year since 1962.

Stewart is set to be named at inside centre when Schmidt reveals his side on Friday morning, replacing an injured Hunter Paisami.

Paisami suffered an MCL injury in his knee during the Wallabies’ loss to South Africa in Perth, opening the door for 26-year-old Stewart to be rewarded with a long-awaited Test debut. The Toowoomba-born playmaker has been toiling in Super Rugby for eight seasons after debuting for the Reds as a teenager in 2017.

He played 72 games for Queensland before moving to the Western Force in 2023 and after being part of Wallabies’ squads in the past, and playing for Australia A, Stewart has finally been given his chance to become a Wallaby.

In handing caps to Max Jorgensen and Seru Uru in Perth, Schmidt broke the record for most Wallabies debutants in a single season during the professional era.

Hamish Stewart will make his Test debut in Argentina.Credit: Getty Images

But with Stewart becoming the fifteenth debutant of 2024, Schmidt’s Wallabies will equal the teams of 1962, 1947 and 1923 in the most first caps dispensed in a single season.

The 1962 Wallabies had the distinction of not only having the first permanent coach (other than a captain-coach) but they also had two coaches in the same season, which saw Australia play five Tests against the All Blacks.

After a mix of coaches being used inconsistently on tours and captains running the team, Bryan Palmer was called in to coach the Wallabies in two Bledisloe Cup Tests at home in 1962. And when Palmer couldn’t lead the subsequent tour of New Zealand, Alan Roper took over and held the job until 1967. The line of dedicated Wallabies coaches has continued from that point.

The 1962 Wallabies. Ken Catchpole is seated bottom row, far right.Credit: Rice/Fairfax Media

Among the future stars to have been given a Test debut in 1962 were Lloyd McDermott, Peter Crittle, Dick Marks and future dual international Phil Hawthorne.

They only managed to draw one of the five Tests against New Zealand, but Schmidt will hope his refreshed Wallabies can emulate the subsequent success of the 1962 players, who shocked the world by tying a Test series in South Africa the next year.

Schmidt’s mounting debutant tally can be attributed to several factors. The year after a World Cup usually begins a rebuild of coaches and personnel, but Eddie Jones’ decision to eschew senior players and back rookies at the 2023 Rugby World Cup created an unusual wrinkle.

Schmidt recalled some of those senior players, but he left others on the shelf and has also not agreed with Jones on many of the rookies he took to the Rugby World Cup.

Factoring in several injuries, too, the Kiwi effectively started a new audition process from scratch in July. There is a high likelihood more debutants will be used during the eight Tests still left this year.

Meanwhile, the Wallabies are looking forward to playing in front a boisterous Argentinian crowd at Estadio Jorge Luis Hirschi in La Plata.

“Even though they are cheering for the other team, it pumps you up, too - it’s an atmosphere that you kind of ride off,” said lock Nick Frost.

“It’s always fun playing the Argentinians as they bring a lot of passion.

“It’s a fast game when you play against them, fast and physical, and they like to run the ball around, they like to kick, like to show off a bit of flair. They’re a very emotional side, we find, so they ride the crowd pretty well, which we found out the hard way a couple of years ago in San Juan.

“They had a big, vocal crowd and did a good number on us.”

The Pumas have beaten the Wallabies in back-to-back Tests.

Sports news, results and expert commentary. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.