Schmidt flags Test debut for Suaalii on Spring Tour with Lions series looming

Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt admits he is likely to hand million-dollar recruit Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii a Test debut on the upcoming Spring Tour, but said that is due to a fast-approaching Lions series – not pressure from his bosses at Rugby Australia.

Suaalii was the headline selection in a 34-man Wallabies squad named by Schmidt on Tuesday, before next month’s four-Test tour of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

The returns of overseas stars Will Skelton and Samu Kerevi, and the inclusions of bolters Tane Edmed and Harry Potter, were noteworthy but the bank of nine television cameras at a Schmidt press conference in Sydney were all due to the inclusion of code-switcher Suaalii.

Just weeks after he finished in the NRL, and with only two Wallabies camp training sessions under his belt, Suaalii was named by Schmidt as part of an effort to “fast-track” the rugby return of the $1.6 million recruit.

After considering including Suaalii in a 30-man Australia XV squad, which was also named ahead of a parallel two-game tour of England next month, Schmidt said he’d decided to not only take the 21-year-old in the main Wallabies squad, but to give him a debut in one of the four Tests as well.

“Because if he doesn’t … part of it is that we play the Lions next so if he doesn’t debut on this tour then there’s very little window there ... before the Lions next year,” Schmidt said. “So for us, we feel a little bit of pressure to be able to fast track him.

“It’s possible [Suaalii could play for the Australia XV] but it’s more likely that he’ll start, or come off the bench in a Wallaby fixture, just because while we’re in the same part of the world, we’re still quite separate.”

The Wallabies take on the British and Irish Lions series in July next year.

Asked if he’d had any pressure from Rugby Australia bosses to select Suaalii, given the union’s huge investment in the former Rooster, Schmidt said: “No, no, no.”

But Schmidt acknowledged the unique hype and attention focused on Suaalii’s switch – and massive pay cheque.

Joseph Suaalii chatting to coach Joe Schmidt in camp with the Wallabies.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t conscious of the big deal that he’s on, and the profile that he has because, you know, you can’t not be aware of that,” Schmidt said. “But our responsibility is to try to help him become the best rugby player and contributor to the team that he can be.”

Schmidt, who worked with Roger Tuivasa-Sheck at the Blues after he switched to rugby in 2021, said he wasn’t sure what position Suaalii would play, noting he’d played fullback, centre and wing as a star schoolboy rugby player. That background will accelerate Suaalii’s conversion from professional league to union, Schmidt said, and he’d already been given confidence by the sight of the athletic outside back showing baked-in rugby instincts in contact at the recent camps.

Pressed on whether there was a danger of other players being resentful about Suaalii being fast-tracked into a Wallabies jersey, Schmidt said history showed players embrace the competition.

“Going back to your Wendell Sailors and Lote Tuqiris, Mat Rogers, those sort of guys have always come in, and as long as there’s an acceptance they’re going to add value, and they’re working hard to add value ... everyone’s competitive,” Schmidt said.

“They know it’s you’re talking about international footy, so it’s competitive.”

Skelton, who captained the Wallabies at the 2023 Rugby World Cup but did not return from France for the Australian winter campaign this year, is as “keen as mustard” to play on the tour, although he and Kerevi will likely only play in three of the four Tests.

Marika Koroibete was not included in the squad and will remain with his Japanese club.

“He’s just having a break to be honest - he probably felt he wasn’t at the very top of his game and he was a little bit flat after the season that he’d had,” Schmidt said.

The inclusion of Edmed, at the expense of Tom Lynagh, comes after the redhead starred during a stint for North Harbour in the NPC. Potter, 26, displayed strong form for the Force on their recent tour of South Africa. The former Sydney Uni flyer left Australia in 2020 to join Leicester, and given he was born in England, was being discussed as a potential call-up for the English Test side.

The Australia XV squad – coached by Brumbies assistant Rod Seib – contains several players who played for the Test team during the winter, including Lyngah, Josh Flook, Darby Lancaster, Hamish Stewart, Angus Blyth, Josh Canham, Zane Nonggorr and Luke Reimer.

Australia XV squad

Forwards: Angus Blyth (Queensland Reds), Joe Brial (Queensland Reds), John Bryant (Queensland Reds), Josh Canham (Queensland Reds), Massimo de Lutiis (Queensland Reds), Tom Hooper (ACT Brumbies), Harry Hoopert (Western Force), Tom Horton (Western Force), Tom Lambert (NSW Waratahs),Lachlan Lonergan (ACT Brumbies)Josh Nasser (Queensland Reds)Zane Nonggorr (Queensland Reds), Luke Reimer (ACT Brumbies), Rory Scott (ACT Brumbies), Ryan Smith (Queensland Reds), Darcy Swain (Western Force), Rhys Van Nek (ACT Brumbies)

Backs: Lachie Anderson (Queensland Reds), Jock Campbell (Queensland Reds), Issak Fines-Leleiwasa (Western Force), Josh Flook (Queensland Reds), Darby Lancaster (NSW Waratahs), Ryan Lonergan (ACT Brumbies), Tom Lynagh (Queensland Reds), Harry McLaughlin-Phillips (Queensland Reds), Andy Muirhead (ACT Brumbies), Ollie Sapsford (ACT Brumbies), Hamish Stewart (Western Force), Corey Toole (ACT Brumbies), Joey Walton (NSW Waratahs)

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