Allan Alaalatoa facing year on the sidelines after shock injury while the Lions keep the party going
Dropped Wallaby Taniela Tupou could be in for a recall with coach Joe Schmidt now losing Allan Alaalatoa to a major injury. Meanwhile, the Lions are keeping their party going.
THE Wallabies could be without star prop Allan Alaalatoa for the rest of the year after he suffered a serious shoulder injury against the Lions last weekend.
Alaalatoa was subbed off at halftime with what was initially thought to be a pectoral injury, but scans later confirmed a shoulder tear that is likely to require surgery and rule him out for the remainder of 2025.
It is a huge blow, not only for what Alaalatoa brings to the scrum, but also his leadership.
It was Alaalatoa, not captain Harry Wilson, who addressed the team huddle after the first Test loss to the Lions in Brisbane, and he is a strong voice within the camp.
“He’s a massive part of the group,” Wallabies lock Jeremy Williams said. “You just see the work he puts on the field and off the field as well.
“He’s a massive part of the group and we just wish him the best in his recovery, and hopefully he’ll be back out there soon.”
It’s particularly devastating as every Test from The Rugby Championship onwards this year counts towards the world rankings, after which the World Cup pools will be drawn.
Former All Black Aidan Ross, who was born in Gosford and qualified as a Wallaby last month following the mandatory three-year stand down period, has been brought in to camp.
He is a loosehead, while Tom Robertson can play both sides.
It remains to be seen whether Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt recalls Taniela Tupou, who for the majority of the past four years has been Australia’s starting or back-up tighthead, sharing the role with Alaalatoa.
Williams has been impressed with Ross after the one-Test prop trained with the side this week.
“Firstly, he’s a great bloke, and he trains really hard,” Williams said.
“He’s been in a few different systems now. So I’m sure he’s going to add a lot of value to the group. And he’s been going really hard.”
Meanwhile, playmaker Tom Lynagh has admitted he would have liked more game time at Test level, having made his starting debut in the first Lions Test.
Lynagh was left out of the spring tour last year in favour of Tane Edmed, but is now Australia’s first-choice playmaker after injury to Noah Lolesio.
While he’s been strong in patches, his inexperience on the big stage has also shown, and it begs the question whether Schmidt should have taken him north last November.
“Having experience before the Lions series would have been great, but I didn’t get the opportunity to do so,” Lynagh said.
“I guess we’ll never find out. But like I said, take it one week at a time.”
But the 22-year-old is relishing the opportunity to make his own claim on the No.10 jersey.
“I mean, more time in that seat, the jersey’s only yours for the week if you’re selected, so you’ve just got to go out there and do your job and do your role and put a performance in,” he said.
“You get a lot more time on the field, so you can dictate the game a lot more.
“When you come off the bench, you’ve got to understand what role you’ve got to play and how the game is at that point.
“So you have a lot more control in dictating the game.”
Lynagh believes the Wallabies know enough about the Lions to get victory in Sydney and deny them a 3-0 series whitewash.
“We led for pretty much 79 minutes in the last game and lost it in the 80th, that’s footy for you,” he said.
“But we can take plenty of confidence from that game last week and even the second half in the first Test.
“You can take plenty of confidence from that. So we’ve just got to get together and put in a performance on Saturday.”
LIONS’ PARTY, EYE SWEEP
After first kicking the Wallabies’ in the guts, then kicking up their heels on the most hallowed turf in Australian sport, the British & Irish Lions are still talking up their chances of a historic 3-0 cleansweep over Australia.
Unsinkable on the field, the Lions have been on a two-day bender since their series-clinching 29-26 win over the Wallabies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday.
After belting out their favourite songs in the dressing room, the Lions players and staff took their plastic white chairs on the centre of the MCG to relive their glorious night.
Guzzling beers, singing more tunes and getting fullback Hugo Keenan to re-enact his matchwinning try, the Lions soaked up every minute of it.
The celebrations continued when they flew to Sydney on Sunday, with team members spotted drinking with fans at the Coogee Bay Hotel, safe in the knowledge they had a rare day off training on Monday.
They did hit the paddock again on Tuesday but only had a light run, with skipper Maro Itoje reminding everyone it would be business as usual again for Saturday’s third and final Test at Accor Stadium.
“Obviously we are delighted to get the two results to win the series. We celebrated that Saturday and Sunday but we still have a job to do,” Itoje said.
“(Tuesday) was our first day back training properly and we build through the rest of the week.”
Itoje was tight-lipped about the team’s celebrations, sidestepping questions about who was the biggest party animal in the squad.
“Who was on good form? That’s a difficult question because there were quite a few people on good form. Bundee (Aki) was flying, as you would expect. Mack (Hansen) was also flying. There were a few boys on very good form.”
Asked if anyone got in any strife, he replied: “Nah, everyone bought in.”
Although they have already clinched the series, the Lions say they are desperate to finish off the job and win 3-0. The last time they did that in Australia was in 1904 but Itoje said it was now a matter of pride for the tourists to complete the whitewash.
“We want to be part of something very special,” he said.
“Winning a Lions Test series is obviously extremely special but what would be an absolute dream would be to go out there and perform to the level that we think we can perform and win the third game.
“While the first two games have been great because we got two wins, there’s still a feeling that we haven’t put it together in a way we know that we can.
“This is a huge game. The Wallabies…in the last two games the growth of their game over the last 18 months or so have shown the quality side they are.
“They will be hungry and up for it, but we also want to make some history this weekend and if we can get another win that would be amazing.”
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