Wallabies selection should prioritise form over club location as Noah Lolesio heads to Japan

Any decision on Noah Lolesio’s place in the Wallabies team should be on form, not club location. JULIAN LINDEN says the case for excluding overseas-based players should become a thing of the past.

Julian Linden writes Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt (pictured) should pick players based on form. Photo: Getty Images.

Rugby Australia should hang its head in shame if it supports any move by Joe Schmidt not to pick Noah Lolesio for the British and Irish Lions tour just because he signed a contract to play in Japan.

If Lolesio misses out on selection, it should be solely because his form is not up to scratch, not because of where he earns a crust.

The case for excluding overseas-based players from representing the Wallabies has long past its used-by-date.

RA simply doesn’t have the clout or cattle to dictate where anyone should ply their trade. All they need to worry about is picking the best team possible to win Test matches.

It’s a simple philosophy that other sides and sports have been successfully employing for years.

It certainly hasn’t harmed the Springboks, who have won the last two Rugby World Cups.

And it’s worked out pretty well for the Argentina national soccer team, who won the 2022 FIFA World Cup even though their best player, Lionel Messi has been based in Europe since he was 13.

Noah Lolesio in action for the Wallabies.

The idea that anyone has to remain at home to represent Australia on the world stage is ludicrous. If anyone needs reminding, just check out rising Formula One star Oscar Piastri or the NBA’s man of the moment Josh Giddey.

The tedious argument that Super Rugby needs the best players to survive doesn’t cut it either because the tournament’s just doing fine after finally figuring out that bigger is not always better.

Ditching the Melbourne Rebels was one move RA got right but it is still not enough because more ruthless changes are required.

No matter which way you spin it, the brutal truth is the code would benefit even more if the best rugby talent was concentrated in three teams.

And the tournament would be better off if that fourth Australian franchise licence was handed over to Japan, with players free to go wherever they want, whether it’s the Land of the Rising Sun or the Land of the Long White Cloud.

South Africa have won the last two Rugby World Cups.

The well-paid, but notoriously media-shy Schmidt wants to prioritise players based in Australia.

That’s fine in theory, but it reeks of hypocrisy because it’s not as though he’s committed himself to the long haul.

Despite his historically poor win-rate of 46 per cent – better than Dave Rennie and Eddie Jones’ second stint, but worse than every head coach since Bob Dwyer took over the reins in 1982 – Schmidt’s been prematurely feted as the saviour of Australian rugby.

RA virtually begged him to stay on for the 2027 Rugby World Cup. But after months of keeping them waiting for a decision, he knocked them back, leaving RA searching for a fifth coach in six years.

Schmidt is perfectly entitled to do as he wishes but the same courtesy should be given to players because it’s a double standard that flies in the face of the direction the international game is heading.

Joe Schmidt is stepping down as head coach of Australia later this year.

To help offset the costs of wage inflation, World Rugby has made no secret of its willingness to hop into bed with anyone with cash to spend.

That’s why the biggest unions are doing deals with private equity firms and why the sport’s global body is creating new tournaments and venturing into new markets.

Just this weekend, another player entered the market with India revealing plans to launch the world’s first franchise-based Rugby Sevens league.

Approved by World Rugby after the venture was signed off at last week’s Hong Kong leg, the inaugural IPL-style event will take place in Mumbai in June.

Among the marquee Australian players who have been recruited are Maurice Longbottom, Henry Hutchison and James Turner. Master coach Tim Walsh, who led the Aussie women to gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, has also signed on the dotted line.

Lionel Messi led Argentina to victory at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

The United States, which failed to qualify for the last Rugby World Cup in 2023, has been awarded hosting rights for the 2031 tournament.

Yet South Africa, who have won the Webb Ellis Cup a record four times, haven’t been given a look in since Nelson Mandela presented the trophy at home in 1995.

While RA has been awarded the 2027 tournament, it’s plausible that neither Australia nor New Zealand will ever host the World Cup by themselves again, with any joint arrangement likely to be at least a quarter of a century further down the track.

At the same time, no-one was the least bit surprised when the news filtered through last week that Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are preparing a joint bid for the 2035 Rugby World Cup.

Australia's women seven teams are regular winners in Dubai.

The inside mail is they’ll be scuppered by a wealthy European bid but Middle East leaders have shown they have as much patience as oil and gas so pencil in 2039.

Dubai is already a regular destination on the Sevens World Series, while Qatar is all but locked in to host the 2028 Nations Cup, a new, lucrative biennial tournament kicking off next year between the top 12 countries from Europe and the southern hemisphere.

The times are changing and RA needs to catch up before it’s too late.

Originally published as Wallabies selection should prioritise form over club location as Noah Lolesio heads to Japan