Wallabies’ star goes down with injury on eve of Test against Fiji, Waratah gets an opportunity
A cornerstone of the Wallabies over the past two years, as evidenced by back-to-back John Eales medals, has succumbed to injury just weeks out from the first Test of the Lions’ series.
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Seven months after being disinvited from Wallabies camp, Langi Gleeson is poised to start the first Test of the year for Australia following injuries.
Gleeson is understood to be starting in the Wallabies backrow for Sunday’s match against Fiji alongside Fraser McReight and captain Harry Wilson, after John Eales medallist Rob Valetini succumbed to a calf injury.
It’s believed lock Will Skelton has also suffered a calf injury and could be ruled out of the match in Newcastle, which will have significant bearing on world rankings and placements in World Cup 2027 pools to be decided at the end of this year.
Valetini’s loss is a major blow for the Wallabies as they plan for the British & Irish Lions on July 19 in Brisbane.
The barnstorming backrower is the back-to-back Australian player of the year and gives the team much-needed go-forward.
But his injury provides Gleeson an opportunity few would have seen coming after he was initially invited, and then asked not to attend, a January Wallabies camp after it emerged he’d signed with French club Montpellier for the 2026 and 2027 seasons.
Gleeson turned disappointment into drive, and was the NSW Waratahs’ best player this season, making an irresistible case for inclusion in the Wallabies squad with his thunderous ball-running and breakdown accuracy.
The severity of Valetini’s injury is unclear, but if he is in doubt for the opening Lions Test, this match against Fiji will be a litmus test for Gleeson.
The last time Australia played Fiji was in the 2023 World Cup, when the Pacific Islanders sprung one of the great upsets to win 22-15 and eliminated the Wallabies in the pool stages for the first time.
Gleeson, who has Fijian roots, will be keen to make a statement and put himself in the frame for selection for the opening Lions Test.
Skelton’s injury could also rob him of a game before the Lions match. If he is ruled out, it’s expected Jeremy Williams and Nick Frost would start in the second row, with either Tom Hooper or Darcy Swain on the bench.
Force backrower Carlo Tizzano, who was the leading tryscorer in Super Rugby this year, is also set to come off the bench, opening the possibility of the Wallabies deploying two specialist poachers at the end of the match, as they previously did with Michael Hooper and David Pocock.
Tate McDermott is set to start at halfback following an injury to Jake Gordon, partnering five-eighth Noah Lolesio, while Len Ikitau and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii are set to resume their midfield partnership from the spring tour.
The back three is expected to be Tom Wright at fullback, and Max Jorgensen and Harry Potter on each wing.
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