Two New Zealand coaches have slipped up when rotating widely with the Wallabies but that hadn’t deterred Joe Schmidt, with the experienced Kiwi set to chance his hand by testing his depth for Saturday’s Test against Georgia in Sydney.
The Roar understands Schmidt is poised to recall Harry Wilson from the international wilderness, while also making sweeping changes to his backline.
Schmidt, who flagged changes were on the radar following the Wallabies’ second straight win over Wales last weekend, has delivered including in the halves, where Ben Donaldson is expected to team up with Tate McDermott.
The Force playmaker’s return comes after Noah Lolesio failed to convince many he is the long-term answer in the two Tests against Wales.
The experienced coach is also set to hand Darby Lancaster a debut on the wing, with Len Ikitau poised to return to the midfield.
Schmidt is likely to make some tweaks to his front-row, too, with the encounter against Georgia – the only international side the Wallabies will meet outside the top ten on the World Rugby rankings this year – being viewed as an opportunity to spread the net wider ahead of The Rugby Championship.
Joe Schmidt is set to make several selection changes for the Wallabies’ clash against Georgia in Sydney on Saturday. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
The decision is a calculated one, but it is also fraught with danger given that Robbie Deans’ Wallabies slumped to new lows when they lost to Samoa and Scotland in consecutive years to heap more pressure on his six-year reign as coach.
Even in late 2022, Dave Rennie’s decision to make widespread changes to his side for their third Test on the Spring Tour came back to bite them.
Indeed, had the Wallabies not lost to Italy in Florence 28-27, Rennie most likely would have coached the two-time world champions through to last year’s World Cup.
But the one-point defeat, which was in-between heartbreaking defeats to France and Ireland, was the straw that broke the camel’s back for the Rugby Australia board.
Although several of the selection calls are warranted, the number of call-ups will undoubtedly be seen as a sign of disrespect by Georgia, who sent shivers down the spines of the Wallabies last year in Paris and are coming off a momentous victory in Japan over Eddie Jones’ Brave Blossoms.
On Monday night, former Wallaby Matt To’omua told The Roar Rugby podcast the prospect of making wholesale changes made him “nervous”.
He added: “I think Georgia will be harder than Wales … I just think it’s a potential banana skin.”
Wilson, 24, is in-line to play his 13th Test and first since the Wallabies’ heavy defeat to the All Blacks at Eden Park 665 days ago.
Reds back-rower Harry Wilson is set for a recall to the Wallabies. (Photo by Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images)
The Reds No.8 is expected to form a back-row combination alongside Fraser McReight and Rob Valetini.
It will be his first minutes of professional rugby in two months, With Wilson making his return from a broken arm in club rugby for Brothers in Brisbane less than a fortnight ago.
But after turning heads throughout the season, including a ‘follow-me’ type performance against the Crusaders in Queensland’s first win in Christchurch in 25 years, the back-rower has seen Schmidt quickly give him a chance to prove his worth.
The hard-running No.8 won’t feel out of place though, with livewire halfback and Reds teammate McDermott to return in place of Jake Gordon, who is set for a breather after two outstanding Tests for the Wallabies after being shunned by Jones in 2023.
McDermott is expected to form a halves combination with Donaldson, who scored 25 points at fullback during the Wallabies’ win over Georgia in their first World Cup match last September.
The duo last played together in the final World Cup pool match against Portugal last October. Nic White, the veteran halfback, is expected to be on the bench alongside his former Brumbies teammate Lolesio.
Elsewhere, Ikitau is expected to come in for Josh Flook, who was faultless at outside centre during his first two Tests against Wales, after recovering from a hamstring injury.
Lancaster is also firming for a debut on the wing.
The 21-year-old, who was encouraged to turn down the opportunity to feature at the Olympics to try and make his Wallabies debut, enjoyed an eye-catching maiden campaign this year and turned heads with his strong running, ability to get on the ball and try-scoring nous.
Up front, Schmidt could also tweak his front-row, with Zane Nonggorr and Alex Hodgman strong chances of being called up.
The changes at halfback are set to continue, with Tate McDermott expected to return at the expense of Jake Gordon. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Despite the changes, the Wallabies say they’re not taking Georgia for granted.
“They’re a good side,” White told reporters on Tuesday. “They beat Wales in Wales and [have] beaten Italy.
“They’ve knocked some teams over and been bloody close, and they’ve been knocking on the door of that Six Nations for a long time now as well.
“Any side that kind of takes them lightly, dare do it and they’ll bite you in the bum.”
White, in particular, knows that Georgia can’t be underestimated after feeling the pinch in last year’s 35-15 win in Paris last year.
After coming on for a concussed McDermott late in the first half, White felt Georgia storm back into the match and looked set to cut the deficit to a one try match midway through the second half when Taniela Tupou found himself in the right spot at the right time.
Tupou’s intercept went viral, as he put Donaldson away with a sublime ball more commonly seen by back-rowers rather than props, but the moment has also served as a warning shot of what’s to come if the Wallabies don’t arrive at Allianz Stadium with the right mindset.
“It was on a knife’s edge, wasn’t it?” White recalled.
“That’s what I mean. That game could have gone a very different way with [fullback] Davit Niniashvili running down straight at me and they could have been under the sticks.
“Luckily, Nella picks off an offload, puts Donno up the other end. It was a 14-point swing.
“That game could have been very different – and we understand that’s how close it can be with Georgia.”
White added that the Australian public had been “patient” with the Wallabies, but said the side was building steadily under Schmidt.
“We’re not jumping too far ahead,” he said. “He’s [Schmidt] not jumping and we’re not jumping.
“We want to perfect what we’re doing at the moment. There’s some layers to come and they will come, but you don’t want to jump too far.
“We’re really trying to just execute the fundamentals of how we want to play first and continue to do that.
“It’s another dangerous side that we’ve got to play against and we really need to nail our fundamentals.
“No, there hasn’t been a huge jump in the last couple of weeks.
“That will come over time.
“We really want to continue to, with attack and defence, really hammer our fundamentals of how we want to play the game.
“We’re starting to see a little bit of reward for that. Not a huge reward, there’s some close games.
“There’s some good early signs, but it’s still a long way to go. We’ve got to earn it this week against Georgia and we understand that and we’ll continue to work hard to do that.”