Updated: Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt admits he might rejig his matchday squad for Sunday’s (1:10am AEST) Rugby Championship opener against the Springboks in Johannesburg after another injury threw his plans into disarray.
It comes after replacement playmaker Ben Donaldson, who was due to be James O’Connor’s deputy, tweaked his leg in the final minutes at training on Thursday ahead of their date with the back-to-back world champions at Ellis Park.
But rather than call up the squad’s third playmaker, Tane Edmed, into the 23, Schmidt named a sixth forward – Nick Champion de Crespigny – on his bench, leaving Tate McDermott and Andrew Kellaway as his sole backs.
The decision, which could still be reversed, has left the Wallabies with no specialist cover for O’Connor – the 35-year-old veteran of 64 Tests, who was earlier this week locked in to wear the No.10 jersey in what will be his first Test in three years.
“In the second last play of the training, Donno kicked the ball and pulled up short,” Schmidt told reporters on Thursday night, less than an hour after The Roar revealed the playmaker had sustained a leg injury.
“We don’t know what the extent of the injury is. We’ve only been back from training for about an hour. He will get a scan though, so we’ll have a definitive picture because we need to know for next week as well whether we need more cover.
“At the same time, we’re still trying to probably work out what we do to best get that coverage. [Halfback] Nic White can maybe cover ten and is astute enough to do so, [outside back] Andrew Kellaway has the skill set to cover 10, but it does leave us a little bit light. We know that Tate McDermott covers the wing well.
“We know we’ve got some versatility in our group, but I think that’s something that we’ve got to look at the captain’s run [on Friday] and just see what best fits for us, because it’s all happened just in a very short space of time.”
Replacement playmaker Ben Donaldson was a late scratching for the Wallabies on Thursday ahead of the Rugby Championship opener at Ellis Park. (Photo By Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
Asked whether he would consider changing his team and consider calling up one-Test playmaker Edmed, Schmidt said it was an option.
“He’s in consideration, for sure,” Schmidt admitted, having already lost playmakers Noah Lolesio (neck) and Tom Lynagh (concussion) to injuries recently. “Tane is one of the options.
“Nick Champion de Crespigny Carlo Tizzano, Hunter Paisani played 10 in the under-20s and then shifted to 12, plus gives us really good midfield cover. So there’s a few options that we’re just going to try to get our best coverage and best confidence from.
“Our intention was probably to potentially give Tane a run next week after having spent the week with us. It’s not a foolproof formula, but it’s what we’ve tended to do with most players who come in fresh. So Tane has only had two trainings with us. It’s a big ask, but we’ve got confidence in him.”
Despite the unfolding drama, Schmidt made just one change to the side that beat the Lions in Sydney earlier this month, with O’Connor replacing Lynagh.
O’Connor will join Nic White in the halves just a fortnight after the 35-year-old sat down in front of reporters and announced he planned on hanging up the boots following the Lions finale. But Jake Gordon’s injury at training on the same day of his retirement announcement shelved those plans.
Bruising back-rower Rob Valetini, who has played just 40 minutes of action across four Tests because of a troublesome calf injury, was once again not risked.
Valetini’s absence means Tom Hooper once again joins Fraser McReight and captain Harry Wilson in the back-row. Will Skelton partners Nick Frost in the second-row.
Tight-head prop Taniela Tupou, who picked up a toe injury in Sydney, was also named and will have a vital role to play at Ellis Park if the Wallabies want to snap their 62-year drought at the venue.
Schmidt had also planned to name the same replacements who finished the job at the Olympic Stadium earlier this month before Donaldson’s injury setback.
James O’Connor will play his first Test in three years after being named in the No.10 jersey to face the Springboks. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images for Rugby Australia)
O’Connor’s stunning return in the No.10 jersey was revealed on Wednesday by The Roar, with Schmidt explaining the decision to turn to the older head was partly to give him more time in the saddle at training this week in case he was needed.
“We had James there because if he came off the bench, he doesn’t get that many reps at training,” Schmidt said.
“We only trained twice since arriving. So we just thought it was better for James to get that repetition and to get his confidence after having spent three weeks with us.
“Ben had had the last 50 minutes of the Lions’ third Test and had spent a lot more time with us. So sometimes it’s just about getting the balance. The way we saw it was [they would] probably play half a game each.
“We just felt that with Donna’s greater experience with us and his experience in finishing the game, we just felt it was probably a better way to balance it.”
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has some big selection decisions to make. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
The intriguing development came 72 hours after Schmidt’s counterpart, Rassie Erasmus, said he might tweak his squad and add an extra forward to his bench if the Wallabies went in with a 6-2 forwards-heavy bench.
Now, Schmidt, who said he wasn’t fussed by Erasmus’ mind games, will keep the Springboks guessing if he tweaks his squad once more.
“I’ve worked with Rassie and coached against him. I don’t really focus too much on that,” Schmidt said.
“We’ve got a group that we’ve built over the last year or so, from this time last year, where we got a couple of lessons from South Africa. We’d like to think that we’re building away and we’re a lot more focused on what we’re doing and what fits for us.
“So for us, it was literally a 5-3 split on the bench until the second last play at training today. So we’ve adjusted that to where we think it is at the moment.
“But again, at captain’s run tomorrow, we’ll make a final decision. Just because it wasn’t worth putting Ben into the group when we know that he’s not going to be available now for this weekend anyway.”
Wallabies (1-15): James Slipper, Billy Pollard, Taniela Tupou, Nick Frost, Will Skelton, Tom Hooper, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson, Nic White, James O’Connor, Dylan Pietsch, Len Ikitau, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Max Jorgensen, Tom Wright
Replacements: Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Angus Bell, Zane Nonggorr, Jeremy Williams, Langi Gleeson, Nick Champion de Crespigny, Tate McDermott, Andrew Kellaway
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