Wallabies 2025

[Tomthumb]

Is Faessler injured long term? My understanding is it was only a 'calf tweak' that ruled him out of the last test, I'd expect he's good to travel with the squad.

I would probably be looking at a 4th hooker (alongside Faessler, Pollard and BPA) for safety sake though, sounds like it's down to Nasser or Asiata. Asiata is the form option, but Nasser has been with the side before. Asiata is also off with Benneton at the moment - it doesn't block Schmidt from calling him up, but it might give him pause if he doesn't expect to use him outside of emergency.

Yeah I’d imagine they would run with Nasser as he’s experienced and good technique wise with is important vs the Boks

Disappointing to see Dolly is injured, IMO he’d be the best option. His game is really suited to test match football

 

[Cauliflower Ear]

I would love to see JAS on the wing across the rugby championship.

Need to prepare for a situation where he just doesn't defensively adjust to 13. Allows Ikitau to play his natural position and bring in a true inside like Paisami. Obviously keep Jorgo and JAS fills the other wing.

I reckon he would actually find the ball more on the wing with how much we use them as overlapping playmakers and it opens the option to the cross-field kick (used to love that option with Izzy). Thoughts?

 

[Joe Blow]

I would love to see JAS on the wing across the rugby championship.

Need to prepare for a situation where he just doesn't defensively adjust to 13. Allows Ikitau to play his natural position and bring in a true inside like Paisami. Obviously keep Jorgo and JAS fills the other wing.

I reckon he would actually find the ball more on the wing with how much we use them as overlapping playmakers and it opens the option to the cross-field kick (used to love that option with Izzy). Thoughts?

Agree. You know Pietsch might be decent in the centres? Worth a look down the road.
Defence was much better in the last test. JAS made some beastly tackles, including the one that led to the Jorgo try. The Lenny Ikitau/JAS partnership is improving.

 

[Blue]

You might be digging too deeply into the language of someone just answering questions in a casual manner.

Hope not.

 

[PhilClinton]

Any news on if Carter Gordon is keen to return to union?

League has been a disaster for him and I think he would still be our best option at 10.

Any sport in 2025 would have been a disaster for him - he had major back surgery.

I wouldn’t be holding out much hope of Carter being an answer down the line, he’s just as close to medical retirement as he is to playing for the Wallabies.

 

[Slim 293]

AAA hopefully back in time for the Bledisloe...

Injured star prop targeting Rugby Championship return

With his words inspiring the Wallabies' third Test triumph over the Lions, injured prop Allan Ala'alatoa is aiming for a Rugby Championship return.

www.rugby.com.au

 

[Ignoto]

ouldn’t be holding out much hope of Carter being an answer down the line, he’s just as close to medical retirement as he is to playing for the Wallabies

Yeah the doctors I've spoken to would be surprised if Carter plays rugby again considering how close he was to never walking again.

Huge amount of risk for the bloke.

 

[Upthemaroon!]

Yeah the doctors I've spoken to would be surprised if Carter plays rugby again considering how close he was to never walking again.

Huge amount of risk for the bloke.

To be fair, CSF leaks are easy to fix and are pretty solid once repaired. It's just that they are so low on the list of possibilities, doctors don't diagnose it that early.

 

[Rugby Head]

Agree. You know Pietsch might be decent in the centres? Worth a look down the road.
Defence was much better in the last test. JAS made some beastly tackles, including the one that led to the Jorgo try. The Lenny Ikitau/JAS partnership is improving.

Not a bad shout, think he would be a pretty handy inside centre.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

There's a PlanetRugby story on my feed that David Porecki has retired with immediate effect is this legit?

 

[whitefalcon]

There's a PlanetRugby story on my feed that David Porecki has retired with immediate effect is this legit?

Yes, was announced yesterday and is on rugby.com.au

 

[Mr Pilfer]

“We’re pretty open, Joe’s got no impediment to select whoever he wants,” Horne told reporters.

“That’s always been the case. If he wants to select someone, he’s entitled. (No, it is not)

“The Giteau Law, that’s kind of redundant.

Pretty open and kind of...hmmmm.....that's hardly an emphatic statement.

This is not enough for players and their agents to negotiate contracts knowing that they can be selected and play for the Wallabies. It only helps short-term to enable the selection of the obvious incumbents, but if I am an Aus players overseas in the middle of contract talks this does not help me much.

But I guess this is good a start.

I think it is just going to be similar to how they treated gleeson and hooper this year.

If there were players available that were playing just as good they would have been picked, but gleeson and Hooper made it impossible not to pick them.

So if a player is tearing it up in France , Uk etc then they will pick them regardless of how many caps they have

 

[Hogie]

It's a sensible move that offers a genuine option for young Australian talent currently in the French youth system to play for the Wallabies—players like Lemoto, for example. I do wonder, though, whether this change might make Australian players less appealing to French clubs, now that they remain eligible for the Rugby Championship and Northern Hemisphere tours. Fewer players may head overseas than expected, especially with Japan also tightening eligibility rules for foreign-born players.

 

[Yoda]

Not convinced of Ikitau at 12. He rarely passes. 10 needs to cut him and get it straight to Sua'ali'i occasionally to get ball wide. He's a 13 playing out of position. What's with his always trying to jump in for a pick and go close to the line too? He should be out wide ready for the ball?

 

[Slim 293]

Not convinced of Ikitau at 12. He rarely passes. 10 needs to cut him and get it straight to Sua'ali'i occasionally to get ball wide. He's a 13 playing out of position. What's with his always trying to jump in for a pick and go close to the line too? He should be out wide ready for the ball?

Who is this “passing” 12 that’s going to come into the team?

 

[Wilson]

Part of the reason we're not seeing much play making from the 12 is because we're running a lot of secondary play-making in the forwards, particularly through McReight and Wilson. One (or sometimes both) of these two players are regularly the highest passers after the 9s and 10s, even ahead of opposition 12/15s. It reduces the need for our 12 (or 15) to chime in as often there, with McReight in particular often the man to take the role when the 10 is out of the play, and lets them come in later in the play to strike.

That's not to say Ikitau isn't passing, he is still higher up the list often enough, but with Wright also chiming in from the backs and a couple of forwards bearing as much or more of the burden we're nowhere near as reliant on a single secondary playmaker and can shift our structures there to suit the game. That wouldn't really change too much if we brought Kerevi/Paisami/Stewart or someone else into the role.

 

[Major Tom]

I think it is just going to be similar to how they treated gleeson and hooper this year.

If there were players available that were playing just as good they would have been picked, but gleeson and Hooper made it impossible not to pick them.

So if a player is tearing it up in France , Uk etc then they will pick them regardless of how many caps they have

I think they’re just recognising that we need to get a bit more out of some really key players. Skelton offers a point of difference. Tupou still needed with his scrummaging. Gleeson with his power running game and Hooper with his versatility. Lennie needs to get more time with JAS. Otherwise I don't think it's gonna be open slather.

 

[KOB1987]

Joe will keep picking Ikitau at 12 and Sua'ali'i at 13 because that's the centre pairing he has decided he wants to develop, and I'd say Kiss will too. It's only an injury or suspension that will break that up. I also don't buy the argument that they are playing out of position - they are playing to a different game plan at test level than they are at their separate Super clubs. If they were both at the same franchise then that would be a different story.

 

[Footy head]

Exactly, so I could see RA maybe help players to sign for clubs in France just to get them playing Union instead of being snapped up by the NRL.

Would this be the same with the u20s? or just pick local boys for that one

-Footyhead

 

[Braveheart81]

Not convinced of Ikitau at 12. He rarely passes. 10 needs to cut him and get it straight to Sua'ali'i occasionally to get ball wide. He's a 13 playing out of position. What's with his always trying to jump in for a pick and go close to the line too? He should be out wide ready for the ball?

Were there really many situations where there was the opportunity to go wider and instead Ikitau crashed the ball up?

Getting the ball to the edges when there isn't really anything on is just recipe to lose ground and/or turn the ball over because you end up with an isolated ball carrier with little support.

I generally thought Ikitau's decision making was good.