28 October 2025
Good morning team, and welcome to another Tuesday News as we approach the critical northern hemisphere tour. I was going to say Spring tour, but it was 37 degrees in Brisbane on Monday, so definitely feels more like summer in the sunshine state.
There is plenty of news to go around today if you are a reds and wallabies fan, including sad news that Liam Wright is leaving the reds after an injury cursed 2025, some reinforcements on the way to the Wallabies squad, and because its a Wallaby test week, we will do some player ratings from the test against Japan.
Liam Wright to leave the Reds
News dropped Monday courtesy of the Reds and Rugby Australian that Liam right is leaving the Reds at the end of this year, and making his debut in 2018, and playing 86 times for Queensland. As a long time fan of Wright, it’s disappointing to see him go out with the way that 2025 has gone for him. In 2024 Liam started every super Rugby game for the Reds, and was named Wallabies captain for the first test against Wales. Successive injuries and surgeries have limited Wright to just 58 minutes on the field in 2025.
There’s a great article here by the Qld Reds media unit that summarises some of Liam Wright’s highlights and stats from his career, including a 21-14 away victory against the Sharks in Durban. It’s not all about the rugby stats though, every coach has been super complimentary of his character and his leadership in his time at the Reds, none more so than Les Kiss who said:
“Liam is a true rugby man who lives the values of what rugby is,” Kiss said.


“He’s been an exceptional rugby player for the Reds. He’s a brilliant person and you understand why the locker room looks up to him.


“He’s a leader of men. His persistence and resilience are evident on a daily basis.


“Liam is one of the best I’ve met in the game. On behalf of the coaching staff, the Professional Rugby Department and the QRU, I wish him the best for the future.”
Liam Wright leaves the Reds having captained the side 55 times, behind only Catchpole and Horwill.
I had the good fortune to meet Liam and Ryan Smith at the Reds season launch this year, and took away a sense of a quietly spoken giant human who respects the game, the people around him, and his friends.
So, from Green and Gold Rugby, congrats Liam on a fantastic career with the Reds and Wallabies, the team will be less for your moving on, and sincerely, we wish you the best of luck with the next step in your career, wherever that may lie.
Wounded Wallabies
There were a few injury concerns for the Wallabies in the game against Japan, with Lukhan Salakaia-Loto going off with a rib injury, Josh Canham got knocked out and failed his HIA, and Tom Robertson also went off with a head knock. The English game this weekend is outside of the international season so the Wallabies won’t be able to draw on our overseas based players, and have called in Darcy Swain, who will hopefully get to make his return to the Wallabies side on tour.
Hopefully LSL can shake off his injury and contribute on tour, he has been very good this year and the Wallabies could use his physicality against England. It didn’t look good though, either a cracked rib, or rib Cartlidge if I was guessing, and having suffered both injuries, I couldn’t imagine playing rugby with either.
Other news out of the Wallabies against Japan, it was good to see Ross make his debut for the Wallabies, and it was good to see Nonggorr get a start after 16 appearances off the bench (which is a new record for the Wallabies).
Wallabies Player Ratings
As usual, in the week after a Wallabies test we’ll do player ratings. As a reminder, these are my ratings, based on watching the game on Saturday and rewatching the mini match on Monday night. There was obviously some commentary on the match review on Sunday, and in the Monday news which I have taken into account. As always, we are using the G&GR scoring system.
10 – A legendary performance to go down in the history books
9 – Outstanding performance: Man of the match shoo-in
8 – Excellent all-round game
7 – Good game with a few sparkles
6 – Solid performance
5 – Average – a pass mark
4 – Below par
3 – Had a bad game
2 – Tell your story walking pal
1 – A complete joke
0 – Didn’t make it on, or no meaningful involvement.
Japan vs Australia
- Angus Bell – Had a good game in a close quarter game. A rare start for Bell, the scrum went well, had some good carries, and worked hard. 6
- Josh Nasser – Got a start, and had an unenviable task of throwing into the lineout in heavy rain. A few missed throws, but made a key early breakdown steal. Was good to see him get some extended time on the field. 5
- Zane Nonggorr – Has good rugby smarts for a prop, got around the field well, made tackles and runs, and the scrum was solid. As with Nasser, good to see him get some extended time. 5
- Jeremy Williams – Had to put in an 80 minute shift as LSL and Canham left the field in the first 20 minutes. Did the hard work that was needed on a wet day. 6
- Lukhan Salakaia-Loto – One great run before he left the field with a rib injury. no score.
- Nicholas Champion de Crespigny – Became a Wallabies captain in his third test, and led from the front, scoring the first try, carrying the ball willingly, and making god tackles. Packed at Lock for 60 minutes, so gets an extra point. 7
- Calo Tizzano – Carried on his good form from Super Rugby, and it was great to see him get the start. Carries well, tackles well, and is a presence over the ball. Had three tries disallowed, but finally got a try in the second half. 7
- Bob Valetini – Was another good game in Gold, was solid with the ball in carries and played the whole game. 5
- Jake Gordon – cops a bit of criticism in the Monday news, but I thought his kicking was generally good (one bad one in the first half that he actually regathered) and he played the full 80 minutes. 6
- Tane Edmed – Was good at times, with only one obvious error dropping a high ball. Maybe should have been demanding the ball more in the first half when the Wallabies had 5,000 pick n drives on the Japanese line. 5
- Dylan Pietsch – One of my favourite players this year, made his return from a horrible broken jaw in South Africa, was busy, defended well, and made a couple of spectacular takes from kicks. 6
- Hunter Paisami – was very good, and with the exception of an attempted offload in his own 22 early in the second half, made good choices. Some excellent defensive reads and solid defensive shots, Was a presence at defensive breakdowns, and could be credited with 2 turnovers. one of the Wallabies best. 7
- Josh Flook – A really well taken try in the first half after a good scrum play. Has some combination with Paisami, but it wasn’t necessarily the weather for outside backs to get a lot of ball. 5
- Corey Toole – Not much went his way int eh wet conditions, but was oviously trying to get involved. Made a few good covering plays and would have loved to see him with more ball in hand opportunities. 5
- Andrew Kellaway – The ginger ninja was good, a very solid game from the fullback, good under the high ball, and joined the line as an extra play maker. 7
- Billy Pollard – Added size, technicality, and momentum to the forwards when he replaced Nasser at 50 minutes. 5
- Aidan Ross – Made his debut for the Wallabies and became the 5th player to represent the Wallabies and All Blacks. Was solid in his time on the field and should be a reliable asset for the Aussies as they head into the next world cup. Turned 30 on game day, so some birthday present. 5
- Tom Robertson – Was on the receiving end of a massive tackle that included head contact but wasn’t deemed foul play. Off with a HIA. no score.
- Josh Canham – On early for LSL, but then got knocked out making a tackle at 20 minutes. Failed his HIA. Looked good in his 15 minutes on the field with positive involvements. 5
- Harry Wilson – Was on after 20 minutes after Canham was injured. Hi usual busy self with good carries and tackles. 5
- Ryan Lonergan – didn’t get onto the field. no score.
- Hamish Stewart – Made it onto the field with ten minutes to play. Some good involvements, including a key steal. 5
- Filipo Daugunu – Also on for the last ten minutes. Defended well, limited opportunities to attack. 5
Let me know what you think.
That’s a wrap.
As always, thanks for making it this far and I hope you have a great Tuesday wherever you are.
