Three big names in mix to play Springboks in huge boost for Wallabies

Rob Valetini, Will Skelton and Taniela Tupou are all in contention to play for the Wallabies next Sunday morning in Johannesburg.

South Africa have won more than 70 per cent of the Tests they’ve played on the high veldt at Ellis Park and the addition of the form trio would be a huge boost for the Wallabies, given their last win at the stadium was 62 years ago.

Valetini missed the first and third Tests of the British and Irish Lions series due to a calf injury, while Skelton did not play in the first Test with the same issue. Tupou has been nursing a toe injury after an outstanding performance in the third Test against the Lions.

Speaking to this masthead at Sydney Airport on Saturday morning before departing for South Africa, Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt said all three forwards will push for selection against the world champions in Johannesburg.

“They’re definitely all in contention for Ellis Park,” Schmidt said. “Obviously, Will played 60 minutes [in the third Test against the Lions], Nela [Tupou] played 60-odd [minutes] in Sydney. It feels like a long time ago; it wasn’t even a week ago.

“So they’re fine and Bobby [Valetini] did a really good run yesterday, so our ambition is that he’ll train fully with us this week.”

Skelton is likely to play his first game in The Rugby Championship in a non-World Cup year since 2016 after an outstanding Lions series.

Schmidt was unable to confirm whether Skelton will be able to stay with his Wallabies teammates beyond the South Africa tour, but credited the second-rower’s Irish coaches Ronan O’Gara and Donnacha Ryan for their support in facilitating his time in The Rugby Championship.

“At the moment we’re just taking it almost week by week, maybe two weeks by two weeks,” Schmidt said. “We’ll get those two weeks done [against South Africa], we’ll assess at the end of that, and then we’ll go again in the block at home against Argentina and then … home games against the All Blacks.

“We’ll just see how that dovetails in [with Skelton]. Obviously I’m going to have to supply some decent vin rouge [red wine] for Rog [O’Gara] and Donnacha Ryan, who are pivotal in allowing us to have Will for those periods. As much as they’re [World Rugby’s] reg nine windows for the actual match weeks, the logistics of getting up and back, up and back, make it pretty difficult to get continuity of performance from guys like Will.”

Schmidt also reported that he is hopeful five-eighth Tom Lynagh and tight-head prop Allan Alaalatoa could still play some role in The Rugby Championship.

Lynagh suffered a concussion in the third Test against the Lions after an illegal cleanout from hooker Dan Sheehan, and subsequently the Irishman was cited and received a four-match ban. Alaalatoa injured his shoulder in the second Test in Melbourne, playing through the pain in the first half.

“I’m hopeful they’re not [out of The Rugby Championship],” Schmidt said. “We’re going to have to see how the next two weeks go for both of them really. Allan is recovering pretty well so far, and we’re hoping that a conservative approach allows him to come back and play.

“We’ll also be really conservative with Tom [Lynagh]. He’s a young player – you’ve seen the size of him versus the size of some of the guys firing into him – and we’ve just got to make sure that we look after them as best we can.”

The Wallabies’ next 11 Tests will count for valuable ranking points ahead of the 2027 World Cup draw in December. Schmidt understands the calculations that go into the ranking points for each Test, but is not thinking about strategically prioritising games over others.

“Not really,” he said. “I’m very conscious of it [the rankings] and I’ve been conscious of it all year thus far, and you can’t get anything off the Lions.

“Albeit that would have been a nice one to get, with so many of the players contributing to the Lions ranked ahead of us, but all we can do is try to manage our preparation week and then try to do the best we can to have as many things fall our way.

“Hopefully, in the end, that ends up with some results that we can consolidate our position currently sitting in the top six [of the world rankings].

“It’s one of the ironies. I started the [Wallabies] job and we were ninth. Before we’d even played a Test, we were 10th, and I felt that’s how much you control the world rankings, where someone else can be playing and give you a lift or knock you down one.”

Schmidt has been buoyed by the increased support for the Wallabies since the Lions series and smiled as squad members were frequently asked for selfies while checking in their luggage at Sydney Airport on Saturday. The New Zealander hopes strong performances in South Africa will continue the momentum.

“What I’m really enjoying about the group is that for each challenge there’s a positivity about trying to make sure that we’re just improving, and in the end if we can keep doing that then I think we earn the support that I think you’ve seen at the airport here today, and you saw in the Test matches that we’ve recently played,” Schmidt said.

“I think they understand they’ve got to roll their sleeves up and earn that support every time they go out and play.”

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