‘Massive leader’: Skelton Bledisloe boost for Wallabies

The Wallabies have received a giant boost in their quest to regain the Bledisloe Cup, with towering second-rower Will Skelton set to play the second Test against New Zealand in Perth next week.

Skelton, who has been one of Australia’s best players this year, did not feature in Australia’s two Tests against Argentina having returned to France to link with his club team La Rochelle after the tour of South Africa last month.

But Rugby Australia has confirmed the 33-year-old will re-join the Wallabies in Perth for the second Bledisloe Test on October 4 after negotiations with La Rochelle.

Skelton was eager to play in Saturday’s opening Test in Auckland, but scheduling proved too big an obstacle. He was due to play in La Rochelle’s clash with Toulon on Sunday (Monday morning AEST), which wouldn’t have given him enough time to get to New Zealand for the start of the week. Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has a policy that players need to be in camp on the Monday if they are playing on the weekend.

In the event, the La Rochelle match was postponed due to bad weather.

Skelton will miss two La Rochelle matches, on September 28 and October 4 – the day the second Bledisloe Test.

After the fixtures against the All Blacks, the Wallabies have five more Tests in 2025 – including a highly anticipated showdown on October 25 against Japan, now coached by Eddie Jones. The Tokyo fixture will be the Wallabies’ first match against Jones since he resigned as Australian coach after his secret Zoom call with Japan officials before the 2023 World Cup.

The Wallabies then play England (November 1), Italy (November 8), Ireland (November 15) and France (November 22). Skelton is unlikely to feature against Japan but could be called up for the spring tour in Europe.

Without Skelton, Australia edged Argentina 28-24 in Townsville before falling 28-26 to the Pumas in Sydney a week later.

His return from Europe will boost the Wallabies’ hopes of finally ending their 22-year Bledisloe Cup drought.

“Firstly, he’s a massive leader within our squad,” said Wallabies assistant coach and former All Blacks second-rower Tom Donnelly on Tuesday. “His ability to connect and encourage and work with the guys, to make sure that we’re all working together, is massive for the group.

“Secondly, he’s a huge human, so it makes it a little bit easier for him to be able to dominate collisions, which is pretty handy when you’re trying to win games of rugby.”

The Wallabies must win both Tests to reclaim the Bledisloe Cup for the first time since 2002, although a win and a draw would suffice.

There is a chance Skelton makes his return in Perth for a Bledisloe dead rubber.

However, the Rugby Championship will still be up for grabs. With two games each to play, the Wallabies lead on 11 points, ahead of South Africa and New Zealand (10 each) and Argentina (9).

Wallabies youngster Max Jorgensen, who is set to feature in his first Bledisloe Cup match, said Australia are expecting a fierce response from the All Blacks after their embarrassing 43-10 loss to the Springboks at home.

“Coming off the back of that pretty bad loss … they’ll come out firing,” Jorgensen told reporters in Auckland. “It’s always been a massive rivalry. I always dreamt of playing in the Bledisloe Cup and if given the chance, it would be awesome.

“[The goal] is ultimately becoming an 80-minute team. Last week, we let Argentina get away with it in the first 40 and then we ended up coming back in the last 40.”

Watch all the action from the 2025 Rugby Championship on Stan Sport.