Wallabies captain Harry Wilson will miss the Test against Wales this weekend after his head knock in the famous victory over England, as coach Joe Schmidt faces key selection decisions against the reeling hosts.
Wilson suffered a category one head knock meaning he was automatically ruled out of the clash on Monday (3.10am AEDT).
With one leg of a grand slam down Schmidt will need to make several calls. The first is how he covers No.8.
There is an opportunity to bring Will Skelton or Lukhan Salakaia-Loto into the second row and move Jeremy Williams to No.6, with Rob Valetini shifting to the back of the scrum.
Another option would be to promote Langi Gleeson to the starting team.
It will be intriguing to see if Schmidt looks to rest some players, or reduce their minutes to protect them for the third and fourth Tests on tour. Angus Bell has been terrific but put in a huge 71-minute shift.
Angus Bell of Australia is tackled by Chandler Cunningham-South, Jamie George and Will Stuart. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
On paper the matches against Scotland and Ireland shape as tougher encounters than this week’s game. Australia beat Wales back-to-back in July and the Welsh slumped to a 10th straight defeat in a 24-19 loss to Fiji. Defeat against Australia will be a record-losing streak for Wales.
Dylan Pietsch is expected to recover in time from his corked calf muscle but Max Jorgensen, fresh off his match-winning try, could come back in.
Schmidt could also bring Samu Kerevi into the centres and take a look at Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, who demonstrated his incredible aerial prowess against England, on the wing.
Wilson has led the team from the front but the leading option to replace him as skipper is Allan Alaalatoa, which could see him promoted to start ahead of Taniela Tupou, the least impressive Wallaby against England.
If Schmidt sticks with Tupou then No.9 Jake Gordon could be promoted to captaincy. World Cup skipper Skelton is another option if he starts.
(Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
The clutch victory could prove a watershed moment for Schmidt’s team and the scenes afterwards suggested they’d be energised by the dramatic nature of the win.
Schmidt, though, is keeping a lid on expectations.
“The grand slam may still be alive but we won’t look too far ahead,” said Schmidt.
Doubtless he would never admit to it but the team coached by his Kiwi colleague Warren Gatland looks there for the taking, shambolic at times during their first-ever loss on home soil to the Pacific islanders.
A win in Cardiff, of course, would take the Wallabies halfway to their goal of emulating the Mark Ella-inspired class of 1984, but, even then, Schmidt would only outline the monumental nature of what would come afterwards.
For not only will Australia now have to face a team driven by desperation to avoid a record 11th straight defeat in Cardiff, but then comes a Scotland side who, Schmidt noted, “were really impressive in beating Fiji last week”.
And that was before the Scots even gave world champs South Africa a run for their money for much of Sunday’s clash at Murrayfield, until eventually succumbing 30-15.
Fiji’s Jiuta Wainiqolo celebrates their side’s win. (Photo by David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images)
Then there’s a reunion with some old friends in Dublin. “I still know some of those Irish guys quite well,” grinned Ireland’s former coach Schmidt. “So we’ll see where we get to there.”
Yet even if the slam is a long way off, there was no question the Wallabies’ epic triumph on Saturday has already transformed the confidence of his squad, as Schmidt reflected: “I’m not sure we’ve turned it around. I think we’re turning.
“Inevitably, progress is never linear, so there’ll be a few peaks and troughs on the way further forward, but I’ve found a really good bunch of people, both in the staff and in the playing group.
“The players can grow confidence in themselves. And I thought some of the skill exhibited, some of the things we’ve been working really hard on, were certainly visible, which gives us a bit of confidence, certainly gives the players a bit of confidence.
“I think there’s green shoots.”
(With AAP)
Tony Harperhttps://https://ift.tt/iJO9Z6N or twist? Skipper blow leaves Joe Schmidt facing big selection calls to face woeful Wales
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