Josh Flook’s time has arrived, with the Queensland star and former Australian Schoolboys captain set to be handed the Wallabies’ No.13 jersey against Wales on Saturday.
In a major Wallabies overhaul, The Roar can reveal as many as seven players are expected to be handed debuts by Joe Schmidt for the New Zealander’s first Test in charge since taking over from Eddie Jones in January.
Along with the return of Liam Wright, who is expected to be revealed on Thursday as the Wallabies’ seventh captain in ten Tests, fellow Queenslanders Tom Lynagh and Angus Blyth are expected to be given maiden caps.
Josh Flook during a Wallabies training session at Ballymore Stadium on June 25, 2024 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
As reported on Tuesday evening, NSW winger Dylan Pietsch is expected to feature in the matchday 23.
He will be joined by Rebels prop Isaac Kailea while Force lock and captain Jeremy Williams is also firming for a call-up. Nick Frost is expected to miss selection.
Brumbies back-rower Charlie Cale is also likely to come off the bench after a breakout season, with the explosive forward effective on the ball, at the lineout and in the loose.
After the Eddie Jones World Cup gamble, Schmidt’s shake-up is just as startling.
The difference is, Schmidt’s not heading to France for a World Cup campaign but rather will tackle Warren Gatland’s Welsh side in two Tests.
It will be the first time the two sides have met since Wales essentially knocked the Wallabies out in the pool stage for the first time by downing them 40-6 in Lyon.
Of the 15 that started against Wales at the Olympique Lyonnais, only three remain with James Slipper, Rob Valetini and Andrew Kellaway expected to start.
Liam Wright, 26, is expected to form a back-row alongside Fraser McReight and Rob Valetini.
In the halves, it’s understood Waratahs skipper Jake Gordon will form a brand new combination alongside Noah Lolesio.
The pair have Test experience but were overlooked by Jones during the 2023 campaign.
it will be Lolesio’s first Test since coming off the bench and spearheading the Wallabies’ come-from-behind win over Wales in Cardiff in 2022 – Australia’s only win over the Welsh in their past five encounters.
In the midfield, Hunter Paisami is likely to join his Reds teammate Flook who will be given the chance to make the No.13 jersey his own after Len Ikitau’s hamstring tweak last week.
Tom Wright, who also was brutally axed ahead of last year’s World Cup campaign, is expected to return to the No.15 jersey for the first time since the Wallabies were pipped by Argentina in Parramatta last July.
The Wallabies are hoping to break a five-year drought in Sydney, where they have won just once since 2016 in the Harbour City with their sole victory against Samoa in 2019.
During that eight-year period, the Wallabies have lost to Argentina, England, New Zealand, Scotland, Ireland and South Africa.
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