Liam Wright is set to explode back onto the international stage, with the Queensland Reds leader tipped to become the 89th Wallabies captain.
The 26-year-old, who has long led the Reds but was first plucked from relative obscurity by Michael Cheika as a teenager in 2017, is understood to have impressed new Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt and will start against Wales on Saturday in Sydney.
The Roar understands he is set to be one of a number of selection shocks, with Tom Lynagh – the son of former Wallabies captain and World Cup-winner, Michael – a strong chance to be named on the bench behind Noah Lolesio.
Waratahs winger and Olympic sevens international Dylan Pietsch is also in line to make his debut after going close last year.
When he runs out on Allianz Stadium on Saturday, he will become just the 15th Indigenous player to represent the Wallabies.
But it’s the sudden re-emergence of Wright, whose last few years have been injury-plagued, so much so that he signed a unique Amended Term Contract in 2022 that recently expired, that will turn heads.
After previously serving as Michael Hooper’s heir apparent, Liam Wright is set to become the Wallabies’ 89th captain. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
A long-time leader for the Reds, the Durban-born back-rower, who moved to Australia when he was seven, has often been forced to play second fiddle since he was selected by Cheika for the 2017 Spring Tour as a development player before playing a Super Rugby match.
Having served a long-apprentice behind Michael Hooper and David Pocock, Wright was even forced to move away from his preferred position at openside flanker to the other side of the scrum after Fraser McReight burst onto the scene.
Despite being strong at the lineout and component over the ball, other more dynamic and explosive players have long been seen as offering more on the international arena.
“He [Cheika] pretty much said that there were a lot of good backrowers going around, people who were playing really well at that time,” Wright said in 2019.
“But what he wanted me to do was to take my game to another level, to make my game more dynamic.”
No more.
Liam Wright is expected to call the lineout for the Wallabies. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Schmidt has long appreciated the need for quick ball and ruck retention and appears to have turned to Wright to help Australia’s issues at the breakdown. He won’t have any complaints from defence coach and breakdown specialist Laurie Fisher.
The former Ireland head coach and All Blacks assistant will have leaned on his former right-hand man Les Kiss in learning more about Wright, who has worked alongside and been hugely impressed by the back-rower at the Reds since joining Queensland 12 months ago.
Wright, who played the last of his five Tests under Dave Rennie in 2020, will also lead the lineout for the Wallabies.
Whether Wright is a long-term option remains to be seen.
Schmidt last week said there was every chance that there could be more than one captain selected during the July Tests as he gets to understand his new group.
He will be the seventh captain picked in less than a year, with Hooper and James Slipper selected as co-captains before injuries and form issues saw Eddie Jones turn to Allan Alaalatoa, Tate McDermott, Will Skelton and Dave Porecki across the nine Tests.
Lynagh’s arrival on the international stage has long looked written in the stars.
The 21-year-old had an impressive debut season in 2023 and was name-dropped by Jones early on as a player for the future.
Although he didn’t get called up by Jones, he also caught the eye of Schmidt early, with the New Zealander regularly commenting on the youngster’s courage, composure and big boot – several traits that saw his father reach the top of the game.
Despite holding such a revered name in Australian rugby, the Reds playmaker last week said he never felt the burden of carrying it.
“It’s a pretty good feeling being involved in the Wallabies set up,” he said.
“In terms of being in my dad’s shadow, it’s always been there since I was a kid. It’s never really affected me, and I’ve always tried to create my own path, and I’m fortunate that my dad is who he is and that’s special to me, but I’ve always tried to create my own path.”
Tom Lynagh is set to make his debut for the Wallabies on Saturday. (Photo by Pete Dovgan/Speed Media/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Lynagh recently rejected advances from Italy about joining his brother, Louis, in pledging his allegiance to the European nation.
“There was a little bit of contact but it’s always been a dream of mine to represent Australia,” said Lynagh, whose mother is Italian.
“He’s [Louis] been trying to convince me to come over. He’s non-stop every day. I’m settled here and happy with where I am at the moment.”
Pietsch, meanwhile, is also set to add to a coveted list in Australian rugby as he prepares to become the first Wallaby sine Anthony Fainga’a to pull on the gold jersey.
“There’s only been 14 [so] being the 15th would be really cool,” Pietsch said last month. “Not only just for me but hopefully what it can create for other people and other Indigenous players within rugby.”
The list of Indigenous Wallabies is highly distinguished but alarmingly low, especially given how rich talent is spread across the NRL and AFL.
Waratahs flyer and former sevens star Dylan Pietsch is set to make his debut for the Wallabies on Saturday. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)
He is set to join Cec Ramalli, Lloyd McDermott, Mark Ella, Glen Ella, Gary Ella, Lloyd Walker, Jim Williams, Andrew Walker, Wendell Sailor, Timana Tahu, Saia and Anthony Faingaa, Matt Hodgson and Kurtley Beale.
Pietsch, who has a art business and also created boots and jerseys with Indigenous designs for several teams, including the Waratahs, the Junior Wallabies and Clovelly Eagles, hopes to change the picture and act as a beacon of hope for changing that shamefully low representation.
“It’s probably the main drive, I really want to create change within the sport in that area and I feel like myself, KB (Beale) and (NSW winger) Tristan Riley coming through as well, we’ve got a strong connection to culture,” he said.
“We can really drive that and hopefully change a fair bit of what’s gone on in the past and create more than just 15 Wallabies … create 30, whatever it is. It drives us.”
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