In a decision that has gone down like a lead balloon up in the north, Joe Schmidt says he will “safeguard” his top 25 Wallabies ahead of the three-match Test series against the Lions.

While Andy Farrell had an embarrassment of riches to choose from when he picked his 38-man squad to face the Wallabies last week, leaving out stars of the calibre of Jamie George, Owen Farrell, Jack Willis and Darcy Graham, Schmidt doesn’t have the same resources to pick from.

As such, Schmidt revealed on Monday he would wrap his top-tier men in cotton wool to ensure they have the best chance of claiming their first series win against the Lions since 2001.

Instead, fringe players, who may or may not be called upon, will be released to the four Super Rugby franchises to ensure they get a chance to take on the famed team.

“The policy is that we’d probably be very keen to safeguard out what we perceive to be 23 or 24, 25, and then the rest of the squad for them to get the games and to get to play against the Lions,” Schmidt told reporters at Rugby Australia.

“We don’t want to deprive someone of the opportunity of playing against the Lions if they’re not going to get the Test jersey at the time.

“But we know that the Lions, you never get through unscathed, so we know that we’re going to need people.

“It’s like Faz (Andy Farrell) having named that squad of 38, but naming ten standby players because he knows he’s going to have to dip into that pool, and some of those players could come through and really stand out for the Lions in the end.”

Joe Schmidt says he’ll “safeguard” his top 25 players ahead of the Lions series once the Super Rugby season is finished. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

The decision raised eyebrows among English reporters, who had previously been assured by Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh that the provincial sides would be strong to ensure the Lions had competitive matches to build into their campaign.

“Joe Schmidt has risked devaluing key British & Irish Lions tour matches after saying he would withhold Australia’s Test players from representing their Super Rugby teams,” wrote respected Times journalist Alex Lowe.

“The quality of opposition has been an issue on previous Lions to Australia because they do not have the same depth of talent down under as New Zealand or South Africa.

“In 2001, Graham Henry’s Lions opened with a 116-10 win against Western Australia followed by an 83-6 win against a Queensland Presidents XV. In 2013, the Lions put 69 points on Western Force and 64 points on a Combined Country XV. On both occasions, the Lions were concerned at being undercooked heading into the Test series. The tourists were beaten 2-1 in 2001, but were 2-1 winners 12 years later.”

The latest development will make it harder for one of the four Australian Super Rugby sides to repeat what Jake White’s Brumbies did in 2013 by beating the Lions in Canberra.

Schmidt will name a squad size of around 38 ahead of the Wallabies’ one lead-up Test before the Lions against Fiji on July 6 in Newcastle. He will then name his Wallabies squad to face the Lions in the days leading up to the AUNZ fixture in Adelaide on July 12.

The former Ireland coach added the Wallabies might not field their first-choice XV against the Flying Fijians as they weigh up the balancing act of keeping players fit and rebuilding combinations.

“We’ll want to get some combinations back together, but we’ll also be conscious of some of the volume that players have accumulated so far,” Schmidt said.

Some of the Wallabies’ best talent might not play against Fiji. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)

While Schmidt was speaking to reporters away from the cameras for the first time since taking over in early 2024, the experienced coach did his best to give little away ahead of the important series.

Schmidt left the door open for any of the Wallabies’ overseas contingent to be picked.

“I spoke to Will [Skelton] on the weekend,” Schmidt said. “I stayed in touch with those guys who are overseas.

“He’s starting to get some minutes back up again. My worry with Will was that he missed a fair bit of time. And just that continuity will be good.

“We haven’t made any hard and fast decisions. But we obviously used Will, Samu [Kerevi] and Marika [Koroibete] last year. I’ve spoken about James [O’Connor]. Potentially, there’s other guys like Pete Samu, who’s committed, I think, to coming back at some stage.

“And even the guys who are going, like Tom Hooper and Langi Gleeson, I do think we’ll see them back playing for the Wallabies at some stage. So we don’t want to discount anyone.”

Schmidt also was giving little away around the pecking orders of certain positions.

Not only did he list all four Wallabies flyhalves who featured in gold last year, he also mentioned the promise shown by Reds replacement Harry McLaughlin-Philipps.

At halfback, Schmidt rattled off Kalani Thomas and Henry Robertson’s names.

chmidt wouldn’t be moved on whether Carlo Tizzano was firming to start in the No.7 jersey ahead of Fraser McReight, namedropping Charlie Gamble, Luke Reimer and Rory Scott into the conversation around the depth at openside flanker.

He also mentioned Charlie Cale, Liam Wright and Seru Uru, who are all sidelined at present, as well as Harry Wilson.

“There’s probably someone who’s going to be upset that I didn’t mention them,” Schmidt added.

Joe Schmidt said he would think about including a second specialist openside flanker in his 23 man matchday squad to take on the Lions. (Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images)

He did however not rule out the possibility of including two specialist openside flankers in the same squad, but hinted that he wouldn’t go down the path of starting a pair of hard on-ballers like former coaches have.

“One of the ways to have maybe two out-and-out sevens is to have a 6-2 split,” Schmidt said.

“That’s what some people are doing to allow themselves that luxury. And it’s not something that we’ve done, but it’s something that we’ve discussed a number of times.”

Schmidt commented that he wasn’t fazed by Dan McKellar playing Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii at fullback despite the Wallabies coach picking him in the centres last year.

“I’m really happy that Joseph plays wherever Dan needs him to play,” Schmidt said.

“Dan and I have had the conversation, and Dan actually asked me, do you want me to play him at 13? And I said, I just want him with his boots on playing the game.

“I think one of the beauties of playing 15 is you see the whole game in front of you, and so for Joseph, he’s had that opportunity.

“But then, they don’t use him like a normal 15 either. He comes into the front line on some set plays, and ends up in the front line on occasions. The try against the Brumbies, where 15s don’t usually take flat balls off lineouts, and things like that.”

Schmidt added that he would like to see Suaalii return for the Waratahs as soon as he’s available.

“I think it’s important that he just keeps playing when he’s fit and available to play,” he added.

Joe Schmidt said he was disappointed that the Wallabies didn’t continue to fire shots against Ireland at the Aviva in Dublin. (Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Schmidt said that it became clear during the first half of last year’s international season that the Wallabies needed to urgently address their set-piece consistency and their connection on the field.

“Probably the biggest work-on is consistency throughout the game,” he said.

Schmidt pinpointed the Wallabies’ inability to keep their hands on the throat of Ireland last year, as Farrell’s men overran their former coach in the second half in Dublin.

“One of my biggest disappointments, probably with the Irish game, you’re 13-5 up at halftime and we all make a commitment that we’re going to keep playing. We’re going out to win the second half,” Schmidt said.

“And then I kind of felt like we tried to defend the lead, and defending a lead against a team that are as efficient, and they weren’t as efficient as they had been, in Ireland but they’re still efficient enough that if they get near the 22 enough times and they get platforms of five metre lineouts, and those sort of things, that becomes our kryptonite.

“We’re very, very sapped trying to defend those things successively when they accumulate. So for us, just committing to what we’re doing will be really important.

“I don’t think that we can come out against the Lions and say, right, let’s try to shut the game down. They have power, skill, they have speed.

“So they can play in a number of ways and whatever way they play, we’re going to have to try to play our game.”