Twelve years ago, Wallabies great Michael Lynagh declared James O’Connor not equipped to run the show against the Lions.
His justification? Experience at fly-half.
“In these big games you need people with experience, who know it’s the end of their careers and they won’t leave anything on the pitch at all,” the World Cup winner said ahead of the decisive third Lions Test in Sydney.
In the process, Schmidt ignored seasoned playmaker Bernard Foley, as well as O’Connor, whose 12-year quest for redemption is unlikely to come to anything, despite playing a crucial role in the Crusaders’ run to the 2025 Super Rugby final.
Other experienced backs Marika Koroibete, Samu Kerevi and Kurtley Beale, who was included in last week’s Western Force hub, were also looked past.
In total, Schmidt left 343 Tests sitting in the scrap heap by looking past the handful of Test veterans.
Joe Schmidt opted against bringing in experience ahead of the Lions despite the high-pressured environment. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Schmidt will hope that the inexperience left out doesn’t bite him in the backside like it did Eddie Jones when the coach’s decision blew up in his face in France during the Wallabies’ darkest hour.
The experienced coach said he considered the quintet but ultimately decided to go all-in on the young playmakers who made steady progress in 2024.
“I spoke to James today. He just finished training today. He’s got a big game coming up this Saturday obviously. His experience, his skill set, a little bit of versatility that I’ve talked about before in that 10-12 channel, all those things were positive,” Schmidt said.
“There are other guys that have been ongoing conversations. The likes of Bernard Foley and Samu Kerevi, Marika Koroibete. They’re not just quality players, but quality contributors to an environment.
“I’ve said it before about player coaching. I’ve seen player-to-player coaching as an incredibly powerful way to prepare players to play with the experience they bring.
“At the same time, we’ve invested in three guys in that 10-12 spot.
“We felt trying to balance things up, we’re going to keep investing in those guys.
“What I like about those players is they were investing in themselves really well in our environment last year. I think we saw all three of them make improvements to their game, increase their own confidence to drive the game and to communicate the game to other players. We didn’t want to interrupt that.
“I’m not saying we got it right, I’m just saying that’s what we chose to do.”
Japan-bound playmaker Noah Lolesio will likely lead the charge against the Lions. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
In selecting his 36-man Wallabies squad to take on Fiji in Newcastle on July 6, Schmidt didn’t venture far from those who played under him last year.
Uncapped loose-forward Nick Champion de Crespigny, lock Darcy Swain and experienced hooker Dave Porecki were the only new faces from the class of 2024, while Corey Toole, the rapid Brumbies winger who booked his place in the squad after scoring twice against the Chiefs in their Super Rugby semifinal loss, returned despite not being capped last year.
2023 World Cup captain Will Skelton was the only overseas player picked in the squad, having played twice under Schmidt last year.
Schmidt said building on the progress from last year was an important consideration when he approached selection for the Fiji Test – the one hit out the Wallabies have before their three-match Test series against the Lions gets underway in Brisbane on July 19.
“It was an anchoring point for us,” he said.
“We’d invested all that time and those guys were investing time back. And so I think that’s definitely part of it. I don’t know globally, but I felt like we were making progress with the individuals building their game and being more confident.
“And then the collective becoming more competitive. So we wanted continuity there, albeit we haven’t seen them since early January.”
Nick Champion de Crespigny was one of nine Force players selected in Joe Schmidt’s squad. (Photo by James Worsfold/Getty Images)
The majority of the Wallabies will gather in Sydney on Sunday, with five of the nine Force players – Champion de Crespigny, Tom Robertson, Darcy Swain, Dylan Pietsch and Nic White – staying behind in Perth to prepare for their clash against the Lions in Perth on June 28.
Tellingly, the other four Force players – Jeremy Williams, Carlo Tizzano, Ben Donaldson and Harry Potter – will instead head across the Nullarbor and are likely to take on Fiji – the Wallabies’ World Cup foes from 2023.
Unsurprisingly, Schmidt didn’t reveal who would captain the Wallabies against Fiji, nor against the Lions.
After using four captains in 2024, Schmidt did give himself some room to maneuver if he wanted to move away from Harry Wilson.
“Some of the guys who led for us last year have got niggles or are coming back from injury and are only just back on deck,” said Schmidt.
“Do we want them to shoulder the responsibility of leadership or just focus on their own game and get as much of what they can deliver right in what they’re doing? Or do we want them to lead the team and slightly dilute their own focus on their own game? That’s the balance that we’ll even talk to them about, to be honest.”
