The Wallabies might be on the search for a new No.10 to take on the Lions, but, in many ways, the result won’t depend on who runs out in the jersey in Brisbane on Saturday night. Finn Russell – the Scottish flyhalf, who is magic to watch – could you tell you that.
Russell has gone to three World Cups and only once made it to the finals: a quarterfinal in 2015. In the past two editions, Scotland has barely fired a shot.
In France, Gregor Townsend’s Scotland managed just a solitary penalty goal against the Springboks. A couple of weeks later they were smashed by Ireland.
Outside of World Cups, Scotland has threatened but rarely conquered. At least not in Six Nations, or against the Springboks and All Blacks.
Scotland has had strike power out wide, but they’ve had few to do the heavy lifting up front – the difference between greatness and not.
Now that he’s been blessed with a strong forward pack in front of him over the past month with the Lions, Russell has looked like he has all the time in the world to play.
Finn Russell has been in superb form for the Lions during the tour matches on Australian shores. (Photo By Steve Christo/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
That’s why it won’t necessarily matter who replaces Noah Lolesio and wears the Wallabies’ No.10 jersey against the Lions, because Joe Schmidt’s men won’t stand a chance unless they fire up front.
Instead, the Test could come down to whether back-rower Rob Valetini is fit.
Valetini, who missed the Fiji Test with a calf injury, is central for the Wallabies if they are to challenge the Lions, whose underbelly hasn’t been tested in the five tour matches on Australian shores.
The Wallabies might have started strongly up front against Fiji in Newcastle a week ago, but they missed the bruising blindside flanker after half-time when the momentum turned and the home side needed an enforcer.
Valetini is the one Wallaby who would be an automatic pick in the Lions’ pack.
The Wallabies desperately need Rob Valetini to recover from a calf injury to take on the Lions. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
The 26-year-old back-to-back John Eales Medallist is made of raw steel and leaves a trail of destruction with every carry.
Put simply: the Wallabies need Valetini.
If he doesn’t recover, the Wallabies’ hard edge will be sorely missed.
Wallabies have more selection headaches than the Lions
The Lions’ ‘B’ side stepped up on Saturday in Adelaide to smash the AUNZ side 48-0.
By doing so, the Lions gave Andy Farrell a bit more to think about. But in reality, all it did was make Farrell’s job easier.
After outside centre Garry Ringrose was ruled out of the opening Test, the strong performances of Scottish midfield pairing Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones likely sewed up their spots in the side.
While Bundee Aki delivered a hammering role a few days earlier, the combination of Finn Russell and Tuipulotu and Jones, who has been excellent all tour, makes sense. Throw in the fact they were devastating against the Wallabies last November and it seems a match made in heaven.
Elsewhere, Russell will be crystal clear around his halves with Jamison Gibson-Park and Russell to form the halves, while Hugo Keegan’s strong return means Russell has options at fullback.
The tight-five and their replacements pick themselves, while only the back-row will cause some debate. But given Ollie Chessum’s strong hit out against the Brumbies at blindside flanker, it won’t surprise anyone for the Englishman to end up on the flank.
Schmidt, in contrast, has questions all over the place.
It’s not helped by the fact the Wallabies have had just one Test in nine months, but there’s no doubting that Lolesio’s absence has hurt their preparations.
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has some selection headaches. Photo: Julius Dimataga, Rugby Australia
More than anything though, Schmidt has a big bunch of Test regulars who have had lengthy stints on the sidelines.
Namely, halfback Jake Gordon was limited to just seven Super Rugby matches in 2025 and four in as many months, with his last appearance on May 24.
Playmaker Tom Lynagh has only just returned to full training after a month sidelined from contact injuries.
Max Jorgensen and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii have only played once in months.
Hookers Dave Porecki and Matt Faessler have only recently returned from injury, while the former’s Test return was cut short by another concussion against Fiji.
And physical forwards Will Skelton and Valetini are on the comeback from calf injuries.
It means that roughly a third of the Wallabies’ likely matchday squad will go into the biggest Test on Australian shores underdone.
Throw in the selection headaches and the selection table meeting will be a fascinating one for Schmidt because the Wallabies coach quite simply won’t know exactly what kind of form his players are in.
Prepare for a bomb fest
If the AUNZ flop taught Schmidt anything, it’s that running the ball against the Lions isn’t wise.
Rather than slow the game down, the AUNZ side played a Barbarians style of game that would have appealed to the punters early on, but was never going to be particularly effective for a side that had just come together.
Ultimately, it finished with the AUNZ side copping a donut.
Their performance was summed up by Tane Edmed throwing the ball back to his teammate Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, who unfortunately spilt the ball on his line, allowing Henry Pollock to score.
A few nights earlier, the Brumbies got massive pay out of testing the Lions in the air.
Ryan Lonergan and Declan Meredith regularly put the ball in the sky and the Lions didn’t own the aerial contest.
Expect Schmidt to focus on making the game a scrap in Brisbane, with an aerial raid coming from the halves.
After all, the Wallabies have a couple of backs – Harry Potter and Suaalii – who thrive under the ball on attacking kicks.
AUNZ concept has merit – but it can’t simply be a development project
It wasn’t a shock to see the Lions run rings around Les Kiss’ AUNZ side.
Farrell’s fringe 23 players had too much to lose by another poor performance.
All they needed was a strong start to get their tails up – and they got that after Kiss’ side switched off early with their detail missing.
Keenan punished David Havili for kicking out on the full, and then caught the AUNZ side’s backfield napping.
Then, the AUNZ’s lack of detail was exposed, as Ben White looked up and saw acres of free space to run straight through around the ruck. In a flash, the match was gone.
But the late organisation of the AUNZ didn’t help.
While some big New Zealand guns out of Japan were keen, players steadily lost their desire to feature in the game because of the lack of proactiveness regarding selection in the squad.
Some, like Ngani Laumape, were physically miles off the pace too. Indeed, the former All Blacks midfielder’s lateral movement raised eyebrows before a ball was kicked.
The AUNZ concept is a good one, but more thinking needs to be done to ensure it thrives going forward. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
Rugby Australia was also caught between seeing the game as an avenue for high performance and a proper festival feel.
After all, 11 Reds players were picked, including a couple of youngsters who were exposed.
But would it have drawn more eyeballs if a couple of departing Wallabies greats had been contacted early in the piece?
Insurance played a part in RA doubling down on high performance, but that was after they realised they had to insure players in the first place.
There’s no doubt that the concept is worth pursuing, with the side bringing the trans-Tasman neighbours closer together, but greater alignment is needed moving forward.
Rassie taking game to new heights
It’s easier to do when you’re the back-to-back world champions with a factory of players developing, but Rassie Erasmus really is taking the game to new heights.
Some will question the validity of Erasmus’ latest tricks, as well as whether it’s in the spirit of rugby, but his double-trick play against Italy was the latest piece of innovation.
The Springboks manufactured a scrum from the opening whistle by deliberately failing to kick the ball 10 metres. Although the Boks infringed, it was a fascinating offering that will once again keep oppositions on their toes.
Later, the Springboks set up an infield maul after lifting a player in general play.
Erasmus later credited the piece of innovation to watching an under-14s ‘B’ side in South Africa. Talk about connecting to the grassroots of the game.
While the Springboks are pushing the boundaries of what is legal in the game, all of their tactics will have been tested with recently retired referee Jaco Peyper.
After years of bringing the respected international official into camps, the Springboks brought him officially onto their books early last year.
It was the latest example of the Springboks being ahead of the game.
