Wallabies squad takeaways: Reds rewarded, just not the Junkyard Dog

After months of waiting, the Joe Schmidt Wallabies era is finally underway. While we will have to wait another fortnight to see just what brand of rugby the Kiwi hopes to play, Australian fans at last know the players with which he hopes to execute it.

Schmidt named a 38-man squad on Friday, compiling 13 Reds players, 10 Brumbies, seven Rebels, five Force players and three Waratahs.

They will head to camp in Brisbane on Sunday, before returning to Sydney the following weekend to continue their preparations for the first Test against Wales on July 6.

Read on for some of the key takeaways from Schmidt’s first squad.

THE REDS HAVE CLEARLY MADE AN IMPACT

There were just seven Reds players that featured in former coach Eddie Jones’ World Cup squad last year, but after a greatly improved Super Rugby Pacific season under Les Kiss, Queensland supplied 13 to Schmidt’s first group on Friday.

Among them are locks Ryan Smith and Angus Blyth, who are perhaps the biggest beneficiaries of Schmidt’s decision not to pick players confirmed to be heading offshore, nor those already plying their trade outside Australia.

That includes World Cup captain Will Skelton and his fellow French-based lock Richie Arnold, while Izack Rodda and Ned Hanigan will soon depart Australia, too. The Reds locking duo have been preferred ahead of the Brumbies’ Darcy Swain and Rebels’ Josh Canham while Jeremy Williams, Tom Hooper and Liam Wright are all capable of covering lock and No. 6.

The other Reds players to earn first-time call-ups were hooker Josh Nasser, outside back Josh Flook, fly-half Tom Lynagh and former All Blacks prop, Alex Hodgman. Lynagh’s pedigree is obvious given he is the son of 1991 World Cup winner, Michael, but Schmidt said the 21-year-old’s selection had nothing to do with his surname.

Angus Blyth [L] and Harry Wilson have both been selected in Schmidt’s 38-man Wallabies squad SANKA VIDANAGAMA/AFP via Getty Images
“I’ve coached a lot with Les in the past. I think he’s doing a super job up there. The feedback from the players is really positive about the Reds environment.

“And I think right from the start of the season, Tom, he was hitting [kicking] the ball long. He’s a courageous man. Anyone who gets up is, I wouldn’t say quickly from Samipeni Finau hitting him, but he got up and continued to play. And he challenges the line. He’s got good acceleration.

“So, you know, he’s young and he’s still got a lot to learn. And we’re going to try to fast track that learning over this next four weeks, really.”

THE DOOR IS AJAR FOR NAWAQANITAWASE, LESS SO GORDON

As had been expected, neither of the NRL-bound Carter Gordon or Mark Nawaqanitawase were included in Schmidt’s 38-man squad. The Waratahs winger, who the Roosters are keen to get across to rugby league as soon as possible, is currently in Fiji with the Australia sevens program and could yet feature at the Olympics.

Having played at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, there is a very real chance that Nawaqnitawase could win selection for Paris and, potentially, leave the Roosters with no choice but to wait until his contract with Rugby Australia is up.

But Gordon could yet make his way to the Titans through an earlier release, though Schmidt indicated that would be a decision for RA’s rugby committee. What is clear, however, is that even if Gordon had decided to sign a new deal in rugby, his lowly goal-kicking percentage would have needed urgent attention.

“I think with Carter, we’ve actually got Noah [Lolesio], Tom [Lynagh] and Ben [Donaldson], who’ve all done pretty well this year. Some of their percentages exceed Carter’s,” Schmidt said.

“We’ve just got to be excited about the guys that we have got. I’ve had a number of discussions with Carter. I really like him. I think he’s a great young kid.

“I think there could be an opportunity for him to come back at some stage after probably getting a little bit out of his system from recent times, whether it be the World Cup or more recently.”

Carter Gordon runs the ball while playing for the Wallabies in their 2023 Rugby World Cup loss to Fiji in Saint-Etienne, France Phil Walter/Getty Images
Schmidt did however indicate that if both players were keen to exit rugby as soon as was possible, he would not stand in their way.

“I haven’t been part of a discussion on that yet. And I guess it’s something I hadn’t really considered. But I think it would be something we’d have to talk about if it came up. I don’t really want to get in their way if they want to get on,” he said.

“They’ve chosen a path and they want to get on the pathway. At the same time, as I said about Mark, his is a slightly different situation to Carter. But if that was the case, I guess it would be a decision for the rugby committee and they may ask me my opinion. But it would be something I’d throw back to the coaches because that’s how we make our decisions.”

BEALE COULD YET BRING UP THE TON

It has been a difficult 18 months for Kurtley Beale, with the veteran Wallabies back having been charged, and then acquitted, of sexual assault from an incident in Bondi at the end of 2022.

He was stood down from his Waratahs and RA contract as a result and didn’t lace up a boot at all in 2023 while he waited for his day in court, which eventually came earlier this year.

Once he was cleared, Beale made a return for Randwick and was then quickly signed by the Force as injury cover, the 35-year-old adding another attacking option but more importantly, a key backline voice, to assist another recruit from the east coast in Ben Donaldson.

A few months on, Beale is now back in a Wallabies squad for the first time since the 2022 spring tour under Dave Rennie, his dream of becoming a Test centurion — he has won 95 caps — a very real possibility.

“There’s been a few times,” Schmidt replied when asked whether Beale had produced one particular piece of play that had impressed him.

“I think one probably sticks in my mind, the Force they were playing left to right. And he looked that side. There was nothing on. He swept back around the other side. Ben Donaldson decided to have a crack at a gap, got the ball through to Kurtley. And Kurtley just came straight off his left shoulder.

“And that, I don’t know, sans de jure, the kind of game sense, it’s hard to coach that. He just sees the game. Sometimes I think as players get older, they see it, but maybe struggle to land it. But he’s been landing it pretty well.

“And so that was part of it, particularly around the feedback from the Force around the confidence he was giving other players. And we had a number of the Force on the grass last week. And there was really positive feedback about his influence.”

WHAT ABOUT THE JUNKYARD DOG?

While the Reds have contributed the most players of any Aussie franchise, the omission of breakout winger Tim Ryan will no doubt divide opinion.

At just 20 years of age, there will be those that believe Ryan would benefit from another year of club rugby, followed by another Super season, just to get more game time under his belt.

The other school of thought is that after nine tries in nine Super games this season, including a stunning hat trick against the Blues, the youngster dubbed the Junkyard Dog is more than ready for his first taste of Test rugby.

Schmidt said he had spoken with Ryan and hinted there was every chance the Reds winger could yet be sighted in gold later this year. The beneficiary of a potential softly-softly approach with Ryan is Rebels rookie Darby Lancaster, who also scored a hat trick against New Zealand opposition this year.

“I think anyone was tempted to pick Tim Ryan. And I had a super conversation with him around selection and around his readiness for selection,” Schmidt said.

“I think one of the things you’ve got to be just a little bit wary of is… to be tempted by the excitement of a young kid who plays really well. And then the reality of a readiness to play at that level and the sort of players that he’s going to come up against. So within that discussion, you know, Tim has done a great job for the Reds.

“And we’ll enjoy tracking him and potentially Tim being involved at some time in the future. But, you know, Darby, his speed is very, very good. He is a very good defender post-tackle, puts a lot of pressure on.

“And I just think that it’s a great opportunity for him to get in and learn a bit of his craft in a Wallabies environment.”

THE TIGHT FIVE REMAINS A HUGE CONCERN

Given the front-row injuries Australian rugby has battled not only this year, but also in 2023, and the level of talent playing, or heading, offshore, it’s clear the biggest issue Schmidt must confront comes in the tight five.

In the front-row, first-choice loosehead Angus Bell won’t be sighted until later in the year, leaving James Slipper, Hodgman and uncapped Rebels prop Isaac Kailea to shoulder the workload in the No. 1 jersey. Tighthead, meanwhile, is a little deeper following the return of Allan Alaalatoa, but the up-and-down form and fitness of Taniela Tupou is far from ideal

At hooker, meanwhile, Josh Nasser has been brought into the Wallabies squad for the first time despite a horror afternoon of lineout throwing in Fiji late in the Super season, though he is likely to back up Matt Faessler and the Brumbies’ Billy Pollard.

While the Reds locks are uncapped, Nick Frost and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto do add some experience, though the omission of Darcy Swain will certainly raise eyebrows in Canberra.

Schmidt said he would lean on the experience of his coaching group, including scrum guru Mike Cron and breakdown specialist Laurie Fisher to help bring the Wallabies’ new faces up to speed.

“I tell you what I have got, though, [is] massive confidence in Mike Cron and Geoff Parling and Laurie Fisher to, whatever we have got, to make the most of it,” Schmidt said.

“And I’ve met those players. And I just think that we’ve got to back ourselves to get the best out of them. And they’ve got to work hard enough to get the best out of themselves.

“So that’s probably as simple as I can make the plan. And I’ve been coaching internationally probably for 10 years, professionally for more than 20. And I know there’s times where you look at it and you think, wow, there’s not a lot of experience there. And that’s a risk. And counteracting that is the amount of experience in the coaching team. Some would say we’re even old.

“I’m feeling old this afternoon just because it’s been a lot of work going into trying to make selections and getting a balance of what we know about players and what we think we can find out about players over this next very short period of time.”

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