Australia’s high-profile rugby league signing, Joseph Sua’ali’i, is poised to make his Wallabies debut during the end-of-season tour after being named in Joe Schmidt’s squad for matches against England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.
The 21-year-old, expected to feature in the centres or outside backs, could have joined the Australia XV tour of Britain but was instead included in the 34-man Wallabies squad. He last played for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL a month ago before linking up with the Wallabies in a training camp. Sua’ali’i is one of three uncapped players in the squad, alongside flyhalf Tane Edmed, who reignited his Test ambitions with a stint in New Zealand’s National Provincial Championship, and versatile English-born back Harry Potter.
Will Skelton, who captained Australia during part of last year’s World Cup campaign, was also recalled to the squad for the first time this year. The 32-year-old lock missed the July Tests and Rugby Championship due to his commitments with French club La Rochelle but recently expressed his desire to return to the test arena.
Powerhouse centre Samu Kerevi is also in contention to play his first Test of the year on the tour, but there was no place for fellow Fijian-born back Marika Koroibete, the winger who has twice been named Australia’s best Test player. Other notable absentees include loose forwards Rob Leota and Liam Wright, who are sidelined with calf and shoulder injuries, respectively, and young flyhalf Tom Lynagh, who will tour with the Australia XV squad instead.
The Wallabies will face England at Twickenham on 9 November before concluding their grand slam tour with visits to Cardiff, Edinburgh, and Dublin in the following weekends. The 30-strong Australia XV squad, also announced on Tuesday, will play against English club Bristol Bears on 8 November and England A the following weekend.
“We have a relatively consistent group but will integrate a few new players on tour,” Schmidt said in a news release. “Trying to balance opportunities for players, some recent squad members will get much needed game time with Australia XV, which also enables us to broaden our cohort of players in what will be highly competitive fixtures.”
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