'Joe has been awesome'
Tom Wright ripped through Welsh and English defences on the Wallabies’ recent spring tour of the British Isles, but the tables could be turned when Australia hosts Fiji for the first time in eight years.
The Brumbies fullback cemented himself as one of Joe Schmidt’s key attacking weapons in last year’s promising, but ultimately frustrating, northern sojourn.
After a bright start, with scintillating wins against Wales and England, losses to powerhouses Scotland and Ireland brought the Wallabies back down to earth and home without a coveted grand slam.
“We came up against a couple of the top-tier nations there in the world,” Wright told AAP.
“That gave us a little taste of what the Lions will come across with.”
Before the British and Irish Lions tour Australia in the southern winter, the Wallabies will get an ideal warm-up against the flying Fijians.
“What better way than to go up against a nation that will beat you with razzle-dazzle and they’ll run straight through you simultaneously,” Wright said.
The Newcastle clash will be Fiji’s first visit to Australia since 2017. Fiji pipped the Wallabies 22-15 when the sides last faced off at the 2023 World Cup in France.
A Wallabies match against Fiji – the country he spent two years in undertaking a Mormon mission – could lead to a “special” debut for new Brumbies recruit David Feliuai.
The 27-year-old’s path to selection in the 38-man Wallabies squad against Wales and Georgia last year was unconventional, including a stint at Transylvanian club Baia Mare in Romania.
Deep in Dracula country, a Wallabies call-up seemed a far-away prospect for the powerful centre.
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“I kind of spoke about it to my agent at the time,” Feliuai said.
“I was like: ‘That would be cool if it happened’ but I didn’t think it would. But it’s been a crazy journey to be honest.”
The Fiji fixture will be the first meeting with the Pacific Island nation for Wright and Brumbies teammate Noah Lolesio.
But they have a sense of what to expect from their clashes with the Fijian Drua in the Super Rugby and will get another taste when the Brumbies open their Super Rugby campaign with their first-ever trip to Fiji.
“I’m really looking forward to it, and seeing the Fijian crowd as well, I’ve heard they’re mad. So it should be awesome,” Lolesio said.
The 25-year-old looks to have finally nailed down the Wallabies’ No.10 role under coach Schmidt after being frozen out under predecessor Eddie Jones.
“Joe’s been awesome,” Lolesio said.
“I think we’ve been guilty the last few years of being real individualised in how we play. So he’s been pushing on playing together as a team, and just everyone being on the same page.
“I felt like, especially in the spring tour last year, everyone got the gist of how we wanted to play and it made my job that much easier.”
Despite the new lease of life the Wallabies have found under Schmidt, his contract is set to run out in August and this could be his last in charge with the Irishman yet to commit.
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* Sunday, July 6: v Fiji, Newcastle International Sports Centre
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