Risky alternatives as Wallabies suffer another injury setback
REACTION: A plan for James O’Connor, back in the Wallaby jersey after three years, to share the No.10 role has had to be shelved after Ben Donaldson went down injured in training on Thursday.
The idea had been for O’Connor to play the first 40 minutes against the Springboks on Saturday with Donaldson coming on after the break, but the injury has left the Wallabies looking at risky alternatives in the playmaking department in Johannesburg.
Schmidt has, for the moment, opted against bringing in a third playmaker, Tane Edmed, into his named team to replace Donaldson.
But the New Zealander later admitted that the one-cap Edmed could still feature in his plans for Saturday’s daunting clash at Ellis Park after he has a last look at his options during Friday’s final training run.
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“In the second to last play of the training, ‘Donno’ [Donaldson] kicked the ball and pulled up short, so we don’t know what the extent of the injury is,” coach Joe Schmidt revealed after naming the team.
“We’ve only been back from training for about an hour, so he will get a scan now and we’ll have a definitive picture because we need to know for next week as well whether we need more cover.
“[Scrumhalf] Nic White can maybe cover No.10 and is astute enough to do so, [(outside back] Andrew Kellaway has the skill set to cover 10, but it does leave us a little bit light. We know that Tate McDermott covers the wing well.
“Tane’s in consideration, for sure, he’s one of the options,” Schmidt added of the 24-year-old.
“Our intention was probably to potentially give Tane a run next week [for the second match against the Springboks in Cape Town] after having spent the week with us.
“Tane has only had two trainings with us. It’s a big ask, but we’ve got confidence in him.”
The inclusion of the 35-year-old O’Connor at No.10 is the only change to the starting XV that defeated the British & Irish Lions 22-12 in Sydney a fortnight ago, as he comes into the side after Tom Lynagh suffered a concussion in that encouraging victory.
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O’Connor, who helped New Zealand outfit Crusaders win the Super Rugby title this season, hasn’t played for the Wallabies since 2022 but still looks the safest pair of hands after all the flyhalf woes Schmidt has had to contend with, what with first-choice Noah Lolesio also out with neck trouble.
O’Connor’s halfback partner will be another veteran, White, who has doubled back on his decision to retire after the Lions series when first choice Jake Gordon got injured.
Donaldson’s injury has necessitated a late change to the planned bench, with Schmidt having to replace the versatile back with loose forward Nick Champion de Crespigny.
That means Australia will go from a five-three to six-two split between forwards and backs among the replacements.
Australia are seeking their first win at Ellis Park since 1963, when they beat South Africa 11-9.
Australia: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Dylan Pietsch, 10 James O’Connor, 9 Nic White, 8 Harry Wilson (captain), 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Tom Hooper, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Billy Pollard, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Jeremy Williams, 20 Langi Gleeson, 21 Nick Champion de Crespigny, 22 Tate McDermott, 23 Andrew Kellaway.
Date: Saturday, August 16
Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 17.10 (15.10 GMT; 01:10, AEST, Sunday, August 17)
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: James Doleman (New Zealand), Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
TMO: Tual Trainini (France)
