Wallabies set to drop selection bombshell for Bok clash
SPOTLIGHT: Wallaby head coach Joe Schmidt is set to spring a playmaker surprise when he names his team to face the Springboks in Saturday’s Rugby Championship opener.
According to reports coming out of Australia, Schmidt is set to give the No.10 jersey to James O’Connor and not Ben Donaldson.
It is believed that Donaldson will be selected on the bench for the fourth-straight Test.
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Tom Lynagh, who started in all three Tests against the British and Lions, was ruled out of the trip to South Africa due to a concussion.
O’Connor, who turned 35 in July, last played for the Wallabies in 2022 in a 17-48 defeat to Argentina in San Juan.
Besides the flyhalf position, the Wallabies are expected to have a very similar matchday squad to that one that edged the British and Irish Lions 22-12 in the third and Final Test.
O’Connor helped the Crusaders win the Super Rugby title last season, and he will join English club Leicester Tigers later this year.
Source: Roar