Australia insist they still have enough firepower to upset the British & Irish Lions despite the loss of a number of influential players through injury. Their big back-rower Rob Valetini, the massive lock Will Skelton and the in-form Langi Gleeson are all conspicuously absent from their first Test lineup, forcing head coach Joe Schmidt to turn to the uncapped flanker Nick Champion de Crespigny instead.
With the fly-half jersey entrusted to the inexperienced Tom Lynagh and a reshuffled front row it is not the side Schmidt would have originally envisaged picking for a game of this magnitude. Valetini, Skelton and Gleeson are all expected to be fit for the second Test in Melbourne but if the Wallabies are going to win this series they will almost certainly need a fast start.
Champion de Crespigny has already featured for the Western Force against the Lions on this tour but a massive game now looms for himself and the 22-year-old Lynagh, the son of the former Wallaby captain Michael, who will also be making his first start after three appearances off the bench. The Lynaghs are now set to become the first Australian father and son to play Test rugby against the Lions.
The absence of Valetini’s ball-carrying is a sizeable blow but Schmidt says others are capable of filling the void.
“We try not to base our whole game around any individual,” Schmidt said. “I’d like to think that we can still go out with quiet confidence that we can put a game together that can at least keep the British and Irish Lions pretty honest on the day.”
Valetini and Skelton both suffered calf strains in training for Australia’s warm-up Test against Fiji while Gleeson has a bruised thigh. It has opened the door for Champion de Crespigny, 29, who only returned to Super Rugby this season following a stint playing for Castres in the French Top 14.
Hooker Matt Faessler also returns following a hamstring injury but Schmidt acknowledges the Lions present “a massive challenge” to the home side.
“With the short runway leading up to such a big Test match, we know we must adapt fast and improve quickly, from the performance we had against Fiji recently,” Schmidt said. “We’re very much aware of the occasion and conscious of earning the support from the public through the effort they see on the field.”
There is no shortage of responsibility, consequently, on Lynagh’s young shoulders. “I’m really excited for Tom,” Schmidt said. “He’s a great kid. You wouldn’t think he’s necessarily designed to run a game and dictate what’s happening, but he does have a quiet confidence that gives us a quiet confidence as well. His kicking game is strong, he’s got good acceleration and he’s incredibly brave.
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“It’s a fantastic opportunity for him. We twice had him lined up for his first start for the Wallabies last year and he picked up little niggles. It’s probably not ideal to be starting your first Test match for the Wallabies against the British & Irish Lions but you’ve got to start somewhere. And if not now, when? So now is good. I’m confident in him and it’s a stadium he knows really well. If he can settle early, hopefully he can get a rhythm that allows him to dictate the game to a degree.
“Whatever does get thrown at Tom, I am confident that he’ll cope and I’m very confident he’ll learn from the occasion. It may be that he has to learn quickly because of the magnitude of the game and the quality of the opposition.”
Wallabies: James Slipper, Matt Faessler, Allan Alaalatoa, Nick Frost, Jeremy Williams, Nick Champion de Crespigny, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson (c), Jake Gordon, Tom Lynagh, Harry Potter, Len Ikitau, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Max Jorgensen, Tom Wright. Bench: Billy Pollard, Angus Bell, Tom Robertson, Tom Hooper, Carlo Tizzano, Tate McDermott, Ben Donaldson, Andrew Kellaway.
