Edmed set for run-on Wallabies debut as hope fades for Skelton’s Bledisloe return

5 days ago 6

Five months after being dropped from the Waratahs back to club rugby, Tane Edmed is set to make his starting debut as the Wallabies’ five-eighth against Argentina on Saturday at Allianz Stadium.

Edmed’s promotion, which has come due to Tom Lynagh suffering a hamstring injury in the Wallabies’ win over the Pumas in Townsville, is set to be one of two changes in the midfield, with Hunter Paisami also in line for a return to the national side.

Paisami is set to replace Len Ikitau at No.12, with the star centre being given a spell after an intensive Test campaign this winter. Paisami is also sorely in need of some game time, having not played in almost 10 weeks. His last game was for the Queensland Reds against the British and Irish Lions on July 2.

The 31-Test centre missed the Wallabies’ 2024 spring tour with a calf injury, but will likely be needed on the upcoming tour in October and November, with Ikitau only available for two Tests in November due to his sabbatical deal with Exeter.

Edmed has also been thrust into the hot seat to get more Test experience, ahead of veteran James O’Connor, who is on the bench but is also due to depart for his new club, Leicester, next week.

Edmed’s elevation to the starting side comes after a rollercoaster year. Having debuted for the Wallabies against Ireland in November last year, he was in and out of the Waratahs side and even spent several weeks out of the 23-man squad altogether.

But Schmidt remained a fan, and after a strong performance for the AUNZ side against the Lions, the coach selected him for the tour of South Africa, where an injury to Ben Donaldson saw Edmed win a second cap in an assured performance off the bench in the win at Ellis Park.

Meanwhile, Will Skelton’s return for the Bledisloe Cup series could rest on the Wallabies breaking a 39-year hoodoo in Auckland after the giant lock revealed it would be logistically “tough” for him to get back and play in the first Test at Eden Park later this month.

Skelton was outstanding for the Wallabies in the Lions series, and also played a big role in the Wallabies’ winning at Ellis Park for the first time in 62 years last month. But Skelton subsequently returned to his French club side La Rochelle ahead of the Top 14 season.

Rugby Australia was hopeful Skelton may return for the Wallabies’ two Tests against the All Blacks on September 27 in Auckland, and in Perth on October 4, and have been in ongoing discussions with La Rochelle coach Ronan O’Gara.

Will Skelton has been strong for the Wallabies this winter.

But the likelihood of Skelton playing in the Bledisloe Cup series appears to have dwindled, with the 150kg lock telling the Kick Offs and Kick Ons (KOKO) podcast on Tuesday that his Top 14 schedule had him playing on Sunday, September 21 (5am Monday AEST).

With the Wallabies preparing for the week in Auckland, that schedule means Skelton would not be able to join the camp until late on Tuesday, and Schmidt is a stickler for not selecting players if they can’t train on Monday and Tuesday.

“It’s ongoing conversations with ROG [O’Gara],” Skelton told the KOKO podcast.

“The thing is, with that, we play Toulon next Sunday, in Toulon. So, logistically, it is obviously really tough to get back for that Bledisloe series, if you do the math. Tuesday [arrival], and then the game is not in Australia, it’s in New Zealand.”

When former Wallabies winger and KOKO co-host Drew Mitchell said Skelton should be picked even if he arrived on game day, Skelton joked: “Maybe you should tell Joe that.”

“Normally, that’s probably been the policy - he loves guys training Monday/Tuesday, which is fair. That’s a fair policy.”

It would be more feasible for Skelton to play in the second Test against the All Blacks in Perth, with La Rochelle playing Perpignan on Saturday (Sunday AEST) the following week. Unless La Rochelle allows him to miss that game, Skelton would arrive in Perth on Monday.

The scenario of Skelton playing in the second Bledisloe match could be reliant on the Wallabies still being alive in the two-game series, however, and that would require Australia to make more history and win at Eden Park.

Andrew Slack is the last Wallabies captain to have won a Test match at Eden Park, in 1986.

The All Blacks have won a record 51 Tests in a row at Eden Park dating back to 1994. And the Wallabies haven’t beaten the All Blacks at that particular fortress since 1986.

In the event of a Wallabies’ defeat at Eden Park, the parties would be more likely to start looking towards Skelton re-joining the squad for the November internationals, when the Wallabies play England, Italy and Ireland.

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