Why some key Wallabies will be twiddling their thumbs at Twickenham

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As it did last year, the Wallabies’ reputation has preceded them for the clash with old foes England at Twickenham this weekend.

Last year, the Wallabies’ collapse at the 2023 World Cup, and struggles in the early days of the Joe Schmidt reign, translated to comparatively lukewarm demand for tickets from the England faithful. There were several thousand unsold seats, which doesn’t sound like much at an 82,000-seat stadium, but given England games used to have enough demand to sell out two or three times over, it was noteworthy enough to make the local papers.

But then Max Jorgensen and that Wallabies’ boilover unfolded, their first against England in London in a decade. This year’s strong showings in the Lions series and in the Rugby Championship served to enhance that reputation, too.

So this year the Wallabies’ visit is a hot ticket again, and barring the odd single seat, Twickenham is sold out. The joint will be rocking and having heard the huge stadium noise reduced to a beautiful, low-decibel hum last year, the Wallabies will be desperate to do it again. Australia haven’t posted consecutive wins at Twickenham since 2008-09.

But the problem for the Wallabies as far silencing Twickenham again is several key players will be sitting in those same stands, twiddling their thumbs. One being Len Ikitau, who laid on the match-winning try for Jorgensen last year, and recently crowned John Eales medallist.

Len Ikitau and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii celebrate after Max Jorgensen’s winning try.

England will be at full strength, but the Wallabies will be without Ikitau, Tom Hooper and James O’Connor, given the trio play in the English Premiership and the Test match does not fall in the three-week window where clubs must release them, via World Rugby’s regulation 9.

It is the same reason Will Skelton, who plays his club rugby in France, won’t be available either. The quartet will only be able to play for the Wallabies when the Regulation 9 window opens the following week, for Australia’s clash with Italy. The following Tests against Ireland and France also fall in the window.

So Australia will be at full strength for the last three Tests of their tour, but the squad for the England clash will still be a mixed bag: the stars who were rested against Japan will return, but a first-choice inside centre and lock, a key flanker and an experienced No.10 option won’t be. O’Connor has been in sharp form for Leicester and still presents as being needed in the 23-man squad.

(The good news after Japan is both Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and Josh Canham have remained on tour, despite both locks leaving the field on Saturday)

The twist in the tale is that apart from Skelton, who’ll be playing for La Rochelle, the Exeter duo of Ikitau and Hooper, and O’Connor, all have the weekend off.

James O’Connor of Leicester Tigers takes on Bath’s Finn Russell.

The Premiership has paused for a month, allowing a full England squad to be released for national duties. The scheduling co-operation is via the “Professional Game Agreement” between the RFU and England’s powerful clubs, in which the RFU pay tens of millions of pounds to the clubs for access to elite players for all Test duties and preparations. Last year the RFU even began partially contracting top Test players.

It allows England to stage a full-blooded Test match outside the three-week Reg 9 window, filling Twickenham and making piles of money.

But the system doesn’t extend as far as any clubs having to let rival players in the Premiership play in those same Tests. Ikitau, Hooper and O’Connor (and Skelton) will only be free to join Wallabies camp the day after they play England in London.

None of this will concern a soul inside England rugby, of course. And it’s a curly situation for Australia that may soon be resolved, with the arrival of the Rugby Nations Championship next year set to see the reg 9 window in November extended to four weeks, to accommodate a weekend of finals.

But this weekend’s absentees will provide a broader lesson, of sorts, for Rugby Australia and future Wallabies coaches about the downsides of having top players be based overseas in the future.

The recent shift in policy from RA that the “Giteau Law” is effectively dead, and that Wallabies coaches can pick from overseas if they need to, will eventually see growing numbers head offshore. Not immediately, given the Lions tour and the 2027 World Cup have served as valuable anchors. But come 2028 you can expect a wave of departures.

RA isn’t overly worried. It can allow some big stars to have their expensive salaries paid by a third-party, but still be available for Australia.

And that sounds good in theory. But as seen with Ikitau, Hooper and O’Connor, when you outsource the pay cheque, you also lose control. The Wallabies will have to get good at building depth and get good at solid workarounds when it comes to playing Tests outside the World Rugby’s release windows.

Or, as they’ll do this week, just get good at copping it sweet.

Watch all the action from the 2025 Wallabies spring tour on Stan Sport