Dave Rennie is set to ignore calls of building on continuity and instead make sweeping changes for next week’s must-win Test against Italy in Florence, with Will Skelton in-line to make his first start since 2016.
The Wallabies pushed World Cup favourites France in Paris until the final whistle but ultimately fell short, with Damian Penaud’s 76th minute try proving the difference as Les Bleus snuck home 30-29.
The one-point loss was a heartbreaker for the Wallabies, who were $6 outsiders after yet another inconsistent year but defied the odds to once again show that they cannot be written off in next year’s World Cup.
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‘Shattered’: Wallabies left heartbroken as France steal game in Paris to claim 11th straight win
Despite missing a number of first-choice players, Rennie’s Wallabies matched up superbly against Fabien Galthie’s Six Nations champions, and off the back of a strong set-piece and defensive maul kept themselves alive in the contest.
But a poor attacking breakdown and a clumsy error in the midfield, where a set-piece play once again broke down, allowed France to stay in the contest and eventually pinch the victory at the death.
In his return to the starting line-up, tight-head prop Taniela Tupou had his best performance in the No.3 jersey while Jock Campbell showed he is more than capable as an international fullback.
The admirable performance, which former Wallabies star Drew Mitchell was quick to point out was still a loss, led many to suggest that Rennie should give the side that played France another chance to build on combinations when they take on the Azzurri next weekend.
“I think we need to start getting closer to settling (on) a team,” Mitchell said on Stan.
“It doesn’t have to be the exact team that we’re going to be playing in the first pool game of the World Cup, but they need to start giving time for combinations.
“We’ve got to remember 2019, we didn’t know who our No.10 was, even going into the quarter-final let alone into the first game, especially crucial positions. We spoke about the French, (Romain) Ntamack, (Antoine) Dupont, (Thomas) Ramos, there’s combinations there through their club football into the internationals.
“Those areas are really crucial to build that combination, and off the back of building combinations you build confidence in each other and understanding in each other’s games.”
But with one eye on Ireland, as well as a “significant” injury to centre Lalakai Foketi, Rennie is expected to make a number of changes.
Shortly after finishing off an incredible, coast-to-coast team try, Foketi was forced off with a shin injury. His injury will likely see Hunter Paisami return to the starting side, while Clermont-cased centre Irae Simone could yet join the squad after leaving Australian rugby following the Wallabies’ loss in Argentina in August.
Rennie also said Skelton was in-line to make his return to the starting side after the La Rochelle lock had a strong return via the bench.
“He’ll probably get a start next week,” Rennie said.
“It was good to get him off the bench. I thought he had a really big impact as we’d expected, and I look forward to getting more minutes out of him next week.”
Should he start, it will be the first time the giant lock was on the field from the outset since starting against Eddie Jones’ England in Sydney in 2016.
Cadeyrn Neville would likely be given the week off, with Darcy Swain also a contender to return via the bench after serving his suspension.
Captain James Slipper, hooker Dave Porecki and No.8 Rob Valetini could all be given a week off ahead of the crunch Test against the world No.1 Irish outfit, who held off the Springboks 19-16 in Dublin.
While Fraser McReight is another who will likely come into the fray for Michael Hooper.
Wingers Jordan Petaia and Mark Nawaqanitawase could also be included in the 23.
Halfback Jake Gordon is expected to start, with Rennie all but confirming he will continue his rotation experiment last week which will also see Tate McDermott return via the bench.
Rennie will also be tempted to hand Noah Lolesio a Test, but given the importance of winning the match and Bernard Foley’s availability only until the Ireland clash, he may stick with the incumbent playmaker.
Whether Campbell is given another go in the No.15 jersey will be fascinating.
The 27-year-old was almost faultless in his debut start before, by his own admission, he failed to tackle Penaud in what proved to be the match-winning try.
But his solid evening under the high ball, double touch in the lead-up to Foketi’s try, and weaving runs showed he can play a role for the Wallabies moving forward.
“We’ll definitely make changes next week,” Rennie said.
“I’ve talked about sharing the load. Playing five tests against Six Nations sides in consecutive weeks is pretty demanding.
“We want to utilize squad and give guys opportunities to impress.
“But we’re not going to do anything that doesn’t respect Italy. They had an excellent win and we’re well aware of their ability.
“We’re also looking big picture. We’re going to Ireland the following week and Wales the week after that, and we need to utilize the whole squad.”
