Florence: 2331 days. Six years, four months and 18 days.
That’s how long, come Saturday, it will have been since Will Skelton has worn a Wallabies jersey with just one number on the back of it.
At long last, the starting drought will be broken for Australian rugby’s great enigma when he runs on against Italy in Florence this weekend.
The best one-liner relating to Skelton this week doesn’t come from Italy.
It came from the Stan Sport studio in Sydney, courtesy of injured Wallabies prop Angus Bell on Rugby Heaven.
“He’ll definitely take his chance,” said Bell of Skelton. “It’s going to be a bad day to be an Italian.”
Will Skelton hasn’t started a Test match for six years. Credit:Andrew Phan/Wallabies Media
When the Skelton surname is mentioned in the northern hemisphere, pundits fawn over his physical prowess (203 centimetres, 150 kilograms).
There is no hyperbole in these parts of the world when it comes to Skelton, who plays his rugby in France for powerhouse club La Rochelle.
He’s the player every team in the world would love to have.
But when it comes to representing the Wallabies, it’s a complicated story. It has been for years.
Skelton will get his 23rd opportunity to represent the Wallabies this weekend. He has started in just 27 per cent of his international matches.
It’s been a week since Skelton carved it up off the bench in front of 79,000 French fans who have watched the second-rower dominate their domestic competition, the Top 14.
Asked whether he’s played his best rugby in a gold jersey, Skelton concedes he’s only scratched the surface.
“At Test level? To be honest, nowhere near my best,” Skelton tells the Herald.
It begs the question: is that a good or a bad thing for Australian rugby?
Eight years ago, Skelton debuted against France at the Sydney Football Stadium. After two early touches, including a nice offload, he bulldozed his way over from 10 metres out to score in the eighth minute.
Will Skelton after scoring a try on Wallabies debut against France in 2014. Credit:AP
There were nods and smiles among those in the stands who had the privilege to witness it.
A 10-year Test career beckoned.
“My debut was very special,” Skelton says.
Six weeks later, Skelton won a Super Rugby title with the Waratahs. Who can forget the moment, etched on highlight reels, of Skelton taking the final carry of the match.
The Waratahs celebrate after beating the Crusaders in the 2014 Super Rugby final. Skelton is bottom left. Credit:Mark Nolan/Getty Images
From a standing start, with Kurtley Beale screaming at his second-rower to get into position for one last tough carry, Skelton made 10 post-contact metres to spoil any chance of a late Crusaders turnover. Game over.
Skelton sprayed champagne that night with the same excitement as his European Champions Cup wins.
The more time Skelton spends away from Australia, the more he thinks about the Wallabies victories. From 22 appearances, there have been nine. He cherishes the memories.
Will Skelton in the heat of battle at Wallabies training with Kane Douglas in 2015. Credit:Brendan Esposito
He savoured the 27-19 victory against New Zealand in 2015. Not the World Cup final, of course – Australia lost that match 34-17 – but the game in Sydney earlier that year.
“That was a massive game for us,” Skelton says. “You reflect on the wins but also some of the losses. I wasn’t involved in the World Cup final. I got injured in the tournament but being there and seeing it first hand, that was something pretty cool.”
In 2017, with a lucrative offer on the table, Skelton turned his back on Australian rugby, opting to sign with UK club Saracens. The ramifications were clear.
All up, Skelton missed 37 Tests from the beginning of 2017 until the end of Australia’s 2019 World Cup campaign. Had he played every Test in those years, plus those under Dave Rennie, he’d be sitting on 86 caps.
Would the Wallabies be in a different place?
“There are choices in life you make and I made the choice to leave quite early,” Skelton says. “I’ll never change that if I had to go back.
“You miss how competitive international rugby is and the pressure. It’s very different to club level, just with how intense everything is.
“There’s more going on at club level. You can drop a game five weeks out from the finals and you can still win a final. Whereas when you represent your country, there’s a lot more on the line.”
If Skelton admits he hasn’t scratched the surface of his potential at Test level, why does he think he’s taken his game to a different level in Europe?
“Maybe it’s the pressure,” Skelton says. “Taking myself out of Australia I wasn’t eligible to play for the Wallabies, so I was probably a bit more free. At Saracens, I learned a lot about rugby and other things off the field. I made some mates for life. I spend more time with my wife and family over here.
“It’s a long season but there’s a lot of time that you can go and explore and learn about yourself.”
Just ask Taniela Tupou what it’s like having Skelton behind him at scrum-time.
“As a prop, you just love someone with some good weight and pushing hard,” Tupou says. “You know if you have Willy behind you, you’re going to have a good day on the field.”
Will Skelton tackles Antoine Dupont of Toulouse in last year’s Heineken Cup final.Credit:Getty
It will be a travesty if the Wallabies don’t reap the benefits of Skelton’s immense talent.
Australia could do anything at the World Cup if they have their best players involved.
The prospect of having Skelton partner Rory Arnold in the second row, with someone like an Izack Rodda coming off the bench, is salivating for Wallabies fans desperate for success.
“We want to get big minutes out of Will,” said coach Dave Rennie. “He’s an imposing character on the park. He’s desperate to go to the World Cup next year.”
No matter how Skelton fares at next year’s World Cup in France, he’s happy to go back to the quiet life in France, well out of the Aussie limelight.
“I live in a small town in France where rugby is their sport but everyone is quite respectful,” Skelton says. “Rugby’s pretty big in France but I still have time away from rugby and get to spend it with my family.
“My wife loves it. We loved living in England and now we’re in La Rochelle on the west coast of France. She loves it as well. My son was born here. We had him last year in February. We love the French way of life. They do it different here but it’s their way and they back it.
“I’ve made some amazing memories over here. I’ve played some awesome rugby and made some great friends. I’ll never regret it.”
Watch all the action from the Wallabies Spring Tour with every match streaming ad-free, live and on demand on Stan Sport. Continues this weekend with Italy v Wallabies (Saturday 11:40pm AEDT), Ireland v Fiji (Saturday 11:50pm AEDT), England v Japan (Sunday 2:05am AEDT), Wales v Argentina (Sunday 4:20am AEDT), France v South Africa (Sunday 6:50am AEDT) and Scotland v All Blacks (Monday 1:00am AEDT).
