Twenty-one years after their fathers played together for the Wallabies, teenagers Max Jorgensen and Tom Lynagh are poised to be bolters in Eddie Jones’ first squad ahead of a Wallabies’ pre-World Cup camp on the Gold Coast next month.
Despite both only debuting for the Waratahs and Queensland respectively this year, Jorgensen, 18, and Lynagh, 19, are well placed for selection after impressing Jones in the early rounds of Super Rugby, according to sources with knowledge of the selection discussions.
The pair are the sons of famous footballers Michael Lynagh – a former Wallabies captain who played 72 Tests – and Peter Jorgensen, who played for NSW and Australia before switching codes and playing in the NRL.
As a 20-year-old rising star, Peter Jorgensen played off the bench for the Wallabies in two Tests against Scotland in 1992. They were the first Tests after the Wallabies’ 1991 Rugby World Cup victory and Michael Lynagh was the side’s star No.10.
Jones will unveil his first squad on Sunday morning, with a group of approximately 35 to gather for a three-day camp two weeks later on the Gold Coast. Jones has been working on multiple draft lists – one of which was captured in a photo during Super Round – and the final squad will not be finalised until a meeting on Sunday morning, when injuries or eye-catching form from the weekend’s games featuring Australian teams can be factored in.
Fathers and sons: Michael and Tom Lynagh, and Peter and Max Jorgensen.Credit:Getty
Jones will be at the Brumbies-Waratahs on Saturday night in Canberra.
Outside the infamous leaked list – which included Jorgensen and Lynagh – the squad will provide the first firm insight into Jones’ thinking on selections, six months out from the 2023 Rugby World Cup. It will be far from a complete picture, however. Jones not including overseas players and only naming players who can train at the camp.
Some injured players, such as Taniela Tupou and Angus Bell, are likely to make the trip, but others with injury issues are expected to attend the camp, which will combine meetings, commercial duties and on-field work.
Jones’ squad is expected to be a mix of incumbents and a handful of bolters rewarded for strong Super Rugby form. The Waratahs’ poor early-season form is likely to be reflected in several capped Wallabies missing out.
Wallabies great Tim Horan said he expected Jones to pick a handful of project players for the camp.
Eddie Jones with his notebook at AAMI Park on Sunday and, inset, the draft Wallabies camp list.Credit:Getty, Twitter
“There will be some mind games and leave some players out to shock a few players. It’s only very early in the season, I reckon there might be six to ten players who won’t make the Rugby World Cup squad, but Eddie wants a closer look at them,” Horan said on Rugby Heaven.
Former Wallabies captain James Horwill added: “He will consciously pick players that will probably not be part of his first Test [team] and have a good look at them, but also send a message to other guys that are around the fringes, and say ‘you need to lift your game’.”
Lynagh signed with the Reds last year and has four Super Rugby caps, but will miss a second Reds game this weekend after a concussion against the Drua.
Jones said of the England-raised teenager in February: “I watched him in (a trial game in) Narrabri and club rugby (for University of Queensland last year). Nice skills, outstanding kicker of the ball like his father and has the potential to be a very good player.”
The long-term picture around who will wear the Wallabies’ No.10 at the World Cup remains clouded. Given Lynagh’s inexperience, there remains a strong likelihood Jones will look towards Japan-based veterans Quade Cooper and Bernard Foley, with James O’Connor and Noah Lolesio also in the frame. Melbourne’s Carter Gordon is also a smoky, as arguably the form Australian No.10 this year.
Ben Donaldson, who started at No.10 in the last Test of 2022 in Cardiff, has slipped down the pecking order after a quiet year thus far.
Jones has avoided discussing the form of individual players but he is a fan of Jorgensen, who has continued to impress since scoring twice on debut for the Waratahs in round one, and will return from injury for NSW against the Brumbies on Saturday night.
Jones told a lunch in Sydney last week there was “no reason” why the 18-year-old could not be selected to play at the Rugby World Cup later this year.
Jorgensen has been battling a shoulder injury for the last month, however, and has missed two games, with the Waratahs taking a cautious approach.
Waratahs captain Jake Gordon welcomed Jorgensen’s return for the Brumbies clash
“Coming from schoolboy rugby to Super Rugby, I always thought the biggest jump was always going to be physicality and that positional play in backfield. I think he’s been really good,” Gordon said.
“I thought that try he scored against the Hurricanes, he had a few guys on him and to finish that was pretty special. His kicking game is really strong and he’s been able to handle those big bodies. Defensively he’s been great. Physically he’s in a really good spot and we’re excited to see what he can do tomorrow night.”
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