Ben Donaldson and Tane Edmed will share the No.10 role ahead of a likely Spring Tour selection for at least one of the duo, but Suliasi Vunivalu will be given three full games for Australia A in Japan to kickstart his Test career.
Australia A coach Jason Gilmore revealed the plans for Vunivalu after naming the former NRL flyer on the wing for the first game against a Japan XV in Tokyo on Saturday.
Vunivalu’s progression in rugby has been painfully slow since switching codes in 2020, with multiple hamstring surgeries and a subsequently tentative approach from Wallabies coach Dave Rennie.
The 26-year-old made a three-minute debut for Australia against England in July but has otherwise had to bide his time during the winter as a non-playing Wallabies squad member.
Sources familiar with the matter told the Herald there was a feeling Vunivalu was still building confidence in his body after the long-term hamstring issues.
But absent time on the field that’s a hard thing to do, so the thoroughbred winger will be played big minutes in all three Australia A games in Japan this month. It is hoped the game time will see Vunivalu dominate and prime him for the Spring Tour, with Marika Koroibete unavailable and Tom Wright in patchy form.
Suliasi Vunivalu has played just three minutes for the Wallabies since switching to rugby in 2020.Credit:AP
“He is super excited. I have had a couple of chats with him just about how he is going to approach the trip. He is just keen to play,” Gilmore said.
“For him to get selection in the Wallabies, he just has to get minutes under his belt. He had an interrupted program in Super with injuries and the like, and he has been in camps and training a lot, but he just needs to play.
“This tour will be great for him. We are going to give him three opportunities and play him big minutes, put some confidence into him. I firmly believe he is one of the best wingers getting around in the country, in either code, so we are pretty fortunate to have him and we want to use him well.”
Australia A team v Japan XV
1. Matt Gibbon (Melbourne Rebels)
2. Lachlan Lonergan (ACT Brumbies)
3. Tom Robertson (Western Force)
4. Nick Frost (ACT Brumbies)
5. Cadeyrn Neville (ACT Brumbies)
6. Ned Hanigan (NSW Waratahs)
7. Ollie Callan (Western Force)
8. Langi Gleeson (NSW Waratahs)
9. Ryan Lonergan (c) (ACT Brumbies)
10. Ben Donaldson (NSW Waratahs)
11. Filipo Daugunu (Queensland Reds)
12. Bayley Kuenzle (Western Force)
13. Hudson Creighton (ACT Brumbies)
14. Suliasi Vunivalu (Queensland Reds)
15. Jock Campbell (Queensland Reds)
Replacements
16. Billy Pollard (ACT Brumbies)
17. Harry Hoopert (Queensland Reds)
18. Archer Holz (NSW Waratahs)
19. Ryan Smith (Queensland Reds)
20. Brad Wilkin (Melbourne Rebels)
21. James Tuttle (Melbourne Rebels)
22. Isaac Henry (Queensland Reds)
23. Mark Nawaqanitawase (NSW Waratahs)
Australia A vs Japan XV Tour
Saturday, October 1, at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium in Tokyo
Saturday, October 8, at Best Denki Stadium in Fukuoka
Friday, October 14, at Yodoko Sakura Stadium in Osaka
Australia A fullback Jock Campbell, who plays with Vunivalu at the Reds, is keen to take the field with him in Tokyo.
“As Gilly said he is as keen as mustard to get out there so part of my job out there on the weekend is to give him some ball and let him do his thing, which is run and use his big left-arm fend and start enjoying himself,” Campbell said.
“It’s just confidence in his body and you get that in the game. At the end of the Reds season I felt like he was very confident in his body and his hammies, I think now he is flying. He hasn’t had any problems with it for a few months.”
Donaldson has been given the first shot in the Australia A five-eighth’s jersey, after finishing July’s Pacific Nations Cup in the role. Edmed will play in the second game in Fukuoka, however, and the third clash in Osaka will be a form-based decision.
Rennie is set to take at least one of the duo, if not both, on the Spring Tour, to fast-track their development. Bernard Foley has been given the green light to tour and will retain the No.10 jersey, leaving Noah Lolesio in no-man’s land again.
Ben Donaldson, Bernard Foley and Tane Edmed.Credit:Getty
Tom Banks was not considered for selection for the first game but will do a full week’s training and play in the second, Gilmore said. Banks is also a possible inclusion in the Spring Tour squad.
The revival of the Australia A program was vindicated with a number of players being called in to the Wallabies squad during the winter, and Matt Gibbon and Billy Pollard even making debuts. Gilmore said he was in constant contact with Rennie and his staff, and the team will continue to play and train using the same calls and patterns as the Wallabies.
“We discuss what the squads look like and what the minutes we need to play the boys,” he said. “Having said that, Dave is pretty good. He lets us run our own show but there is a Spring Tour and a World Cup coming up that we have to be conscious of and these Wallabies boys as well.
“The pleasing thing for the boys here is they know if they perform well, ‘Rens’ is definitely looking and will pick them.”
Watch Japan XV v Australia A ad-free, live and on demand on Saturday from 7:55pm AEST on the Home of Rugby, Stan Sport.
