Saint-Etienne: The Wallabies have received a double dose of good news heading into their match against France, with towering second-rower Will Skelton rejoining the squad and back-rower Pete Samu cleared of a serious back injury, which could lead to a return this weekend.
A day after Australia’s 16-15 victory over Scotland, the sight of Skelton marching into the team hotel in France was thoroughly enjoyed by teammates who haven’t seen the 203-centimetre La Rochelle star since last year’s spring tour.
Skelton was always going to miss Australia’s first match against Scotland, given the fixture fell outside the international window. He won’t be available for the last clash of the tour either, against Wales in Cardiff on November 26.
The 30-year-old, who won a Super Rugby title with the Waratahs in 2014, has unfinished business at Test level.
From 21 Tests, Skelton has played just 614 minutes – an average of 29 minutes per game – which equates to just over 10 hours of Test rugby.
Will Skelton is back in the Wallabies camp.Credit:Getty
Coach Dave Rennie pulled a big surprise last year by not starting Skelton in any of Australia’s three matches in the northern hemisphere. Across three Test defeats to Scotland, England and Wales, Skelton played 73 minutes.
Before a crunch match against France, ranked second in the world, there is an expectation from Wallabies fans that Rennie will back up his pre-tour commitment of starting the New South Welshman, who was also overlooked for the July series against England in Australia.
The difficulty for Rennie is that second-rowers Cadeyrn Neville and Nick Frost, particularly the latter, had excellent matches against Scotland in a one-point win.
But it’s in France where Skelton has earned his plaudits, putting in eye-catching performances for La Rochelle week after week.
In May, Skelton helped La Rochelle beat Leinster in the European Rugby Champions Cup final, having already won it with UK club Saracens.
Despite debuting for the Wallabies 2014 – he crashed over for a try in the eighth minute of that match against France in Sydney – Skelton hasn’t featured prominently at a World Cup.
He injured his pectoral muscle during a Cup match against Uruguay in 2015 and wasn’t selected in 2019 due to eligibility requirements.
This tour is Skelton’s chance to remind Rennie why he is a must-pick for the World Cup in France next year.
Meanwhile, Samu will remain with the Wallabies on tour despite being ruled out of the Scotland match just before kick-off.
Pete Samu didn’t feature against Scotland. Credit:Getty
Samu, who was named on the bench to face Scotland, injured his back in the gym on Thursday.
The Wallabies had hoped the Brumbies back-rower would be right to take his place in the match-day 23 but, despite being given until Saturday morning, he didn’t recover in time.
The Wallabies say Samu is likely to play against France, if selected, and that his injury isn’t severe enough to send him home.
Wallabies debutant Langi Gleeson got five minutes off the bench at Murrayfield and will be ready to go again if required.
Gleeson, the 21-year-old Waratahs back-rower, has played just 154 minutes of Super Rugby from eight matches.
Eight months after his Super Rugby debut, Gleeson marched onto Murrayfield in the 75th minute and celebrated with teammates after a nail-biting win.
After a rest day on Sunday, attention has turned to beating France at Stade de France in Paris – the venue of Australia’s opening World Cup match in September against Georgia.
Rennie is likely to select a settled side after snapping a three-game losing streak thanks to a late penalty from Bernard Foley and Scotland No.10 Blair Kinghorn’s unsuccessful three-point attempt with seconds remaining.
The Wallabies won their last match at Stade de France; a 25-23 victory in 2016.
Watch all the action from the Wallabies spring tour with every match streaming ad-free, live and on demand on Stan Sport.
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