Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii has proven his fitness and will start at outside centre for the Wallabies against Ireland in their final Test of the year.
Suaalii lost function in his arm in last Sunday’s defeat against Scotland and left the field after just 30 minutes but has trained fully this week in Dublin and provides a considerable boost to the Wallabies ahead of facing the World Rugby’s number two ranked team.
“Joe’s fine, he got kind of one of those stingers where he had a bit of a dead arm, and we just felt that it was better to get it properly assessed, and we couldn’t hold the game up to do that, so we took him out of the game against Scotland, which was disappointing because we’d had a couple of late changes,” Schmidt said in Dublin.
“But for Joseph, he’s fully fit, fully able and I think what you will have seen if you look right through the last four games, we have been looking at different combinations, and we’ve shifted things by four or five players every week because we’ve got the eye on the immediate prize, and we want to be as competitive as we can be.
“But at the same time, we know we’ve got to build some depth in preparation for the British and Irish Lions next year.”
Veteran James Slipper will get a rare start to win his 143rd cap in place of Angus Bell who is named on the replacement’s bench after two below-par performances against Scotland and Wales, with fatigue potentially a factor. Tighthead Taniela Tupou will partner Slipper after sitting on the sidelines in Edinburgh and Cardiff due to a knee injury.
After the frustrations of frozen fields in Scotland, the Wallabies have enjoyed near-perfect training conditions under rare winter blue skies on a pristine paddock at Wanderers Rugby Club in Dublin for most of the week, giving coach Joe Schmidt the ideal vantage point to pick his final match day squad of the year.
Alongside Len Ikitau, Suaalii will be tasked with shutting down one of world rugby’s strongest centre pairings, in Ireland’s Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw.
Waratahs five-eighth Tane Edmed is also due to become the 19th Wallabies debutant of the season, capping an impressive year after starring for North Harbour in New Zealand’s National Provincial Competition.
Edmed’s inclusion marks the equal number of debutants in a year for the Wallabies since 1904 and gives Schmidt another option at five-eighth in his extended squad beyond Noah Lolesio, Ben Donaldson and Tom Lynagh.
Tane Edmed is set to become the 19th Wallabies debutant this yearCredit: Getty
Schmidt said that Edmed’s inclusion into the match squad is a reward for a player that has done everything asked of him in preparation.
“He’s grown in confidence, he hugely commits to knowing his role and trying to learn from the others around him,” Schmidt said.
“Again, for us, having Len Ikitau outside of Jake Gordon, there’s good experience there and Tate McDermott…and I think one of the things for us is that…amongst the coaches, we were pretty committed to making sure that everyone who was originally selected in that (Wallabies) tour squad was going to take the field.”
Breakaway Fraser McReight will also start at the Aviva Stadium after being rested against Scotland and will be vital in helping to shut down Ireland’s dominance at the breakdown, spearheaded by former world player of the year Josh van der Flier.
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii looks dejected after Asustralia’s defeat to Scotland last week.Credit: Getty Images
Jeremy Williams returns to start as a second-rower after falling ill just before kick-off against Scotland and missing the Test.
Last Sunday’s try-scorer against Scotland Harry Potter is moved to the replacements bench with Max Jorgensen starting on the left wing.
Saturday’s Test will be Ireland coach Andy Farrell’s last game in charge of Ireland, before he takes a year-long sabbatical as head coach of the British and Irish Lions, placing him in an early tactical battle against his former colleague Schmidt. Farrell worked as Schmidt’s assistant from 2016 and 2019, before replacing the New Zealander as head coach of Ireland.
Farrell has given rookie playmaker Sam Prendergast a starting role, with the 21-year-old being heralded as one of Irish rugby’s brightest hopes after coming through the famed Leinster academy system.
Schmidt is familiar with the former Ireland schools star and is fully aware of the talent the youngster brings to the Ireland backline.
“He’s at the apex of that group of young (Irish) players who are really exciting,” Schmidt said
“But again, he has got his debut against Fiji and I thought he did really well, and Faz must have thought he went alright as well, I suppose because he’s put him back in against us and that’s some real confidence.”
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