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James O’Connor has gone from starting No.10 to out of Dave Rennie’s 35-man squad for the two Tests against South Africa in a move that clears the way for Noah Lolesio to take a firm grip on the role leading into the World Cup.
While JOC has been dropped there is a return for Bernard Foley, who played the most recent of his 71 Tests at the 2019 World Cup, and a first Wallabies call up for young Waratahs loose forward Langi Gleeson.
The loss of Quade Cooper for up to a year has left Rennie with a selection headache at No.10 and Thursday’s selection adds further layers of intrigue to the conversation around the position.
Rennie has been reluctant to go all in on youngster Lolesio and chose O’Connor to start the second Test against Argentina last weekend.
While O’Connor was better than his previous outing – a poor performance off the bench in the second Test against England – he was a senior leader on a team that was ultimately thrashed by the Pumas.
“James got a crack in the last Test, we thought his experience would be really important and wanted him to drive the ship and allow us to implement our plan, and we were pretty clunky to be honest, lacked cohesion, and so he’s missed out on selection,” Rennie said.
“As you’d imagine he’s pretty devastated. He’s desperate to be a Wallaby. He’s going to ensure that he keeps himself in good nick. As we know based on injuries this year, opportunity could be around the corner.
“We’ll get together with him prior to the squad assembling just to sit down and go through his game. Give him clarity around the shifts we need to see if he gets another opportunity with us.”
Rennie said O’Connor got the nod over Lolesio in San Juan due to the inexperience of the backline with Lalakai Foketi in for Hunter Paisami.
Foley hasn’t played since May 22 so coming in for a clash against the Springboks seems a mighty big ask, although a camp appearance makes sense as the Wallabies build towards the Bledisloe Cup.
(Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Rennie will have some respite from a long injury list with Andrew Kellaway and Angus Bell named to return while Waratahs loose forward Gleeson gets rewarded for some excellent performances in Australia A’s games in Fiji.
Rennie said in a statement: “After a tough two weeks in Argentina we’re extremely pleased to be able to welcome a few men back into the mob.
“To have their experience on deck will be invaluable in what’s going to be a massive challenge coming up against South Africa two weeks in a row.
“We know that respect is earned daily and we’ll be doing everything we can to ensure we put in performances that are worthy of that respect in Adelaide and Sydney.”
Wallabies squad for South Africa Tests (age, team, Tests played)
Allan Alaalatoa (28, Brumbies, 56 Tests)
Rory Arnold (32, TBC, 30 Tests)
Angus Bell (21, NSW Waratahs, 19 Tests)
Jock Campbell (27, Queensland Reds, uncapped)
Pone Fa’amausili (25, Melbourne Rebels, 1 Test)
Folau Fainga’a (27, Brumbies, 29 Tests)
Lalakai Foketi (27, NSW Waratahs, 2 Tests)
Bernard Foley (32, Kubota Spears, 71 Tests)
Nick Frost (22, Brumbies, 4 Tests)
Langi Gleeson (21, NSW Waratahs, uncapped)
Jake Gordon (29, NSW Waratahs, 13 Tests)
Reece Hodge (27, Melbourne Rebels, 57 Tests)
Jed Holloway (29, NSW Waratahs, 2 Tests)
Len Ikitau (23, Brumbies, 17 Tests)
Andrew Kellaway (26, Melbourne Rebels, 14 Tests)
Marika Koroibete (30, Saitama Wild Knights, 47 Tests)
Rob Leota (25, Melbourne Rebels, 10 Tests)
Noah Lolesio (22, Brumbies, 12 Tests)
Lachlan Lonergan (22, Brumbies, 6 Tests)
Tate McDermott (23, Queensland Reds, 17 Tests)
Fraser McReight (23, Queensland Reds, 4 Tests)
Hunter Paisami (24, Queensland Reds, 18 Tests)
Jordan Petaia (22, Queensland Reds, 20 Tests)
Matt Philip (28, Melbourne Rebels, 24 Tests)
David Porecki (29, NSW Waratahs, 3 Tests)
Pete Samu (30, Brumbies, 24 Tests)
Scott Sio (30, Brumbies, 71 Tests)
James Slipper (33, Brumbies, 119 Tests)
Darcy Swain (25, Brumbies, 13 Tests)
Taniela Tupou (26, Queensland Reds, 42 Tests)
Rob Valetini (23, Brumbies, 23 Tests)
Suliasi Vunivalu (26, Queensland Reds, 1 Test)
Nic White (32, Brumbies, 52 Tests)
Harry Wilson (22, Queensland Reds, 11 Tests)
Tom Wright (25, Brumbies, 14 Tests)
Earlier, former captain Grace Hamilton was the big omission from the Wallaroos team to face New Zealand in Christchurch on Saturday.
Queensland Reds prop Bree-Anna Cheatham set to make her Test debut at loosehead prop while Brumbies No. 8 Grace Kemp will make her starting debut.
Head coach Jay Tregonning said: “The team has come back into camp in better shape since our last campaign, showing that players have been putting in the hard yards in their respective states.
“I’ve been impressed with how everyone has applied themselves this week as we prepare for the first O’Reilly Cup Test against New Zealand.
“It is great to reward a number of players who have been diligent in their training in the seven weeks since we were last together for the Pacific Four campaign, with players working hard to return from injury while also playing great Rugby in their respective club competitions around the Country.
“We’re still building towards the World Cup, but we want to keep improving with every game and be competitive against the top teams in the world, which includes New Zealand.
“These two Test matches provide us with a great opportunity for further growth off the back of the Pacific Four campaign, with valuable game time for the players ahead of the World Cup.”
Wallaroos squad
1. Bree-Anna Cheatham* – Queensland Reds
2. Ashley Marsters – Melbourne Rebels
3. Bridie O’Gorman – NSW Waratahs
4. Michaela Leonard – ACT Brumbies
5. Kaitlan Leaney – NSW Waratahs
6. Emily Chancellor – NSW Waratahs
7. Shannon Parry (c) – Queensland Reds
8. Grace Kemp** – ACT Brumbies
9. Iliseva Batibasaga – NSW Waratahs
10. Arabella McKenzie – NSW Waratahs
11. Ivania Wong – Queensland Reds
12. Cecilia Smith – Queensland Reds
13. Georgina Friedrichs – NSW Waratahs
14. Mahalia Murphy – NSW Waratahs
15. Pauline Piliae-Rasabale – NSW Waratahs
Reserves:
16. Adiana Talakai – NSW Waratahs
17. Emily Robinson – NSW Waratahs
18. Eva Karpani – NSW Waratahs
19. Atasi Lafai – NSW Waratahs
20. Piper Duck – NSW Waratahs
21. Layne Morgan – NSW Waratahs
22. Trilleen Pomare – Western Force
23. Lori Cramer – NSW Waratahs