We are currently only three and a half months since the Wallabies’ first test against the Brisbane UK and Ireland Lions.
The promotion was strong, and tickets just sold themselves, but I’m glad I heard it from Wallabee coach Joe Schmidt. Sadly, Kiwi spoke only twice as it was Rugby Australia still trying to decide on his replacement. Stan Sports – And yet he gives little about who has impressed him in Super Rugby Pacific.
Luckily, we’ve been focusing on competition. Midway through the season, they created a Wallabee team tracker.
Check it out below!
Hooker
Retained: Matt Fessler, Brandon Penga Pamasa
Trend Up: Billy Pollard
On the hunt: Dave Porecki, Nic Dolly, Richie Asiata, Josh Nasser, Lachlan Lonergan
Hooking stocks in Australia continue to run deep. This is good news considering that in 2025 the group was already injured and hit hard. Matt Fessler returns to the sidelines a few weeks later, boosting the Reds’ lineout, which was pulled away by Brisbane troops last week.
Elsewhere, both Billy Pollard and Brandon Penga Amosa were impressed by the paddock around their respective start. The Brumbies whore has buzzed his way last weekend for a key five pointer with the Highlanders. The bolter here could be former England Hooker Nick Dolly.
Sadly, Waratah’s Rake Dave Poleki can’t take the trick with an injury. Porecki missed the whole of 2025, but returned to play in each of NSW’s early early season victories, but only suffered from complaints from the calves who sidelined him in the past two weeks. Both the Waratha and the Wallabies will want to see Polekki return to the field sooner than later.
Props
Retained: Angus Bell, Alan Algaa, James Slippers
Trend Up: Alex Hodgman, Blake Shop, Masio to Lutis, Mon Roberton, Zane Nongol
On the hunt: Isaac Kauria, Summary, Marley Pierce
What Wallabee coach Joe Schmidt is pleased earlier this season is the performance of Brunby veteran Alan Arrata, who is back to his best in the No. 3 jersey. After beating Achilles ahead of the 2023 World Cup, Araratoa needed more than 12 months to regain his peak format, especially at scrum time.
Fit and firing Araratoa has been far below his vest, especially since his move to Sydney. In fact, if you’ve just selected the Wallaby Tighthead group, Tupou’s inclusion is based solely on reputation, and it’s worth including each of Massimo de Lutiis, Zane Nonggorr and Tom Robertson based on form. Tupou needs to offer more around the paddock, especially as the improvements in scrumming between Nongol and Deltis has made it a more attractive choice each week.
We were pleased, and the collective scrumming of the Australian team has been improved completely. Brunby’s victory in Auckland and the Reds’ victory in Dunedin were a direct result of the Scrum domination. Queensland’s Alex Hodgman looked very strong on the loose head side.
rock
Retained: Nick Frost, Jeremy Williams
Trend Up: Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Josh Canham, Darcy Swain
On the hunt: Ryan Smith, Angus Bryce
The competition in the rocks has been heated, especially since Lucan Saracaia Lot returned two weeks ago. The Wallabies veteran has reinforced the conditions for the already strong Red second row. This includes informant Josh Canham, who enjoyed his move north from the now-deprecated Melbourne rebels.
Canham is perfectly suited to the Reds’ offensive blueprint and makes Wallabies cases that excel in ball carry and off-road capabilities through the middle of the paddock. He also sits third in a Line Out Take (28).
In the West, Force Skipper Jeremy Williams only further his reputation through his defensive lineout skills, and the Sydney-raised second-lower also has his work rate around paddock. His play also appears to be rubbed against Darcy Swain, who force recruited Darcy Swain, who gave him all sorts of headaches at his lineout last week in Brisbane. He leads the lineout steel (6) competition alongside Nick Frost. Still admitting the strange penalty, Swain is not driven by a foul play moment.
Backrow
Retained: Harry Wilson, McRyite Fraser, Carlo Tizzano, Rob Varantini
Trend Up: Langi Gleeson, Tom Hooper, Seru Uru
On the hunt: Rob Leota, Rory Scott, Luke Raymer, Nick Champion de Cresmai
The big movers here are Tom Hooper and Selul, hybrid players who can cover rock and backrows, and Waratha No. 8 Rangigleeson. And then there’s Carlo Tizzano. Carlo Tizzono could be the best player in the competition right now.
Tizzano appears to be set to break the Trice Scoring Mark for Super Rugby’s constantly forwards, but considering he’s sitting on a 10 five-pointer until the seventh round, he can even surpass the record properly. He needs two more to rival the forward mark held by Malcolm Marx. Tizano also accomplishes it on the defensive side of the ball, leading the tackle competition (108). His great play coincides with Fraser McRyite’s absence of injuries, and Redstar will want to make a positive return to the chief on Friday night.
Tizano’s squad teammate Nick Champion De Crepigny put his name in the mix after his impressive first few months in Super Rugby. Champion de Cresmai sat in Tizano’s second place because the tackle was made (102) and showed his quality with the ball in hand, producing a great off-road that drove Tom Robertson to the line in Brisbane last week.
Rugby Australia boss Phil War has cleared the suggestion that players heading overseas will not be considered for the Lions series, but given their previous stance, it’s good to hear something from Schmidt himself. Both Hooper and Gleeson offer some physical and command performances, making it extremely difficult to rule out.
Scrum half
Retained: Jake Gordon, Tate McDermott
Trend Up: Kalani Thomas
On the hunt: Nick White, Ryan Ronergan, Teddy Wilson
Waratha skipper Jake Gordon remains on the sidelines with an injury to his medial ligament and appears to be waiting for news of the next Wallaby coach before deciding on his future beyond 2025.
With Tate McDermott resting and then reintroducing via the bench, Kalani Thomas has more game time than usual and takes advantage of the style of starting. 2025 was premature for the Reds’ backup scrum half, so he needs to leave Barrymore for more game time, but against both the Highlander and the Force he showed a class moment that suggests he could test rugby. The same goes for Teddy Wilson, who makes the most of Gordon’s injuries at Waratah.
It should not be much movement here, but the only way the deck gets shuffled with injuries, with Ryan Ronergan and Nick White poised to fight it for the third scrum half spot behind Gordon and McDermott.
Fly half
Retained: Noah shirt
Trend Up: Tom Lynn, Ben Donaldson
On the hunt:
Incumbent Wallabies Fly Half Noah Laurecio will admit that he missed a knock on his head for weeks and has not yet struck a strap. He helped pilot a key victory on his side in Fiji in Round 1, but then missed out on the Auckland Blues victory. He has also seen Jacques Debretzeni come out of the bench and make an impact over the past few weeks. Lolesio is still a Schmidt guy, but Brumbies’ fly half is looking for a big back half of the season.
The player who really puts pressure on here is Reds No. 10 Tom Linag. We will produce the all-round performance you want from Test No. 10. Linag and rival Bendonaldson are kick lengths, especially when scoring points. Donaldson also looked sharp in the attack. The former Watas helped unlock force attacks, which have struggled to create space in recent years. Needless to say, Donaldson (84.4%) and Linag (87%) are far better at goals than Lolesio (62.5%).
Meanwhile, Tane Edmed is having an unforgettable season in Sydney. The wallabies in one Test moved to the bench last month and fell due to a clash with Moana Pasifika this week.
Middle
Retained: Joseph Auguso Swairi, Len Igoutau, Hunter Paisami
Trend Up:
On the hunt: Hamish Stewart, David Step
Joseph Awkso Suaari has returned after a month resting on the crushing loss to the Waratah hurricane.
Meanwhile, Len Ikitau began firing after a steady start of the year, but Hunter Paisami is also returning to his best form after a two-week stop for a dangerous tackle.
If Schmidt decides to keep Suarey in the middle – he will be at the full back for Waratah this weekend – and either David Feruyi or Hamish Stewart may be competing to head the Wallabee squad’s final midfield spot for the Lion. Waratha pairs Joey Walton and Larakai Foquetty are further down the list, but in the coming weeks Reds midfielder Isaac Henry’s return could change things again. Dre Pakeho, on the other hand, looks like a future player.
Outside the back
Retained: Tom Wright, Andrew Keraway, Filipo Daugnu
Trend Up: Harry Potter
On the hunt: Max Jorgensen, Dylan Pietz, Andy Muirhead, Corey Toll
A third serious injury in his third season as an expert, Max Jorgensen raced a watch worthy of the Lions. Ankle Syndesmia – the result of a suspicious “hip drop” tackle – he was suffering from a hurricane, so he probably keeps him out until the final round of Super Rugby. If Jorgensen will feature in three tests against the Lions, he may need to return via Shoot Shield and via Waratah’s match with tourists.
Elsewhere, Harry Potter is another player who enjoys the freedom of the Force’s attack, and his finish against Dua two weeks ago was fantastic. And Filippo Daugnu is back in the Reds and excels by switching between the outer centre and wings.
While tackling techniques remain an issue for Corey Toole, he and Brumbies teammate Andy Muirhead have recently demonstrated finish quality with some key five-pointers in Canberra.