‘He’s a big influence’: Wallabies enforcer Skelton to face All Blacks

Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has explained how much of an “influence” and “aura” Will Skelton has within the squad, after the towering La Rochelle lock made the long-haul trip from France to play in the final round of The Rugby Championship.

Skelton starred for the Wallabies in Tests against the British & Irish Lions and Springboks before returning to France, linking up with club teammates at La Rochelle, only to be recalled for national duty ahead of the second Bledisloe Cup Test in Perth.

After flying back to Australia, Skelton was reunited with the Wallabies squad on Sunday evening, following their nine-point loss to the All Blacks at Eden Park. While the New Zealanders have already retained the Bledisloe Cup for another year, there’s still a lot to play for.

Duvenage on 100th Stormers cap

Duvenage on 100th Stormers cap

Nick Frost will partner Skelton in Australia’s starting second-row on Saturday evening at Perth’s Optus Stadium, while Western Force captain Jeremy Williams provides lock cover as a reliable replacement on the bench.

Rob Valetini is another big-name inclusion in the matchday 23, Tane Edmed has been promoted to the run-on side at fly-half, and there are a few other changes to the First XV that was defeated at Eden Park – with Skelton’s selection a talking point at Thursday’s press conference.

“Will’s a bit like Slips in the environment. I was gonna say he’s a big piece of glue. He’s a big influence and he helps generate a little bit of confidence,” Schmidt told reporters.

“He has an aura about him, Will. He’s very skilful for such a big man. Those are the elements.

“He’s trained really well [on] Tuesday, Thursday. He was here Friday, trained on Saturday, obviously not with the team but then by the time we got here on Sunday evening, he was up and ready to go.”

If the Wallabies defeat the All Blacks with a bonus point, they will put themselves in a position to potentially claim The Rugby Championship title. Los Pumas would need to beat the Springboks at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium afterwards for that to happen.

Australia are currently third on the standings with 11 competition points and a 2-3 record, while New Zealand is slightly better off, sitting in second with 14 points. South Africa control their own destiny after recording dominant wins over the New Zealanders and Argentina.

It’s been 10 years since the Wallabies were last crowned Rugby Championship winners, having finished in top spot ahead of the 2015 Rugby World Cup. They actually boasted a perfect 3-0 record that season, including a nine-point win against New Zealand in Sydney.

James Slipper came off the bench that day for the Wallabies, and the veteran prop will face the All Blacks again on Saturday. This will be Slipper’s 151^st and final match in Wallaby gold, bringing an end to one of the greatest international careers in Australian rugby history.

“We only ever go out to win games and to stack enough good moments in the game to win them,” Schmidt explained when asked about TRC standings.

“For us, the silverware, make no mistake, that’d be a massive bonus. It’s a long time since we’ve even been in a competitive position for The Rugby Championship and if we could get a win this week, at worst, we’d finish second I think.

“That would be incredible compared to last season and the season before that, the winless season that was in The Rugby Championship. Building our way forward, I do think it gives us a little bit more confidence.”