Joe Schmidt describes Wallaby as ‘our equivalent to Leicester Fainga’anuku’

Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has compared Filipo Daugunu to injured All Blacks utility Leicester Fainga’anuku, as the 20-Test back prepares to wear gold for the first time this season against Six Nations champions France in Brisbane.

Daugunu will be brought into the Nations Championship contest off the bench, with Schmidt going with a 5/3 split. All three backline players on the bench play at Super Rugby Pacific level for the Queensland Reds, with the other two being Tate McDermott and Jock Campbell.

Reds lock Lukhan Salakaia-Loto described Daugunu as “one of the best players in Australia” after a scintillating 31-26 win over the Crusaders on April 11, with the Super Rugby centurion finishing with a game-high 13 carries for 120 metres and the match-sealing try late in the piece.

The 31-year-old was primarily used by coach Les Kiss as a winger but did make two starts in the midfield during the campaign. But after Queensland’s drought-breaking win over the Crusaders, Wallabies great Matt Burke said during the week that Daugunu could “easily” cover seven.

South Africa have used the likes of Andre Esterhuizen and Kwagga Smith as hybrid players, and Fainga’anuku has done the same for the Crusaders. Fainga’anuku made a series of start in the backrow this year, completing a success switch from the centres or outside backs.

“I suppose he’s our equivalent to Leicester Fainga’anuku. He can play a bit of seven, he’s very good over the ball, he’s very physical,” Schmidt told reporters in Brisbane.

“[Daugunu] came off the bench last year against the French and they struggled to contain him a little bit.

“I felt Dylan Pietsch and Max Jorgensen both played really well last week and caused a few headaches for Ireland and we wanted some continuity. When you’re changing your 10, if you start making other changes as well… the biggest impact you can have on the backline is take the 10 out.

“We wanted to keep as much continuity as possible but there’s been plenty to like about what Filipo has delivered so far this year.”

Daugunu comes into a Wallabies matchday 23 that is hoping to bounce back from a 33-31 loss to Ireland in Sydney. It was a result Schmidt explained the Aussies “were massively disappointed” with, having given themselves a real chance to secure the win.

Dylan Pietsch and Campbell touched down for early tries, before lock Josh Canham and scrum-half Ryan Lonergan added another five points each to the score. The Wallabies led by as much as 12 points, but the Irish fought their way back.

“There’s a couple of times we didn’t help ourselves. There’s a couple of calls we felt didn’t go our way but that’s always going to be the case. We’ve got to be able to control what we can control and do it better,” Schmidt reflected.

“When Dono attempts that kick, we’ve put no one across the field. It allows them to get all the way back to halfway. That’s something we can’t afford to do. We’ve got to be better than that.”