Joe Schmidt reveals if John Eales Medallist will be available for Ireland

Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has confirmed Len Ikitau is “fit and available” to return in next weekend’s Spring Tour clash with Ireland in Dublin, after the John Eales Medallist was omitted from the side to take on Italy in Udine.

Exeter Chiefs duo Ikitau and Tom Hooper were initially left out of the Wallabies’ squad for their Spring Tour, with Test matches against Japan and England falling outside of World Rugby’s three-week international window.

It was revealed mere hours after last weekend’s 18-point defeat to the English that Ikitau and Hooper had been brought into the squad, although only one of them was named in the matchday side for Saturday’s match against the Azzurri.

Hooper started at blindside flanker, joining Fraser McReight and captain Harry Wilson in the loose forwards trio. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii was named in the midfield, linking up with inside centre Hunter Paisami for the second Test in a row.

After the Wallabies suffered a shock 26-19 Autumn Nations Series defeat to Italy, Schmidt was asked about the decision to leave Ikitau out of the matchday 23. While standing by Paisami’s selection, the coach declared Ikitau’s availability for next week’s Ireland Test.

“I thought Hunter Paisami played well,” Schmidt said post-game.

“He was physical, he’s a punchy little player for us. He’s got a good skill set. He was penalised once for a tackle being late… so he’ll be disappointed with that. Apart from that, I felt he played quite well.

“Lenny, he’s fit and available next week and he’s had a week back with us. He’s a guy who adds leadership as much as anything. He’s in our leadership team and has had a super season for us so far.”

After the England defeat, the Wallabies flew to Italy for the third stop of their Spring Tour. Three years on from a shock one-point loss to the Azzurri, captain Harry Wilson looked to lead a vastly different Wallabies outfit to a bounce-back win.

Fly-half Paolo Garbisi kicked Italy in front with two early penalties, before the visitors struck back with tries to front-rowers Matt Faessler and Angus Bell. While Garbisi knocked over one more shot at the uprights, the Wallabies took a hard-earned lead into the sheds at half-time.

Code-hopper Carter Gordon scored the Wallabies’ third and final try of the evening in the 50^th minute, before a yellow card to Suaalii proved to be a turning point. The Italians scored two tries in a rapid three-minute blitz as they took control.

Louis Lynagh and Monty Ioane scored a five-pointer each as Italy ran out to a 26-19 lead. While there was still plenty of time left, the Wallabies failed to score any more points as they fell to their second consecutive defeat to the Azzurri.

They’ll face Ireland next weekend at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium before their 2025 campaign draws to a close against France on November 22.

“After being involved in coaching over 130-odd Tests, inevitably… there’s been some great highs and thankfully there’s probably been more of those than there have been lows. But this low right now is tough,” Schmidt explained.

“What I would say to the players is one of the best things about the tour is that they do have a chance to turn things around next week.

“We’re going to have to manage the fuel in the tank. I did think that we just didn’t look as sharp as we did earlier in the season and we’ve got to get that sharpness, that energy back.

“We’ve got about seven and a half hours of travel to get to Dublin tomorrow. That’s a really light start to the week. Try to get one good training in during week and then try to hit the ground running in the Aviva Stadium.”