Joe Schmidt reveals when next Wallabies squad will be named

Joe Schmidt expects to name an initial Wallabies squad of up to 40 players ahead of the British & Irish Lions Series, with the coach anticipating an announcement will be made either the week before or after the Super Rugby Pacific.

Australia have one Test before the Lions Series, as they prepare to host 2023 Rugby World Cup rivals Fiji at Newcastle’s McDonald Jones Stadium on July 6. Meanwhile, the Lions will face all four Australia-based Super Rugby teams, and two invitational sides outside the Tests.

Ahead of the highly anticipated Series, the Lions unveiled their star-studded squad in London last week, headlined by England’s Maro Itoje, who has been handed the honour of leading the Lions as tour captain under coach Andy Farrell.

With the Wallabies coming off a strong Spring Tour in 2024, which saw them beat both England and Wales before pushing Ireland close in Dublin, there’s a sense of optimism and belief that the men in gold can challenge their favoured opponents from up north.

Both the ACT Brumbies and Queensland Reds have emerged as genuine contenders in Super Rugby Pacific, and both the NSW Waratahs and Western Force have also been strong. Who makes the grade for national selection remains to be seen, but an announcement isn’t far off.

“It’s complicated this year, isn’t it? What we’ll probably do is if we don’t have a finalist, we’ll name our squad in the week leading up to the final. If we have a finalist, we’ll probably name is very soon after the final,” Schmidt told reporters at Rugby Australia’s headquarters.

“As soon as we’ve got the medical information and the clarity from the final, we’ll name it, because then we’re in camp the next day or the day after. If we get someone into the final, they’ll probably come in maybe a couple of days later having abstained from the Mad Monday.

“If I was going to give you a number t would be maybe around 38, it might be 39 or 37 or whatever, it might even be 40 but in that 40 we don’t assemble three or four of the Force boys in that first camp because they get to play on the 28^th.

“That’s a good opportunity for [the Force players] to continue and get game time anyway, and then some of the guys who do come in, they might go back out again to maybe play in some of those other games in the lead-up.”

Schmidt opened up about a range of topics during a 27-minute press conference in a bord room at Rugby Australia’s offices in Moore Park. The world-renowned coach namedropped the likes of Will Skelton and Pete Samu, among others, during the wide-ranged chat.

Charlie Cale was also mentioned once or twice, and the potential selection headache of naming both Carlo Tizzano and Fraser McReight in the same 23 was also discussed. But the very first question was about the Lions, and more specifically, about young Henry Pollock.

Pollock debuted for England during the Six Nations and has already proven himself worthy of a spot in the Lions’ touring squad. With Northampton Saints in the English Premiership and the Champions Cup, Pollock has been superb, and it’s had people talking.

With Ireland’s Caelan Dorris ruled out of the tour with a shoulder injury, at least that seems to be the case at the time of writing, Pollock joined a world-class core of backrowers in the squad, including Ireland’s Josh van der Flier

“I think everything’s a contest there. Josh van der Flier, obviously, is an ex-World Player of the Year and was probably a standout for Leinster against Northampton, facing up with Henry Pollock,” Schmidt sad.

“[Pollock] was exceptional when he hit that flag ball and took off around Sam Prendergast, he’s strong over the ball. He’s a very, very promising player considering he was playing in the England U20s at the start of the Six Nations, and came through and ended up playing for the senior side.

“We’re really looking forward to the game against Argentina and then the 28^th of June when they arrive here to play Force, just to get a little bit of a line on some of those players and how they’re going right there, right now.

“Some of them I know very well having coached them bur I think some of the lesser-known ones are going to be very interesting, and also just to see what combinations the Lions staff are deciding to put together because that might give us an indication of who we might face in the first Test.

“There’s a lot of competition for places.”