‘Little bit of swagger’: Tom Wright on uncapped 10’s Wallabies rise

Tom Wright missed most of the Super Rugby Pacific season due to a long-term injury, but the ACT Brumbies fullback still saw noticeable growth in Declan Meredith’s game throughout a breakout campaign that led to higher honours.

Meredith captained a new-look Brumbies outfit against soon-to-be Rugby World Cup debutants Hong Kong China last November, and was able to hold down the fort as the team’s starting 10 during the following season.

With Noah Lolesio and Jack Debrecenzi leaving the Brumbies after the 2025 season, there was a vacancy in the run-on side. Wallabies fly-half Tane Edmed moved from the NSW Waratahs to the capital, but Meredith locked down the starting role in 14 of 15 appearances.

Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt spoke highly of Meredith on Stan Sport in mid-March, with the 26-year-old emerging as a genuine Test bolter. Meredith was later named as one of three uncapped players in the Wallabies squad for the July Nations Championship fixtures.

Ben Donaldson is the most experienced No. 10 in the 37-man squad with 19 Test appearances, and Queensland Reds pivot Carter Gordon is another proven option. Brumbies captain Ryan Lonergan spoke highly of Meredith earlier this week, before Wright did the same on Tuesday.

“The biggest change that I’ve seen would be that the confidence level has just gone through the roof,” Brumbies and Wallabies teammate Wright told reporters in Sydney.

“[Stephen Larkham] injected a ton of confidence in him and once we knew the movement of Noah and Deb’s on from the Brumbies last year, and we saw glimpses of what [Merdith] could do but it’s difficult to potentially do that when you’re a little bit unsure of yourself sometimes.. You don’t know if you’ve got the green light to go.

“But Steve pumped a whole heap of green light into him and then the group got right on board and he was the game caller for us from Super AUS at the end of last year and guys got right on board and he was our guy.

“I joined the group obviously in rehab coming off surgery last year at the Brumbies and then I could just see a little bit of swagger as a 10 that you need. People speak about being able to play with confidence as a five-eight.

“Just the way he held himself. To be able to call plays, bang, you’re our guys, you’ve got to call plays, you’ve got to do this. We saw his running game, his passing game, he chased a grubber from [James Slipper], he started to do everything. It was awesome to see.”

Five Brumbies backs have been named in the Wallabies squad, including club captain Lonergan and Paris Olympian Corey Toole. Reigning John Eales Medallist Len Ikitau is another, but spent the 2025/26 season in England with Premiership runners-up Exeter Chiefs.

Wright started in all seven appearances for the Brums after recovering from a long-term knee injury during last year’s Rugby Championship. The fullback starred in wins over the British & Irish Lions in Sydney and the Springboks in Johannesburg before disaster struck

The 28-year-old was replaced after three minutes when the Wallabies faced the Springboks in Cape Town on August 24. It was a long road back to the field for Wright, who was named to start at fullback for the Brums on April 18 against the Fijian Drua.

“I missed just shy of eight months’ worth of football and there was going to be a few steps to climb before I was able to replicate that football,” Wright said.

“I came in, I think I played five games and then we went to Wellington and got a hiding. It was a sad way to go out of the Super Rugby season but I was really delighted to be able to get back in, have no hiccups around firstly around my knee and secondly around my mentality with that.

“I’ve come into camp full of beans and once we parked the quarter-final loss, [I was able] to start looking forward to this July series.”