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Super Rugby trials heating up as big names return

Noah Lolesio of the Brumbies scores a try during the round 11 Super Rugby Pacific match between Melbourne Rebels and ACT Brumbies at AAMI Park, on May 07, 2023, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

Two contenders for a plum Wallabies playmaking role will begin their campaigns this weekend in Super Rugby Pacific trial matches.

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Cast aside by Eddie Jones, ACT Brumbies five-eighth Noah Lolesio is in the starting line-up for his side’s trip to Perth to take on the Western Force and will be keen to make a good first impression on new national team boss Joe Schmidt.

And Queensland young gun Tom Lynagh has beaten a back issue and will come off the bench in the Reds’ game against the NSW Waratahs in Roma.

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Lynagh is heading into his sophomore season with the Reds.

Both he and Lolesio watched on as Melbourne’s Carter Gordon and Force recruit Ben Donaldson shared the No.10 role at last year’s World Cup.

Lolesio, who has already made 20 appearances for the Wallabies, will be making his return to the Brumbies after spending the World Cup period playing with French club Toulon.

Fellow Wallabies James Skipper and Tom Wright are also set for their first trial game for the Brumbies, which is set for scorching 38C conditions in Perth.

“We had a few issues in training (on Thursday) and we made a couple of changes there, and then there’s a couple of guys who are longer-term injured who aren’t quite right for this game,” coach Stephen Larkham said.

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“Outside of that, it’s certainly our strongest team.

“We had a pre-season week leading into that game (but) this week we’ve had an in-season week.”

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Captain and star prop Allan Alaalatoa headlines the long-term injury list, still recovering from a ruptured achilles suffered in a Bledisloe Cup Test last July.

Former Wallaby Connal McInerney and utility back Ben O’Donnell are also out for an extended period, while Ed Kennedy (infection) and Sefo Kautai (neck) are racing the clock to be fit for round one.

Force recruit Nic White won’t yet get his first chance to take on his former side, having to sit out with a bicep injury.

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Lynagh is a step ahead of James O’Connor in the race for the Reds’ five-eighth job, with the veteran still sitting out with a hamstring injury.

The Waratahs have named gun winger Mark Nawaqanitawase for his first run of the year, in what will be his final campaign for NSW before he joins NRL’s Sydney Roosters in 2025.

He will pair with fellow returning star winger Dylan Pietsch, with captain Jake Gordon also back in the side.

Melbourne will be in action the following Friday against the Fijian Drua.

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RedWarriors 3 hours ago
'Not a normal rugby team' - The Leinster flex that floored Jake White

I was actually at the match. Leinster were the outstanding team in the league stage. Leinster’s squad depth meant the Bulls could only nick a late win in Pretoria against an understrenght Leinster. Simple put, Leinster are significantly better this year compared to last. The Dublin match last year was a big win by Leinster. Yes they won by a point in the RDS three years ago but thats not relevant to yesterday.

As Leinster are such a dangerous team, it forces an opponent to focus on a strategy to undermine them and that way get their game on the pitch. Leinster allowed that against Northampton. But that was not going to happen again. The Bulls attack in last 10 minutes of the first half was as savage as anything in the URC this year. Yet Leinsters coaching plan repelled them allied to savage commitment from the players. The defense was outstanding, pressure at breakdown outstanding. Leinster did not win the European cup but arguably at their best this year no other European team could reach that height. They reached that yesterday. Leinster completely removed Bulls ability to hurt them.

And Croke Park….100 years ago the Brits fired machine guns into spectators injuring 100s and killing loads. No Irish team ever performs badly there. Same with Irish supporters. Opposition players might as well be Brit Tommies with machine guns.

I think a great Leinster team, played a great game plan, to the height of their power in a horrible stadium for opponents. If Bulls score before half time they were back in the match. They went down, but they went down fighting.

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