The five Wallabies bolters looming large and the young duo for the future

As Super Rugby Pacific enters the middle block of the season, teams, players, and partnerships are finding form, with the cream rising to the top. This show of form sparks national interest conversations because, as everyone knows, Super Rugby is a short season, with Test squad announcements and Test matches only ever really around the corner. While it is unlikely that as many rookies will be picked and blooded as by Joe Schmidt in 2024, the current coach and the incoming Les Kiss have generally tended to award consistent performers.

The fact that the Wallabies are in a position where blooding new talent is not obviously required is a testament to RA and Schmidt. Together, they’ve built a roster of 35 or so players who can genuinely be considered Test match standard, and the team is at least two deep in each position; in others, it’s more.

Nevertheless, there are always injuries, drops of form, and irresistible talent that all factor into the Wallabies selection process, and some of those forces are at work right now. Currently, Aussie rugby has a number of young and exciting talents, but there are also a bunch of understated toilers that appear ready to go to the next level.

So without further ado, here are the five Wallabies bolters to keep an eye on for the remainder of Super Rugby Pacific 2026, and the young duo who must be fast-tracked.

Ethan Dobbins, hooker, 25yo

Some might consider the Waratahs rake a little bit long in the tooth to be considered a rookie, but Australians have forgotten that Test match rugby is an arena for the tried and tested, which takes time. Dobbins has toiled away at the Melbourne Rebels and now the NSW Waratahs, and although he only has a handful of Super caps, there is a lot to like about the way he goes about his business.

His tackle count is the second highest amongst the four starting Aussie rakes and has the second best success rate at 90%. He also has the second-best carry metres per carry, showing how industrious and durable he has become. The now 25-year-old is also throwing into the third-best performing lineout, and although his throwing still needs a little refining, he is punching above his weight, something which his mentor did before him.

“I looked up to Dave Porecki… he helped me a lot last year,” Dobbins told the media this week. “Obviously, as two lighter hookers, I think he has a lot of tips and tricks, and what I took out of that was just his physicality. He might be 10kgs lighter than the other hookers, but he was by far the most aggressive, and I figured, there’s no reason I can’t do that too.”

It’s true, Dobbins at 101kgs is light for a Test hooker, but like his mentor, he plays 10kgs heavier, chop tackling to great effect and burrowing low and hard with a good leg-drive in the carry. Most international hookers sit around 110kgs, then you have the behemoths like Springbok Malcolm Marx, who weighs 117kg.

Should Dobbins nail his throw, then there will be plenty of reasons to see him come into the hooking stocks for the Wallabies.

Head-to-Head

Last 5 Meetings

Wins

1

Draws

0

Wins

4

Average Points scored

28

35

First try wins

40%

Home team wins

80%

Miles Amatosero, second row, 23yo

The news of Will Skelton’s lower leg injury, which has seen him strapped in a moonboot, is bad news for Aussie rugby fans. It has now been confirmed that he will be out for the year. This is a big blow for Aussie rugby, but it opens a door of opportunity for others to push their Wallabies case.

At 125kgs and 203cm, Amatosero is about 20kgs shy of Skelton’s bulk and timber, not to mention thousands of minutes short on the La Rochelle lock’s experience; however, Amatosero’s unique physique cannot be ignored. Being this size and also being a good lineout jumper adds an extra dimension to his brawler game style, where he lets his aggression do the talking. Over 2m locks who play to their weight is not common in Australia, and Amatosero is a genuine enforcer at the Super Rugby level.

Although his talent is still raw, he is receiving excellent mentoring under fellow Waratahs lock and captain Matt Philip, and coaching from Dan McKellar, which has seen his work rate go through the roof. Of the Aussie second rowers who have played more than 250 minutes, Amatosero has the second-most dominant tackles, the second-highest amount of lineout steals, and the third-best carry meters per carry. His penalties are in line with the likes of Wallabies Matt Philip and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, and overall, his stats sit between these two experienced locks and Western Force captain Jeremy Williams.

Amatosero won’t be the finished product anytime soon, but he is a player who has another couple of gears in him, and Test match rugby would suit him. While some players don’t benefit from being in camp and starting out by holding tackling bags, the towering Tah would learn a lot from being in a Wallabies environment. The aura of Skelton will be missed from the Wallabies environment for now, but Amatosero can bring a like-minded confrontational edge to contests.

Decland Meredith, flyhalf, 26yo

A lot has been said, debated, and opined about the 26-year-old Brumby, but a question that hasn’t been asked is: how do we continue to grow his game and take him to the next level? He is not the next new thing; he is not a kid, he is a young man taking the opportunities given to him by Australia’s best flyhalf of all time, his coach, Stephen Larkham.

Bringing him into the Wallabies environment takes him to that next level in a controlled setting. Get him in the team meetings, get him holding the tackle bags, get him to run defence on the starters so that he understands what Test match prep is all about. He is the right age and of the right temperament to be pushed and put into the deeper waters.

However, with Meredith, it wouldn’t be sink or swim because there are other Wallaby options, ones who have more experience, so he has no need to be rushed in. Noah Lolesio, James O’Connor, and Carter Gordon are three players with more experience at every level of the game and who can help him to understand the step up to Test rugby.

How many no.10s aged 23 or under has Australian rugby chewed up and spat out? Countless. Now that we have got one who has bided their time, someone who has played under more experienced players and behind a 30-cap Wallaby, the plan is to treat him as a freshie?

Playmakers get better with age, just like fine wine and props, and Meredith is of the right age and temperament to benefit from being in a Wallabies environment. No one says he should start, and who knows when he would be given a Test cap, but Meredith cannot be put in the same box as the younger no.10s who came before him. Australia can’t afford to keep picking the 22-year-olds and letting the 26-30-year-olds leave Aussie shores. This is about planning, getting the right age profile and having a procession line as opposed to having a Mr Fix-it.

Meredith has a great exiting kick, solid defence and a sneaky turn of pace. He is not the complete package yet, but the ambiguity about who the fans believe should be playing No. 10 suggests that neither are the more experienced options.

Head-to-Head

Last 5 Meetings

Wins

3

Draws

0

Wins

2

Average Points scored

34

26

First try wins

20%

Home team wins

40%

Tom Lambert, loosehead prop, 25yo

Loosehead prop, like tighthead prop, is a position in which the Wallabies are vulnerable. Currently, there are three standout props that can boss it at the Test level: Taniela Tupou, Angus Bell, and Allan Alaalatoa. Many Wallabies fans will hope James Slipper will answer the call from Joe Schmidt, should it come for the Nations Championship in July, and who knows, perhaps Kiss will pick up the phone later in the year as well.

However, whether Slips answers the call or not, the Wallabies need a steady procession of battle-hardened props at their disposal. At 25 years old, Lambert is approaching the better years of a prop’s career, when their frame fills out, and they’ve been folded enough times by the old bulls to have figured out how to deal with their dark arts.

The Scotland U20 representative and former Glasgow Warrior has now called the NSW Waratahs his home since 2023. All the while, he has toiled away in Angus Bell’s shadow, but now he is a genuine Super Rugby player with three Australia A caps to his name. At 115kgs, Lambert is only going to get bigger and more rugged as the years go by and the experience piles on.

Lambert sits in a distinct pool of fringe Wallabies and prospective props. At club level, he’s starting ahead of eight-cap Wallaby Isaac Aedo Kailea, and Lambert is very much in the conversation for higher honours with Brumby Blake Schoupp. Chiefs centurion and three-cap Wallaby Aidan Ross is also in this cohort, after failing to truly cement himself as a Test match animal in his limited opportunities in 2025.

Lambert is a hard worker, confrontational, and determined. The Wallabies could do worse than to bring the grafter on board.

Isaac Henry, inside centre, 27yo

The No. 12 jersey has been a problem position for the Wallabies for a number of years. Even when Len Ikitau shifted there at the end of 2024, it was still not a perfect fix, since he is one of the best outside centres in the world. A modern no.12 is a gainline winner, a staunch defender, and someone who has deft hands, with the ability to ball-play out of the hand or the boot.

Sione Tuipulotu, Damien de Allende, Jordie Barrett, Stuart McCloskey, Bundee Aki, Yoram Moefana — these are the leading no.12s in the world. What they all have in common is that they are metre eaters and big-time defenders. McCloskey is the heaviest at 112kgs, Moefana is the lightest at 97kgs, and Henry sits in the middle at just under 100kgs.

Hunter Paisami, Henry’s Reds teammate, has been relied on throughout the years to play this role, and he still could very well be the answer; however, he is heading offshore at season’s end, and that could hurt his Wallabies aspirations. Hence, Henry, who has recently re-signed with the Reds, is staying put, and the current mindset of RA is that if it’s a 50/50 call between an onshore or offshore player, the domestic player will win out.

Henry sits in a unique subclass alongside Brumby David Feliuai, who has been in Wallaby environments before, and young gun Dre Pakeho, who is also at the Reds. Henry has had a career cruelled by multiple long-term injuries, but if he stays fit, he could be exactly the profile of player who could be brought along to Wallabies level.

Henry and Feliuai are well short of the experience of the likes of a Paisami, or even a Samu Kerevi, who is having a good run of form in the Japan League One competition, but they are onshore players who have hung tight with Aussie clubs. Henry is a robust option, someone who wouldn’t be tossed around at Test level, and at 27 years old, the Queenslander is entering his prime as an inside back.

Head-to-Head

Last 4 Meetings

Wins

2

Draws

0

Wins

2

Average Points scored

28

22

First try wins

75%

Home team wins

75%

The Duo: Sid Harvey, 20yo, and Treyvon Pritchard, 18yo, outside backs

There is something electric in the air every time either of these two touches the ball. Harvey appears to be the more refined rugby player, whilst Pritchard is box-office in a Hollywood kind of way. While these two are excitement machines and elite talents in their own right, thankfully, Australian rugby is stacked with world-class outside backs for the moment.

However, incumbent Wallabies fullback Tom Wright is yet to come back from an ACL rupture, and it is unclear in what form he will return. There is every chance that he returns as good as he was before the injury, but what was laid bare in 2025 is that Aussie rugby doesn’t have another clear and obvious replacement.

Much like what was written about Meredith, these two youngsters don’t need to be the answer now for Australia, and they aren’t, but elite talent like this must be nurtured, valued, and given a clear path. While both of them can play anywhere in the back three, and Pritchard can cover almost anything except halfback, it would be prudent to see them spend time with Wright in a Wallabies environment — someone who has gone through the trials and tribulations of Test rugby in the no.15 jersey.

Wright, Jock Campbell, Andrew Kellaway, Max Jorgensen, Kurtley Beale — that is the list of players who have donned the Wallabies No. 15 jersey in the last four years. Beale is unlikely to get that opportunity again, Kellaway is not currently in his peak form, Campbell is playing the house down, but it’s unclear where he sits with Schmidt and Kiss for higher honours. Jorgensen is an elite Test winger but is yet to show that at no.15.

Like with the no.10 jersey, there are options — a couple of good ones — but when one of these kids is kicking at over 90% off the tee in Harvey, and the other makes his Super Rugby highlights look like his high school ones in Pritchard, then there has to be a plan in place. These two are the exception, like Jorgensen was before them, not the rule.