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What written judgement said about Alex Mann's role in gouging saga
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The five Wallabies with rising stock ahead of Argentina series
The Wallabies’ trip to South Africa has been hugely positive but very attritional, and it makes for an unpredictable yet vital trip home for the Aussies as they prepare to host a high-flying Argentina.
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This is the most even Rugby Championship for some time, with all four sides walking away from the second round with one win and one loss.
The Wallabies went to South Africa without some of their key starters, like Jake Gordon, Allan Alaalatoa, Harry Potter, Tom Lynagh, and Rob Valetini, who were unavailable for selection due to injury.
Valetini came good for the second game and played 60 minutes of bruising rugby, while Lynagh and Gordon are expected to make a return sooner than Alaalatoa and Potter.
However, the two-game series in the Republic didn’t come without its own complications, with the Wallabies losing an in-form Dylan Pietsch to a broken jaw, Captain
Harry Wilson to a knee injury, and now fullback Tom Wright to an ACL injury, as well as Ben Donaldson to an adductor strain.
These are all significant disruptions for a team that is only now starting to uncover its true potential, borne out of its growing connection and cohesion.
Nevertheless, Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt must now turn to the Argentina series, count the cost of the South Africa Tests, and make the adjustments needed to continue on the Wallabies’ upwards trajectory.
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Here are the stocks rising from the South Africa Tests heading into the two games in Australia against Los Pumas.
Tom Hooper (Flanker, 14 caps, age 24)
Hooper has been immense in 2025 so far.
In Brumbies colours, he was one of the club’s best, and in Wallaby gold, he is showing he now has the bulk and aggression to cut it with the best in the world.
He appears to be benefiting greatly from being around Will Skelton, with the elder statesman teaching him some ruck dark arts, making his cleaning and defensive ruck work a massive inconvenience for opponents.
His footwork and body height into contact have continued to improve during the Test season, but it’s his raw measurements that are perhaps benefiting the Wallabies the most. His 199cm and 122kg are proving the difference in the Wallabies’ back row. His height at the lineout, as well as versatility, being able to slot into the second row as well as play any position in the back row, has been a huge boost for the Wallabies.
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Hooper’s form, skillset, and utility have quickly become the reason for the discussion: who makes up the Wallabies’ best backrow?
As long as Hooper is available to the Wallabies, as he has signed with England’s Exeter, that discussion will be rife with controversy, because he is pushing both Valetini and captain Wilson for selection.
Corey Toole (Wing, 1 cap, 25)
The speedster had a tremendous Wallabies debut in Cape Town over the weekend.
A try in his first Test match, most defenders beaten overall, and two line breaks, on a wet track, just shows how much raw pace can matter.
However, his raw pace cannot take all the credit; he’s been held back by Schmidt for over 12 months now, and it has seen his defence, aerial game, as well as game awareness improve out of sight, making him the special player we all saw in Saturday’s game.
While his debut was impressive enough to warrant a start on its own, the long-term injuries to wingers Potter and Pietsch, as well as fullback Wright, mean he has quickly become a key cog to retaining cohesion and continuity in the Wallabies’ backline.
The Wallabies are finding their rhythm in attack, and a genuine speedster like Toole on one wing will keep the opposition’s back three on guard and defences spread, but he, like the rest of the backline, must continue to work on their aerial game, as the Boks exposed them too many times in this area.
Brandon Paenga-Amosa (Hooker, 22 caps, 29)
The set piece was a mixed bag for the Wallabies against the Springboks, with the scrum doing better than anticipated and the defensive lineout working a treat in game one.
However, the lineout in general was a concern, with the Wallabies’ set piece operating at 78 and 86 per cent across the two matches.
During the British and Irish Lions series, the Wallabies’ set piece operated at 80, 100, and 86 per cent, with recently retired rake Dave Porecki starting in the Wallabies’ best lineout performance.
With Porecki gone, and Billy Pollard, the hooker with the most minutes in 2025, struggling to find his mark at times, the bulk, experience, and scrummaging prowess of BPA is coming to the fore.
Whilst 2024 incumbent Matt Faessler continues to nurse a calf injury, the Wallabies’ players as well as new lineout coach Tom Donnelly, must find the reason for their poor lineout results, but a start is to look at the hooking stocks.
Zane Nonggorr (Prop, 13 caps, 24)
The Queensland Reds’ tighthead prop stood up to the Boks in the scrum, and that is a massive statement for a burgeoning Test prop.
The loss of Alaalatoa was felt keenly by the group, particularly as he was in career-best form and is an important leader in the group.
Luckily, the Wallabies were saved the brunt of that blow by the return to form of Taniela Tupou, and the rise of Nonngorr.
Tupou has been stringing together big minutes in three consecutive Tests with positive impacts throughout, form not seen for a couple of years, but his deputy Nonggorr has now repaid the faith shown in him by scrum coach Mike Cron and Schmidt.
The Queenslander has a big engine and is now starting to find his feet in the scrum at Test level. Should he continue on this trajectory, it may save the Wallabies from rushing Alaalatoa back from a shoulder injury.
Andrew Kellaway, 43 caps, 29
Sometimes it’s not the flashiest but rather the most stable performers that emerge as favourites in times of crisis, and with incumbent Wallabies’ fullback, Wright, suffering a serious knee injury, the Wallabies must quickly find his replacement.
Kellaway has become a dependable utility back over the years, and although he lacks the flair of Wright, he is still vastly experienced and runs some of the best attacking lines from deep of any player.
Kellaway’s stocks rise considerably with the injury to Wright, and without a ready-made youngster to take over, he is the clear and obvious choice.
Only Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and Max Jorgensen have played in the no.15 jersey this year for their Super Rugby Pacific sides, but both are in their Test career infancy.
Neither possesses a Test-level kicking game, and neither’s positioning at the back has been stellar either.
There’s no doubt they are far more lethal with the ball in hand than Kellaway, and the pair are adept in the air, but fullback in the 15-man game is about a lot more than running it back from deep.
There’s also a concern that a shift in position for either youngster could curb or, at the very least, disrupt their growth, and particularly for Jorgensen, his form on the wing has been undeniable.
Shifting the youngster from the position could cause more harm than good, not only to his own game but the cohesion of the entire backline.
The insertion of Kellaway would allow for minimal changes elsewhere; a move of Jorgensen or Suaalii would create at least two.
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