1
Richie McCaw says a new All Blacks coach 'leaves no guarantees' over selection
6
{{item.n}}
The time is now for Wallabies No.10 hopefuls, no more excuses
Although Super Rugby Pacific has only just begun, the brevity of the season means that Wallaby hopefuls must show their ambition now, none moreso than the flyhalves.
However, the landscape is more splintered than it has been for a long time, with a new Wallabies coach coming in August and experienced flyhalves flung across the world.
Some news and whispers about the flyhalves stocks have emerged and reignited the debate about who will wear the coveted No.10 jersey for the Wallabies come July under Joe Schmidt and August under Les Kiss.
VIDEO
As it stands now, four domestic flyhalves have all played less than 10 caps for the Wallabies: Carter Gordon, Tane Edmed, Tom Lynagh, and Ben Donaldson, who has played 19.
This is the current Wallabies cohort; then there are two genuine smokies who could feature under Les Kiss: Declan Meredith at the ACT Brumbies and Jack Debreczeni at the NSW Waratahs.
Then, there are two genuine and recently trusted experienced options abroad: Noah Lolesio in Japan and James O’Connor in England.
There is, of course, 36-year-old Bernard Foley, but he has not played for the Wallabies since 2022, under Dave Rennie.
That makes a total of nine possible options for Schmidt and Kiss to choose from.
Due to the short runway into the 2027 home Rugby World Cup, Schmidt and Kiss must openly consider each and every one of these playmakers, and pick and stick as soon as possible.
This is genuinely a two-person job; both Schmidt and Kiss must agree on who is backed in July for Kiss to have the best possible continuity into his reign and into the RWC.
Kiss has the challenge of embedding his own system into the Wallabies, alongside a new cohort of assistants, and building combinations in the squad he picks.
From August 2026 until the RWC in October 2027, Kiss cannot afford to chop and change; he must ride and die with his selections from the get-go.
So, Kiss has to narrow nine down to three, with a fourth in reserve just in case, by the end of the global club season.
Having a plethora of choices will allow Schmidt and Kiss to demand excellence; it means competition will be tough, and the scrutiny on the players to execute will be high.
How the No.10s control games, kick in play, and marshal their troops will be crucial. Controlling tempo, shapes, and using the players they have outside them will be telling.
There are no more excuses left for the playmakers in Australia; there’s no more time to build experience. They must be ready by the end of the 2025/2026 club season to be genuine Test-level players.
Only Lynagh can legitimately be considered young at age 23. The rest of them are all 26 or older, an age where players like Quade Cooper, Kurtley Beale, and Bernard Foley were winning Super Rugby championships and guiding the Wallabies to Rugby World Cup finals.
It’s time for these playmakers to step up, and in the rubric of being a Wallabies flyhalf, there’s been a new area of focus that has come to light.
According to Sydney Morning Herald journalist Iain Payten, outgoing coach Joe Schmidt has said “goal kicking” will help players get selected.
“That came from a chat we did with Joe Schmidt a couple of weeks ago… on a bunch of different topics, and [he] was asked what are the key things you’re looking at in No.10s,” Payten told the Inside Line podcast.
“The ability to goal kick, I think it was a bit of a message, coded or otherwise, to all goalkickers in Australia to practice your arses off.”
That news would have particularly affected Gordon, Debreczeni, and Meredith, who are not regular goal kickers, and will likely see them out after training doing extras.
Lolesio, Lynagh, Edmed, Donaldson, O’Connor and Foley are all regular kickers at goal. All those who played SRP last year kicked around 70% and over. Lynagh was at 87.8% and Donaldson at 74.1%.
Lolesio was the worst of the main starters, kicking at just 64.7 per cent, but with only two games since his horror injury last July, Lolesio has kicked at 60% and 80% for his new club Shuttles Aichi in Japan’s Division 2.
Despite being abroad, Lolesio has said he won’t let himself be out of sight and out of mind for the Wallabies’ coaches.
“I’m very keen to put on the gold jersey again… The first step is to prove that I’m fit and, you know, available to be picked if called upon,” Lolesio told Japanese outlet RugbyJP.com.
“They can pick anyone overseas now to play Wallabies, so, you know, it’s a really exciting time.”
The 30-cap Wallaby told the Japanese publication that he worked very hard with the S&C staff to ensure he felt confident in contact before donning the Shuttles’ jersey, and it appears to have paid off.
Lolesio has looked composed and full of game-driving ability in his two appearances for his new side, who now sit second on the table to the Kintetsu Liners.
That will be the next match to look out for when the top-of-the-table clash comes around in early May.
Although Foley is also carving it up in Japan’s Division One, it may be a stretch too far for Foley to be a genuine option at 38 when the World Cup rolls around.
Meanwhile, in England, 68-cap Wallaby veteran O’Connor has made seven appearances for his old club Leicester in the English Premiership competition.
We saw he still has a running game in 2025, in his heroics with the Wallabies at Ellis Park, and he was also a consistent closer for the SRP champions Crusaders.
Going up into the bitterly cold north hasn’t stopped O’Connor from winding back the clock, as he can regularly be seen making line breaks and putting teammates into space.
Schmidt and Kiss will do well to take a serious look at both Lolesio and O’Connor, especially because both of them are only on one-year contracts at their respective clubs.
This means there is the possibility of bringing them back to Super Rugby in 2027, ahead of the RWC.
Domestically, the field is tight; Donaldson is the most experienced player and is playing for the poorest performers of Australian rugby, the Western Force.
Edmed is only just starting to learn the ropes at the Brumbies; getting more minutes will be crucial for him if he is to continue his Wallabies streak under Schmidt and then Kiss.
Lynagh and Gordon have had injury-riddled runs, and it’s hard to say where the Reds pair sit.
What is perhaps most interesting about the pair is that Lynagh plays the most naturally suited game to the Test arena out of the domestic crop, while Gordon is perhaps the most natural footballer, with undoubtedly the best pass of the entire cohort.
Meredith is the real dark horse. At 26 years old, he is no rookie, and although he only has 25 games at Super Rugby level, he is a mature player with a big boot and is deceptively quick.
Debreczeni and Foley appear to be at the back of the pack, but both are very experienced.
Meredith is the most inexperienced by some margin, and Lynagh appears to be the most injury-prone.
Edmed is perhaps in the trickiest spot due to his move to a new club and having played limited club minutes in 2025.
Early doors, Donaldson has the best opportunity to press his case as he will get the lion’s share of minutes in the No.10 jersey at the Force.
Lynagh and Gordon must prove their fitness and play big, consistent minutes to be considered as serious options by Schmidt and Kiss.
Meredith and Debreczeni must overachieve to be able to break the status quo.
For all the domestic players, finals rugby will be a huge factor as well, and although it is a team game, they must be able to steer their teams into the finals. Once there, they must illustrate their ability to guide their sides under pressure, no matter the odds.
For O’Connor, it’s just about proving that he is unflappable and can nail his goal-kicking when it counts.
For Lolesio, it is just about playing as many quality minutes as possible after such a big injury and proving he can be the commander of an undermanned side.
Should he guide the Shuttles Aichi to a Division Two championship, he will then take his side into promotion/relegation games against the two lowest-ranked sides in Div One.
Should he get the Shuttles promoted, that would speak highly of his ability to aid and lift a side.
Although it is so early in the Super Rugby season, standards must be held and receipts taken, so that come July and onwards, the Wallabies can rely on whoever has performed to do a job in the coveted No.10 jersey.
Rugby’s best of the best, ranked by experts. Check out our list of the Top 100 Men's Rugby Players 2025 and let us know what you think!
