Three overseas players that must be brought home for the Wallabies

Although Super Rugby Pacific has only just ticked over the halfway mark of the regular season, Rugby Australia and Joe Schmidt will already be deep in Wallabies planning.

In a little over two months, Australia will welcome Ireland, France, and Italy to its shores for the first-ever iteration of the Nations Championship, but the Wallabies have already copped a setback.

Losing Will Skelton to an Achilles tendon rupture was a hammer blow to the nucleus of the side that would’ve faced Ireland on July 4, and that brings the focus back to the depth and strength of the Wallabies.

This loss means there will be a hole in the Wallabies for someone to fill, and a Skelton-sized hole is a big issue for a side that is trying to find its way back to the top of rugby.

It has also prompted some pondering on the depth and strength of Australian rugby as a whole, particularly in key positions.

Losing Skelton comes only a couple of weeks after learning the news that experienced Western Force lock and 17-cap Wallaby Darcy Swain is departing for French club Clermont at season’s end.

This comes a year after the Queensland Reds lost their stalwart, Ryan Smith, to the Ospreys in Wales.

The Wallabies can’t keep building up promising locks and then start losing them when they are about to hit the form of their careers.

Elsewhere, the centres are a problem position for the Wallabies. There is not enough high-level or experienced depth at no.12 or no.13, and Len Ikitau cannot be split into two.

Joseph Aukuso-Suaalii now has a decent cap count at the Test level, but many are still unconvinced of his merits in the centres.

There is a pool of older centres who are coming through, such as Isaac Henry at the Queensland Reds and David Feliuai at the Brumbies, who are now entering their prime and are solid units.

Then, of course, there’s the much-anticipated arrival of Angus Crichton in 2027 at the Waratahs.

However, there are still not enough power-centres floating around Super Rugby to truly push for that Wallabies spot.

Finally, there are the mistakes that have led to the problems of Aussie rugby for a decade, which are on the verge of being continued.

Young playmakers are being thrust into compromised positions that they are not ready for.

What Australian rugby needs, what the Wallabies needs, are experienced operators to be brought back to Aussie shores, to consolidate IP and game nous to push the Wallabies forward.

Why must they return to Aussie shores, you may ask?

Well, it was revealed this week, in the Sydney Morning Herald by Jonathan Drennan, that the ‘Giteau Law’, which many, including players, believe to be scrapped, is in fact very much in operation as it’s always been.

Schmidt and eventually Kiss will only be able to select any three players from anywhere in the world, provided they hold 30 Test caps or have played Super Rugby for five years or more.

Any betting individual would put big money on Skelton (La Rochelle, France), Taniela Tupou (Racing 92,France), and Tom Hooper (Exeter Chiefs, England) to be those three players at any given time, should they be fit, and the game being played in an international window.

Should Kiss or even Schmidt require more, they would have to request an exception, just like every other coach.

The Wallabies can’t rely on exceptions for success, and they can’t rely on overseas talent while the administration works to have a ‘domestic-first’ policy with an opaque and ambiguous selection policy on OS based players.

Therefore, RA and the Wallabies must work to bring the right talent back to Aussie shores.

They need experienced campaigners, proven players who understand the rigours of Test match rugby and who can be a dominant force for their provincial clubs in Super Rugby Pacific.

Here are the three capped players RA should go after and bring home in 2026 and beyond.

Izack Rodda, lock, 29yo, 33 Test caps

The loss of Skelton is monumental; his experience, raw size, and game nous make a visible difference to the way the Wallabies play and the confidence they have in themselves.

Swain leaving for Clermont is also a blow, not because he is as influential as Skelton, but because he is an elite lineout operator and has that same game nous.

He does the things that most don’t see, he games the opposition, psychs out other lineout callers, hassles halfbacks, and ruins the opposition’s clean ruck ball.

Too little respect is paid to how much of a pest he truly is to other sides, and this is a skill he and Skelton share, which Australian rugby will lose, again.

This is not only destabilising for the Force, but with Swain not currently in the inner circles of the Wallabies, his chance of being selected for higher honours from his new home, Clermont, will be close to nil.

This is where Rodda enters the equation. The towering lock had a horrendous run of injuries during his time at the Force, and eventually RA’s patience ran out, unable to offer him a decent deal to keep him in Perth.

Now, the 202cm and 123kg lock has already played more than twice as many games for his French club Provence in the second division ProD2 comp as he had for the Force.

To quell the fears some have about his robustness, he has almost played more games this 2025/26 season than he did for three years at the Force between the years 2022-2024.

Rodda is the profile of a player in the tight forwards you need available at all times: experienced, big, rugged, and strong at all parts of the game.

Visually, Rodda is an imposing figure, and he is a direct complement to other experienced heads like Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Matt Philip, and Nick Frost, and can be a great mentor to the likes of Jeremy Williams, Josh Canham, and Lachie Shaw.

At 29 years old, Rodda, like many tight-five forwards, has his best years ahead of him. The Force and the Reds would greatly benefit from having him rejoin their ranks.

RA must capitalise on his time in the ProD2 and bring him home once again, much like the NZRU and Dave Rennie are contemplating with 34-year-old All Black, Brodie Retallick.

Izaia Perese, centres/wing, 28yo, 6 Test Caps

At 179cm and 96kgs, Perese is almost a like-for-like with Japan-bound, Reds veteran, Hunter Paisami.

Perese is powerful, experienced, and at 28-years-old, he is entering his prime as a centre.

While Pasaimi is a defensive powerhouse who can, and has folded anyone he has come up against, Perese is more of an attacking weapon.

When Perese has the ball in hand, he is explosive, robust, and unpredictable. He also has great acceleration and top-end speed, making him a great person to put in the no.23 jersey on gameday.

The Force or the Waratahs would hugely benefit from bringing him into the fold. The Force lack punch and the Tahs lack centres and will do so even more once Joey Walton departs at the end of the season to France.

Yes, the Tahs will have Crichton, but they will need options, and the Wallabies can’t put all their eggs in the Angus basket.

Perese would be exactly the type of centre that Suaalii and Crichton could learn from.

The Reds and Brumbies have plenty of robust budding talent as well as some older heads, as mentioned above.

Perese is the profile of player RA and the Super Rugby clubs need in their ranks.

Head-to-Head

Last 5 Meetings

Wins

2

Draws

0

Wins

3

Average Points scored

26

39

First try wins

60%

Home team wins

80%

Noah Lolesio, flyhalf, 26yo, 30 Test caps

Currently, the crop of Super Rugby Pacific flyhalves in Australia is mostly aged between 22-27 years old.

Carter Gordon 24yo, Tom Lynagh 23yo, Harry McLaughlin-Phillips 22yo, and Jack Bowen 22yo.

Then there are the older players, Tane Edmed 25yo, Declan Meredith 26yo, Lawson Creighton 27yo, Ben Donaldson 27yo, and Jack Debreczeni 32 yo.

Of these players, only four have Test experience: Donaldson 19 caps, Gordon 9, Lynagh 7, and Edmed 9.

There is a gulf of experience if compared to Lolesio’s 30 caps.

Lolesio is the type of player RA and Super Rugby sides would benefit from bringing back into the fold.

His ability to game drive, to kick goals, and to read games is one of the best Australia can call upon, and he is a player Schmidt endorsed when fit.

Lolesio, like Perese and Rodda, is entering his prime as a player in a position where nous is more important than brawn. Lolesio is only going to get better.

The flyhalf of a team can’t just be flown in and flown out like James O’Connor was last year; they need to be a stable member of your side’s leadership and decision-making core.

Bringing Lolesio back to Aussie rugby is the only prudent thing to do.

It ensures he is getting the support he needs from RA and Wallaby staff, and it means he will be playing a higher level of rugby.

To be clear, Lolesio isn’t only playing rugby in Japanese Div 2 for Aichi Shuttles, he is carving up.

Last week he scored a hattrick of tries and has been their main game driver since he returned from injury. The fact that he had to have neck surgery after making a line break appears to be a distant memory for the pivot, who is playing with poise and finesse.

For Lolesio to come back, it would mean RA would have to pony up a solid figure, north of $600k a season, but for a Wallaby flyhalf with 30 caps, it is an amount definitely worth spending.

The Waratahs is the only home which makes sense for Lolesio.

He could once again link up with Debreczeni and would be with a bulk of the Wallabies backline, as well as be able to guide new recruit Crichton in his maiden Super Rugby season, heading into a World Cup.