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Wallabies announce change to their squad before crunch All Blacks clash
By Finn Morton
The Wallabies have announced a change to their squad ahead of this weekend’s Bledisloe Cup Test in Wellington, with Max Jorgensen failing to recover from an illness fully. Darby Lancaster has joined the squad in New Zealand’s capital ahead of Saturday’s crunch clash.
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Jorgensen debuted at international level in the Wallabies’ 30-12 loss to the Springboks at Perth’s Optus Stadium on August 17. The 20-year-old later played both Tests away to Argentina, which included a start in the second Test on the right wing.
But Jorgensen is no longer in the mix to take on the All Blacks this weekend as an illness the youngster picked up in Argentina continues to linger. With Jorgensen returning home, the Wallabies have turned to another rising star by flying Lancaster into Wellington on Monday evening.
Lancaster has played one Test in Wallaby gold after starting on the wing in the 40-29 win over Georgia during the July series. The 21-year-old showed signs of promise in that Test but also had the scars of battle to show for the brutality of that contest.
After being presented with his debut cap, Lancaster walked into the post-match press conference room alongside fellow debutant Alex Hodgman. Lancaster had a black eye, but that didn’t exactly spoil the joy of debuting at Test level.
“I’m on top of the world. I had so many people in the crowd come to support me and I’m so grateful to be here,” Lancaster said.
“That was just such a special experience.”
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The former Australia Sevens star was left out of the Wallabies’ next squad for The Rugby Championship. Lancaster has not been seen in the Test arena since that clash with Georgia, instead returning to Shute Shield in New South Wales.
The NSW Waratahs recruit was part of the Eastern Suburbs side that got the better of Norths 36-35 in a thriller at Leichhardt Oval. Lancaster scored what ended up being the match-winning try with about 15 minutes left to play in one of the more thrilling deciders in recent memory.