Wallabies dealt injury blow as backrower ruled out of Springboks clash

Wallabies backrower Charlie Cale has sustained a shoulder injury in the lead-up to the clash with the Springboks and is now set to return to Canberra. One-time Australia captain Nick Champion de Crespigny has been called into the squad for the first time under Les Kiss.

Cale has endured a tough run with injuries over recent seasons, having gone two years between appearances in Wallaby gold, before featuring in four Tests this season. But the loose forward has suffered another setback, as the Wallabies confirmed in a squad update on Tuesday.

25-year-old Cale will return to Canberra to begin his recovery, while Champion de Crespigny has been called into the squad. Champion de Crespigny was included in Joe Schmidt’s plans for the Nations Championship Tests in July, but hasn’t been named in two squads since.

 

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Champion de Crespigny debuted for the Wallabies in the first Test against the British & Irish Lions last July, and would go on to captain the national team for the first time three months later in a hard-earned win over the Brave Blossoms in Japan.

The 30-year-old suited up in one more Spring Tour match, adding impact off the bench in a Test against England at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium, and went on to make a dozen appearances for the Western Force during the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season.

Champion de Crespigny brings adds a powerful skillset and experience to the Wallabies squad, having spent multiple seasons in France’s Top 14 with Castres before linking up with the Force ahead of the 2025 campaign.

The Wallabies remain unbeaten under coach Kiss, having beaten the Brave Blossoms twice and then Los Pumas once. Their most recent match was a thrilling 28-all draw with Los Pumas at the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza.

“South Africa are the best team in the world, so what better way to test what we’ve been doing and everything we’ve been working on than doing it against the best?” Force and Wallabies backrower Carlo Tizzano told reporters ahead of this weekend’s Springboks Test.

“To get the win will be will be unreal. I think we’ve grown a lot since we last played them in Perth.

“But it’s all about making sure we do all the things we’ve been talking about during the week. And if we do that, then we should get a good result.”