Wallabies' winless tour still burns as chance to 'rectify' arrives

Still smarting seven months on, the Wallabies are intent on wiping the slate clean and starting the year with a bang in a sellout blockbuster against Ireland in Sydney.

Former captain Allan Alaalatoa is among the Wallabies stalwarts who endured the first four-Test winless tour of Europe since 1959 with successive losses to England, Italy, Ireland and France last November.

Alaalatoa remembers the gloomy tour like it was yesterday and admits the motivation to atone on July 4 and set the Wallabies back on the path to World Cup contention on home soil next year is driving the squad.

“We’ll definitely look to rectify that, and that all starts with the way we prepare and carrying that through into the game,” the veteran prop said on Wednesday.

“With the first game being a sellout, it shows that there’s a lot of passion for rugby here in Australia, and it definitely motivates the boys to make sure we do everything we can to put ourselves in the best shape possible to go out there and play with confidence.

“Coming off that spring tour, there’s a lot of disappointment within the group.”

Team Form

Last 5 Games

32 - 35

57 - 10

26 - 42

31 - 33

48 - 33

40 - 21

20 - 36

31 - 33

43 - 21

27 - 17

2

Wins

4

2

Streak

1

28

Tries Scored

23

17

Points Difference

31

3/5

First Try

2/5

3/5

First Points

2/5

4/5

Race To 10 Points

2/5

Coach Joe Schmidt has already wiped the slate clean, recalling some old faces such as loosehead James Slipper, who had retired after the tour, and giving others such as Queensland Reds utility back Jock Campbell a second chance.

Campbell hasn’t played a Test since 2022, but impressed Schmidt and his soon-to-be successor, Les Kiss, during Queensland’s 2026 Super Rugby Pacific campaign.

Adding a yard of pace after finally ridding a nagging hamstring injury, the 31-year-old fullback has been a shining light under Kiss at the Reds and is chuffed to be back in the Wallabies set-up.

“It’s definitely a sort of first-day-of-school type of vibe,” Campbell said after arriving in camp.

“Just excited to rip in. My focus this year was just to play well for the Reds and go better as a team, and now I’m just happy to be here.”

Now that he is, Campbell says he isn’t around to make up the numbers and has set his sights on edging out Brumbies star Tom Wright and starting in Australia’s opening Nations Championship Test at Allianz Stadium.

“I’d love to start,” he said.

“I think everyone here wants to start. If you don’t have that mindset, it’s the wrong mindset.”

Campbell has even emerged as an X-factor flyhalf option after revealing Schmidt had reached out about wanting him to play there more often.

“Over the past couple of years, he’s sort of wanted me to explore that a little bit, and Les has given me that opportunity,” he said.

“So he’s just trying to add extra strings to your bow, and I’m comfortable playing there. At the Reds I’ve done a fair bit, especially when the boys have been away, so I really like playing there.”

After Ireland, the Wallabies face France and Italy in further Nations Championship Tests on July 11 and 18, before Kiss officially takes over for the Rugby Championship.

“There’s a short window from when Joe finishes to when he (Kiss) starts,” Alaalatoa said.

“So I think that’ll be smart for him to come in for the last couple of weeks (of Schmidt’s tenure) and just see the way the team’s been functioning and the way we’ve been doing things with Joe, so hopefully that transition is smooth.”