LONG READ Noah Lolesio's injury highlights the Wallabies' fragile depth at 10

With every replacement added to the British and Irish Lions squad comes the very stark reminder: injuries in rugby will always happen, and they do not adhere to the concepts of good or bad timing.

The Wallabies had this same reminder in Newcastle, with fly-half Noah Lolesio suffering a neck injury in a tackle against Fiji that required surgery two days later. Lolesio is understood to be out for upwards of six months, hitting pause on his career in Australia, and potentially delaying the start of his next chapter in Japan as well.

Coaches are alive to the risks of injury. That’s why they always seek depth in their squads. Andy Farrell’s Lions group now runs to 43 players. But coaches also know depth is never equal across all positions. This much was clear in Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies squad announcement last Friday.

The squad showed strength in certain positions, and the list of names left out suggest some areas are indeed pretty well served. This is further underlined by the fact Schmidt only called on Will Skelton when more overseas selections were available to him.

In Josh Nasser, Brandon Paenga-Amosa and Lachlan Lonergan, he has done without three hookers of international experience. Queensland rake Richie Asiata enjoyed a strong stint starting for the Reds in the back half of the year too. Those four players, on top of the three who were picked, indicate the hooking stocks are better than decent.

Throw perennially unlucky scrum-half Ryan Lonergan into this mix too, and that’s 17 players on top of the 36 selected last week. You could easily find another handful, and suddenly you have upwards of 60 Australian players vying for Schmidt’s attention.

Lock Darcy Swain was in the Wallabies squad last week. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and Matt Philip both played in the AUNZ game in Adelaide. All three are clearly in the frame for future honours, and may even feature again before the year is out. They’re not in the mix for the Lions Tests, though.

Similarly in the back-row, Pete Samu and Seru Uru linger just outside the squad, with others such as Charlie Gamble, Rory Scott, Joe Brial, and one-cap Luke Reimer only adding to the equation.

Darby Lancaster and Jock Campbell also played the AUNZ game. Andy Muirhead will feature in the First Nations-Pasifika game in Melbourne between the first and second Tests.

Throw perennially unlucky scrum-half Ryan Lonergan into this mix too, and that’s 17 players on top of the 36 selected last week. You could easily find another handful, and suddenly you have upwards of 60 Australian players vying for Schmidt’s attention.

But there’s depth, and there’s depth. Not all depth is equal, and not all depth is in all positions.

And those shallow areas were further exposed after Lolesio’s Lions dreams were crushed. With Lolesio out of the picture, Schmidt now has to weigh up starting 17-Test Western Force fly-half Ben Donaldson, three-Test Queensland pivot Tom Lynagh, or promoting his insurance cover – 64-cap James O’Connor; now of Christchurch, soon of Leicester – from his 10-12-minute average game time for the Crusaders in 2025 to a starting role in a crucial series.

Fly-half, very clearly, was one of a couple of positions in which Schmidt and the Wallabies just could not afford to lose their first-choice option.

Prop is another. If Allan Ala’alatoa on the tighthead side, or either of Angus Bell or James Slipper on the loosehead side, were to go down, it’s hard to pinpoint a replacement who would bring any great levels of confidence with them.

Schmidt spoke of being open to the idea of picking O’Connor, but whether he would have preferred him over one of Lolesio, Donaldson or Lynagh is something we’re unlikely to ever find out.

Similarly, Schmidt really has gone all-in on Len Ikitau and Joseph-Aukuso Sua’ali’i in midfield. And whether the messaging has been very deliberate or ‘just a thought’, it has been clear as day Ikitau has spent plenty of time at second receiver in attack and defence for the ACT Brumbies this year, just as Sua’ali’i has done most of his attacking in the 13 channel. They’re the centre pairing now, because they were always going to be. And yes, some options exist if the worst case were to befall another key Wallabies position.

Hunter Paisami is in the squad now. Joey Walton, David Feliuai, and Hamish Stewart spent time with the squad in Newcastle. Josh Flook and Lalakai Foketi are squad adjacent. Australian-qualified Ollie Sapsford looms as a dark horse. But all would require some degree of midfield reshape with their inclusion. Patterns would have to change because they are all very different players to Ikitau and Sua’ali’i.

But Lolesio’s loss might be felt for some time yet. Schmidt spoke of being open to the idea of picking O’Connor, but whether he would have preferred him over one of Lolesio, Donaldson or Lynagh is something we’re unlikely to ever find out.

What does seem certain is O’Connor was the only experienced overseas fly-half who was ever on Schmidt’s horizon. He may well have maintained a degree of contact with Quade Cooper and Bernard Foley in Japan, but both were out of practical reach for camps and regular conversation. Kurtley Beale spent most of the year injured and doesn’t play much 10 these days anyway.

It will be interesting now to see whether O’Connor is in Brisbane mainly as a squad member, or whether he really is in the frame to create a little piece of history by playing in a second Lions series 12 years after he wore the 10 shirt in all three Tests. There’s a scenario where the boot of O’Connor or Owen Farrell decides a Test match. Maybe even the series itself.

O’Connor has played that 65^th-80^th minute-plus role for the Crusaders superbly, and what’s more, he relished imparting his knowledge on his young colleagues by giving them practical examples of how to close out games every week. There’s no question he could play a similarly vital role for the Wallabies before he rides off into the English Midlands sunset.

But the fact he might need to do that speaks to the challenge Australian rugby will face for the foreseeable future. It’s going to be painful at times, but a reduction of professional teams means fewer players are going to come through the system – and certain positions will feel that tightening more than others. It makes the September return of the domestic-only Super Rugby AU competition all the more important.

That’s of little help this week, of course. Schmidt and the Wallabies know they’ll be hit by injuries in the weeks ahead, but just have to hope they don’t hit vulnerable positions.

And to get the remaining No.10s through the series?

“Calling Messrs Donaldson, Lynagh, and O’Connor. Your cotton wool cocoons are ready for you to board in business class.”