Wales travel to Australia aiming to end a 55-year wait for a victory on Australian soil and awaiting them is a very different team to the one that was comprehensively defeated 40-6 by Warren Gatland’s side in the pool stage of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

That defeat, and subsequent loss at the hands of Fiji, meant that Eddie Jones’ reign ended almost as abruptly as is began. Nine games, two wins, seven losses, and many more bridges burnt has lead to a reset of sorts from Rugby Australia, who appointed former Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt in January 2024.

Australia have named 13 potential debutants in their 38-player squad for these matches against Wales, with inexperienced back rower Liam Wright set to be named as captain for the first test in Sydney on Saturday.

If any Wales fans were ruing their own side’s recent upheaval, then Wallabies supporters probably have them beat: despite Wales travelling with just eight players with more than 30 caps, Australia have only six in their group. Injuries to Angus Bell, Max Jorgensen, Rob Leota, and David Porecki, amongst others have severely weakened the options Schmidt has to pick from.

New Coach

Joe Schmidt has an excellent reputation in world rugby, having had an extraordinarily successful six-year reign as head coach of Ireland.

The New Zealander’s possession style laid the foundations for Andy Farrell’s subsequent period of Northern Hemisphere dominance by the Irish side, with Schmidt himself leaving the Emerald Isle with no shortage of silverware.

Arriving in 2013, Six Nations titles followed in 2014 and 2015, before a career year in 2018. A Grand Slam was followed up by a first win over the All Blacks on Irish soil. Schmidt was named World Rugby Coach of the Year for 2018.

After a disappointing 2019 World Cup campaign, Schmidt left his role and took up backroom roles at the Auckland Blues and then the All Blacks.

Schmidt is a world-renowned tactician and was most recently the New Zealand attack coach, credited as an influential part of the All Blacks’ turnaround in form, leading to their run to the 2023 Rugby World Cup final.

New Captain?

Schmidt, like Gatland, initially named his squad without a captain and, according to reports in Australia, will entrust Liam Wright with the leadership role for the first test.

Wright, 26, has just five international caps, all of them from the bench with the most recent coming in 2020. He will be the seventh Australia captain in just over a year.

The Queensland Reds back row has had an excellent Super Rugby season at blindside flanker and his selection represents a new start for him and the squad as a whole after the uncertainty of the Eddie Jones era.

Wright is co-captain at the Reds, and while he is not a physically imposing blindside, his work rate on both sides of the ball makes him a standout in the position, especially when considering Rob Leota’s absence.

New Faces

With 13 potential debutants in the squad, there are lots of new names for those not so clued into Australian domestic rugby to get to know.

The most recognisable name out of the uncapped group is Tom Lynagh, son of Michael and brother of Louis. Louis Lynagh made an excellent start to his international career earlier this year, scoring on his Italy debut. While Louis decided to represent his mother’s nation, Tom will likely follow in the footsteps of his father, Michael, who is a World Cup-winning Wallaby legend.

Lynagh is one of six uncapped backs in the squad, along with David Feliuai, Josh Flook, Dylan Pietsch, Hamish Stewart, and Darby Lancaster.

Lancaster is an electric runner coming straight out of the sevens game, while Pietsch could become the Wallabies’ 15th Indigenous player if he gets on during the series.

Seven new forwards are in the squad: hooker Josh Nasser; props Alex Hodgman and Isaac Aedo Kailea; locks Angus Blyth, Ryan Smith, and Jeremy Williams; and Brumbies back row Charlie Cale.

Williams is captain of the Western Force, while Hodgman is a former All Black who joined the Reds ahead of the 2024 season.

The most exciting of the newbies in the forwards appears to be Cale, who has scored five tries in ten games this season.

“He’s a super talented athlete. Obviously, a couple of tries down the wing where he was really fleet of foot. His speed to jump, his lineout defence has been a real strength as well,” Schmidt explained.

“He’s growing into the game. I think there’s been a couple of times where they’ve played really big, physical teams in Super Rugby and maybe that’s an arena where he’s still got some work to do.

“But we really like the way that he’s shaping up.”

Old Heads

With the collective Test tally for the Wallabies side is set to be 361 caps – which is actually more than the 343 caps of the team that met Georgia in the World Cup opener last year – the experience of James Slipper stands out.

The veteran prop’s 135 Test caps accounts for nearly 40% of that 361 and his experience will be necessary against a creaking Welsh pack.

Of the Wallabies team that was resoundingly defeated 40-6 by Wales in Lyon, only Slipper, flanker Fraser McReight, No.8 Rob Valetini, winger Andrew Kellaway and hooker Matt Faessler look likely to be selected in Schmidt’s first Test team.

The absence of Kurtley Beale, who injured his Achilles playing in a club match last week, will be a blow for the Wallabies, whose back three options look light on experience without the stylish fullback.

Key Battles

With three new centres in the squad, there will likely be a new partner for Len Ikitau on Saturday, with Wales in a similar position. Whether the Mason Grady at 12 experiment continues is to be seen, but Gatland does now have Nick Tompkins to select, most likely alongside Owen Watkin at 13, who has earnt a run in the side with some excellent form for Ospreys.

The theme of inexperience continues into the playmakers, with Noah Lolesio set to return as the Wallabies’ flyhalf. Lolesio and Sam Costelow represent the incumbent options for their respective sides and yet have 20 and 12 caps respectively. The other options on either side include Ben Donaldson, Tom Lynagh, Jacob Beetham and Ben Thomas, none of whom are both experienced campaigners, nor regular 10s.

Wales were dominant the last time these two faced each other in the forwards. The front five kept their Australian counterparts at bay, while the back row dominated the likes of Tom Hooper and Fraser McReight, both of whom are still in the squad.

Australia do have experience in their front row, with the aforementioned Slipper likely to pack down alongside the likes of Allan Alaalatoa and Taniela Tupou. With Wales touring without the likes of Henry Thomas, Tomas Francis, Ryan Elias, and Keiron Assiratti, the Wallabies will be looking to exploit the international inexperience in Wales’ front row.

Winning As A Habit

With both sides coming into this game on poor recent form, getting over the line for a win will mean a lot for Gatland, Schmidt, and each of their international projects.

Speaking on Tuesday’s Sportin Wales Podcast, Alex Cuthbert described winning as a ‘habit’ that teams needs to get into and stay in.

“[Wales] need a win,” Cuthbert said.

“Losing and winning is a habit. I remember back in 2012, we won the Grand Slam and then in the summer and autumn lost every game and lost the first game of the Six Nations against Ireland at home.

“We lost eight games on the bounce. This team has lost seven and are in a similar situation. We ended up going on a run after getting a win in France and going on to win the Championship.

“It can change so quickly, all it takes is one little scrappy win. International rugby is about winning and getting over the line.”