Australia (AP) — Joe Schmidt couldn’t gamble on Liam Wright’s fitness for Saturday’s second test after the rookie skipper was injured in Australia’s series-opening win over Wales.
The veteran coach has only been working with the inexperienced Wallabies test lineup for a couple of weeks, so he decided for the sake of clarity he’d sideline Wright and go to 135-test veteran prop James Slipper to lead the squad.
Australia won the series opener 25-16 but lost first-time captain Wright to a shoulder injury late in the game. It didn’t heal in time to be ready for selection.
“Post-match, we thought progress would be quick but once he wasn’t fully fit to be named for training on Tuesday, better to give certainty to the guys who are going to be there,” Schmidt said.
Charlie Cale, the 23-year-old Brumbies backrower, was given his starting debut at No. 8, moving Rob Valetini from the back to the side of the scrum to cover for Wright. The remainder of the starting forward pack and backline was unchanged but Schmidt made multiple changes on the bench, including a potential debut for Queensland hooker Josh Nasser, son of 1991 World Cup-winner Brendan Nasser.
