SYDNEY (AP) — Liam Wright will lead the Wallabies against Wales on Saturday after Joe Schmidt completely overhauled Australia’s squad for his first test in charge.
Wright has been captain of the Queensland Reds in Super Rugby since 2020 but has only played five test matches for Australia. He'll be the seventh player to lead the Wallabies in two seasons.
That’s of little concern to Schmidt, who retained in the starting XV just four of the players who started Australia’s last test in a dismal World Cup performance last year.
“Liam ... is really understated,” Schmidt said. “He was identified by the players as a natural leader in the group. He’s a lineout caller, so he already has a responsibility in the team.
“I think what all the coaches liked about Liam is he doesn’t really say that much — he just gets on and gets the job done really well."
When asked if the captaincy was a long-term appointment, Schmidt responded: “At the moment, everything’s pretty short-term, including our preparation."
“For this weekend, it was a discussion around who’s likely to stay on for a long period of time, who already has a responsibility in the team," he said.
Schmidt had a successful tenure as Ireland coach from 2013-19. After a brief return to New Zealand, he moved to Australi a after Eddie Jones quit the job in January. He wants to put his own stamp on the Wallabies.
He selected lock Jeremy Williams and center Josh Flook for their test debuts and picked hooker Matt Faessler in the starting XV for the first time.
Williams will partner in the second row with Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, who is returning from a stint in England with Northampton for his first test since 2021.
Five of the eight reserves are uncapped, including backup flyhalf Tom Lynagh, the son of Wallabies great Michael Lynagh. Another, replacement hooker Billy Pollard, has played one test.
Prop Allan Alaalatoa and scrumhalf Tate McDermott, both selected on the bench, have led the Wallabies during the last 12 months.
Alaalatoa lost his starting spot to the recalled Taniela Tupou, and Jake Gordon was picked to start at No. 9 ahead of McDermott.
Tom Wright, who missed selection for the World Cup squad last year, returns at fullback and Andrew Kellaway will move to the wing. Filipo Daugunu was recalled to start on the other wing.
Schmidt and Wales coach Warren Gatland, both New Zealanders, have a long history as rival coaches heading into this two-test series.
And while Schmidt is determined to get his tenure started with a win, Gatland needs to end a seven-test losing streak, including a loss to world champion South Africa last month at Twickenham.
Wales trounced Australia 40-6 in the group stage of the World Cup in France last year, but hasn't beaten the Wallabies on Australian soil in 11 tests since 1969.
Only three of the starting XV from that win over Australia last September will start again in Sydney.
Gatland unveiled a starting lineup containing a halves combination with a total of three test caps between them: scrumhalf Ellis Bevan coming off his test debut and Ben Thomas starting at No. 10.
Josh Hathaway was selected on the wing to make his test debut, the only uncapped player in the 23-man squad.
Skipper Dewi Lake will start at hooker and Aaron Wainwright will be at No. 8 for his 50th test, making him the most experienced player in the starting forward pack.
“We’ve had a good week of preparations here in Sydney and are excited to get out on field on Saturday,” Gatland said. "This first test is going to be a great challenge for us.
“Test matches are all about fine margins and we know we need to be accurate, keep our discipline and stay in the fight for the full 80 minutes.”
Australia: Tom Wright, Andrew Kellaway, Josh Flook, Hunter Paisami, Filipo Daugunu, Noah Lolesio, Jake Gordon; Rob Valetini, Fraser McReight, Liam Wright (captain), Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Jeremy Williams, Taniela Tupou, Matt Faessler, James Slipper. Reserves: Billy Pollard, Isaac Kailea, Allan Alaalatoa, Angus Blyth, Charlie Cale, Tate McDermott, Tom Lynagh, Dylan Pietsch.
Wales: Liam Williams, Josh Hathaway, Owen Watkin, Mason Grady, Rio Dyer, Ben Thomas, Ellis Bevan; Aaron Wainwright, Tommy Reffell, Taine Plumtree, Dafydd Jenkins, Christ Tshiunza, Archie Griffin, Dewi Lake, Gareth Thomas. Reserves: Evan Lloyd, Kemsley Mathias, Harri O’Connor, Cory Hill, James Botham, Kieran Hardy, Sam Costelow, Nick Tompkins.
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
FILE- Wales head coach Warren Gatland before the Six Nations rugby union international match between Wales and France at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, Sunday, March 10, 2024. Wales coach Warren Gatland says he had no intention of upsetting hooker Sam Parry, who quit the rugby squad this week for reportedly feeling “disrespected.” (AP Photo/Rui Vieira, File)
FILE - Ireland's coach Joe Schmidt watches as his players warm up ahead of the Rugby World Cup Pool A game at Kobe Misaki Stadium between Ireland and Russia, in Kobe, Japan, on Oct. 3, 2019. Liam Wright will lead the Wallabies against Wales after Joe Schmidt completely overhauled Australia’s squad on Thursday, July 4, 2024 for his first test in charge. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)
LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Saturday on his first full day in office that he is scrapping a controversial Conservative policy to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda as he vowed to get change in motion, though he warned it will take time.
“The Rwanda scheme was dead and buried before it started,” Starmer said in his first news conference. “It’s never acted as a deterrent. Almost the opposite.”
The announcement was widely expected because Starmer said he would ditch the plan that has cost hundreds of millions of dollars but never taken flight.
The news conference followed his first Cabinet meeting as the new government takes on the massive challenge of fixing a heap of domestic woes and winning over a public weary from years of austerity, political chaos and a battered economy.
Starmer welcomed the new ministers around the table at 10 Downing St., saying it had been the honor of his life to be asked by King Charles III to form a government in a ceremony that officially elevated him to prime minister.
“We have a huge amount of work to do, so now we get on with our work,” he said.
Starmer’s Labour Party delivered the biggest blow to the Conservatives in their two-century history Friday in a landslide victory on a platform of change.
Among a raft of problems they face are boosting a sluggish economy, fixing a broken health care system, and restoring trust in government.
“Just because Labour won a big landslide doesn’t mean all the problems that the Conservative government has faced has gone away,” said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London.
In his first remarks as prime minister Friday after the "kissing of hands” ceremony with Charles at Buckingham Palace, Starmer said he would get to work immediately, though he cautioned it would take some time to show results.,
“Changing a country is not like flicking a switch,” he said as enthusiastic supporters cheered him outside his new official residence at 10 Downing. “This will take a while. But have no doubt that the work of change begins — immediately.”
He will have a busy schedule following the six-week campaign crossing the four nations of the U.K.
He will travel to Washington next week for a NATO meeting and will host the European Political Community summit July 18, the day after the state opening of Parliament and the King's Speech, which sets out the new government's agenda.
Starmer singled out several of the big items Friday, such as fixing the revered but hobbled National Health Service and securing its borders, a reference a larger global problem across Europe and the U.S. of absorbing an influx of migrants fleeing war, poverty as well as drought, heat waves and floods attributed to climate change.
Conservatives struggled to stem the flow of migrants arriving across the English Channel, failing to live up to ex-Prime Minister’s Rishi Sunak’s pledge to “stop the boats” that led to the controversial plan to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda.
“Labour is going to need to find a solution to the small boats coming across the channel,” Bale said. “It’s going to ditch the Rwanda scheme, but it’s going to have to come up with other solutions to deal with that particular problem.”
Suella Braverman, a Conservative hard liner on immigration who is a possible contender to replace Sunak as party leader, criticized Starmer's plan to end the Rwanda pact.
“Years of hard work, acts of Parliament, millions of pounds been spent on a scheme which had it been delivered properly would have worked," she said Saturday. "There are big problems on the horizon which will be I’m afraid caused by Keir Starmer.”
Starmer's Cabinet is also getting to work.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy was to begin his first international trip Saturday to meet counterparts in Germany, Poland and Sweden to reinforce the importance of their relationship.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he would open new negotiations next week with NHS doctors at the start of their career who have staged a series of multi-day strikes. The pay dispute has exacerbated the long wait for appointments that have become a hallmark of the NHS's problems.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech, following his first cabinet meeting as Prime Minister, in London, Saturday, July 6, 2024. Britain’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer has appointed a Cabinet of Labour Party lawmakers and a few outside experts as he tries to tackle priorities including boosting a sluggish economy, building more homes and fixing the creaking state-funded health service.(Claudia Greco, Pool Photo via AP)
FILE - Labour Party leader Keir Starmer smiles as he speaks to his supporters at the Tate Modern in London, Friday, July 5, 2024. After a few hours of sleep to shake off a night of celebration and an audience with the king, Keir Starmer will step through the front door of 10 Downing St. for the first time as prime minister on Friday. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer outside 10 Downing Street in London, Friday, July 5, 2024 after returning from seeing King Charles III where he was asked to form a government. Starmer's Labour Party swept to power Friday after more than a decade in opposition, as a jaded electorate handed the party a landslide victory — but also a mammoth task of reinvigorating a stagnant economy and dispirited nation. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
