Joe Schmidt has confirmed talks with Noah Lolesio over his future in the Wallabies jersey and the chances of him and players in a similar position playing against the British and Irish Lions.
The Wallabies boss made a point of not selecting players who sealed moves away from Australia last year and is expected to do the same in 2025.
Schmidt has already hinted that he will continue this year after omitting Langi Gleeson from his training squad after the back-rower signed a deal to join Montpellier.
Gleeson was a regular in Schmidt’s squads last year, but his move abroad looked to bring his Wallabies career to a swift end for now.
High-profile departures
Tom Hooper and Lolesio have since confirmed their departures from Australian shores and look set for the same fate.
Lolesio has since come out and said that Rugby Australia made it difficult to stay with the uncertainty around the Wallabies head coach position, with Schmidt departing.
“Joe not being here after The Rugby Championship definitely made it tougher for me to stay, to be honest,” Lolesio told reporters on Monday.
“Just the unknown of who the next coach will be and me potentially, if I do stay, then go through the whole cycle again.
“I’m not putting it on Joe because I totally understand why he’s leaving. He’s got a family, he’s got to look after his family as well. I’m forever thankful for what he’s done for me and my career, especially last year. And I thanked him on that as well. So, yeah, that was probably one of the main reasons why I decided to head overseas.”
Schmidt has now extended his stay until mid-2026, at which point, he will be replaced by Queensland Reds boss Les Kiss.
Noah Lolesio reveals how the Wallabies ‘made it tough to stay’ and Joe Schmidt’s reaction
Schmidt’s response
Asked about the fly-half comments, Schmidt said that he still believes that there is a future for Lolesio in the Wallabies jersey down the line.
“I speak to a number of those players who were regular starters for us but also stay out of the way of the Super coaches because I know their relationship with the player is most important at the present time,” he told reporters.
“I had a couple of discussions with Noah in the lead-up to the decision he made and while I’m disappointed by the decision, it’s not a long-term decision.
“He is still a young player, he can still have a future with the Wallabies, I think, in the longer term. Yes, I will have a discussion with him for sure because I do talk to the players, not about their current performance, but their game at the present time.
“Some of it just about making some of the decisions that we have to make ahead of the time, like our schedule. I think players contribute to how we put our gameweeks together in the future, a game driver like Noah was key to that as well.”
Priority and policy
Asked specifically about his selection policy for players who have committed their futures to teams outside of Australia, Schmidt added that form will be taken into account but priority will be given to those who are remaining in the country.
“We were pretty consistent last year around prioritising players who had committed their future to Australia but no one is out of the mix,” he explained.
“But if Noah is on top of his game or Langi Gleeson or Tom Hooper or Rob Leota, some of those guys but at the same time there are about a dozen guys who are announced or on the way to being announced who are staying and will be committing their futures to Rugby Australia.
“We think there is merit to that, we think we will see them out here in the Allianz Stadium for the Waratahs or up in Suncorp, Perth or Canberra because we want those players to put a stake in the ground with their Super teams, so that we are strong there.
“We know that the stronger our Super Rugby base, the stronger the Wallabies. If Les is doing a really good job with the Reds, then that helps the Wallabies, they get momentum, they are well-coached and get confidence. The belief is built in those four clubs and that’s a great base for us to springboard into a more confident Wallabies environment.”
Schmidt was pressed to provide clarity that priority would be given to those staying and if those leaving could still play for the Wallabies.
“Yes, we will. So clarity, we will prioritise those staying but clarity is also that nobody is out of the mix,” he added.
“If there is someone that we believe will add value and is clearly outplaying his opponents as far as selection is concerned, we know how tough the Lions are and how deep they are going to go with really experienced, athletic and combative players.
“So we know that we have to have, as close as we can, the best group to compete with those guys.”
READ MORE: Joe Schmidt without ‘an answer’ to crucial Wallabies’ selection for British and Irish Lions Series
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/joe-schmidt-provides-clarity-on-departing-wallabies-chances-of-facing-the-british-irish-lions
