{"id":460074,"date":"2025-07-24T03:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T03:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=460074"},"modified":"2025-07-24T04:14:25","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T04:14:25","slug":"schmidt-supersizes-wallabies-for-do-or-die-lions-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=460074","title":{"rendered":"Schmidt supersizes Wallabies for do-or-die Lions Test"},"content":{"rendered":"

M\ufeffELBOURNE:<\/strong> Joe Schmidt has supersized the Wallabies<\/a> for Saturday's do-or-die second Test against the British and Irish Lions<\/a> at the MCG.<\/p>\n

In a major boost to Australia's chances of squaring the series, powerful forwards Rob Valetini, Will Skelton, David Porecki and Langi Gleeson all return from injury into the 23.<\/p>\n

\ufeffValetini, Skelton and Porecki have all been included in the starting side while Gleeson is one of six forwards on the bench after the Wallabies were outmuscled in a 27-19 loss in Brisbane.<\/a><\/p>\n

Watch all the action from the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour of Australia on Stan Sport,<\/strong><\/em> the only place to watch every match live and on demand<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Rob<\/p>\n

Melbourne product Valeti\ufeffni, the two-time reigning John Eales Medallist, is desperate to put on a show on home turf.<\/p>\n

"On the field, we could probably tell, in the first 40 (minutes), that we were just missing that punch in the carry," Wallabies prop Allan Alaalatoa said.<\/p>\n

"And that was something through the Brumbies and the Wallabies that Bobby (Valetini) always brings. He does have that physical presence."<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Wallaby swings back at 'ridiculous' sledge as crunch call looms<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> 'On the shoulders of giants': Lions rattled in game of the tour<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> 'Not enough': Nervous Schmidt feeling strain with series on line<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Will<\/p>\n

Giant lock Skelton has also recovered from a calf injury and replaces Jeremy Williams in the run-on team.<\/p>\n

But Skelton's club coach Ronan O'Gara, in Australia as a Sky Sports pundit, warned not to expect miracles on Saturday.\ufeff<\/p>\n

"When you bring back in players who have been out for a period of time with injuries, you've got to have the other guys carrying the load," the Ireland and Lions great said.<\/p>\n

NEW PODCAST! Michael Hooper, Nick Phipps, Tom Decent and Michael Atkinson tackle the biggest headlines for game two<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/omny.fm\/shows\/rugby-world-cup-inside-line\/selection-speculation-managing-refs-farrells-future\/embed?in_playlist=podcast&style=Cover<\/a><\/p>\n

"If you're looking for Will to be the big player, you won't get that first game back. Will is a little bit like (Lions prop) Tadhg Furlong in the fact that five times 50 minutes (of game time), then he becomes really interesting.<\/p>\n

"Yeah, he's a freak and he can play next week without a shadow of doubt, he could go 80, but as Michael (Hooper) said, his game is a power game."<\/p>\n

\ufeffSchmidt has recalled David Porecki at hooker \ufeffafter the former Wallabies captain recovered from a concussion against Fiji.<\/p>\n

\"David<\/p>\n

Porecki replaces Matt Faessler in the starting side.\ufeff<\/p>\n

"His lineout throwing is always immaculate and he's a big, physical boy," former Wallabies halfback Nick Phipps said on Stan Sport's Inside Lion<\/em>.<\/p>\n

"He throws himself into the contact area so a bit more punch."<\/p>\n

\"Schmidt<\/p>\n

Perhaps influenced by Saturday's forecast for heavy rain, Schmidt \ufeffopted for six forwards on his bench after going with five in Brisbane.<\/p>\n

"I love a good 6-2 split," Phipps said.<\/p>\n

"It's going to be wet down there in Melbourne this weekend and there was a lot of physicality playing quite tight (in the first Test), so I think bringing that bench in to add impact is a good idea."<\/p>\n

\"'Challenge'<\/p>\n

Schmidt also kept the faith with Jake Gordon as his starting halfback despite Tate McDermott again impressing off the bench in Brisbane.<\/p>\n

McDermott also had a stronger Super Rugby season than Gordon but Phipps backed Schmidt in.\ufeff<\/p>\n

"I think at the moment, Tate's ability to unlock that defence at the back end of a game is stronger than him starting and Jake trying to do that later," Phipps said.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/x.com\/StanSportRugby\/status\/1948201761908695191<\/a><\/p>\n

"It's always romantic to see a good 30 minutes at the back end of a game and demand changes. I know Tate would be constantly working to get that start, so would Jake and Nic White."<\/p>\n

Faessler, Nick Champion de Crespigny, Tom Hooper and Andrew Kellaway are the players to drop out of the 23.<\/p>\n

"The squad has recovered well after a very physical first Test and the week's preparation here in Melbourne has allowed us a bit more time together," Schmidt said.<\/p>\n

"We took some confidence from the second half last week, but we know we'll need to improve further against a Lions team that will bring plenty of fire to the contest on Saturday night."<\/p>\n

WALLABIES (15-1):<\/strong> Tom Wright, Max Jorgensen, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Len Ikitau, Harry Potter, Tom Lynagh, Jake Gordon, Harry Wilson (c), Fraser McReight, Rob Valetini, Will Skelton, Nick Frost, Allan Alaalatoa, David Porecki, James Slipper<\/p>\n

Reserves:<\/strong> Billy Pollard, Angus Bell, Tom Robertson, Jeremy Williams, Langi Gleeson, Carlo Tizzano, Tate McDermott, Ben Donaldson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

M\ufeffELBOURNE: Joe Schmidt has supersized the Wallabies for Saturday's do-or-die second Test against the British and Irish Lions at the MCG. In a major boost […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":460077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460074"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=460074"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460074\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":460083,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460074\/revisions\/460083"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/460077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=460074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=460074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=460074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}