Wallabies maintain ‘quiet resolve' for Lions series despite injuries, errors and uncertainties
Injuries to key players and a lack of composure against the Flying Fijians point to Australia having only a slim chance to defeat the tourists, even if the Waratahs on Saturday – and the Argentinians three weeks ago – showed they are beatable.
But within the Wallabies camp, there remains hope. 'There's a quiet resolve,' Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt said. 'We'll just work away with that quiet resolve to try to be better as we work our way through the series.'
Schmidt appears in a perpetual state of calm, but he describes himself as 'not a confident' person. True to form, his ambitions for the Tests are far from lofty. 'That quiet resolve, hopefully over the three match series can build to something,' he said.
As he finalises the most anticipated Wallabies squad in his year and a half in charge, Schmidt is emphasising the process of gradual improvement. The national team continues to rebuild and the Wallabies' loss to Fiji in the 2023 World Cup was perhaps its lowest ebb.
In that context it was significant that the team found a way to win on Sunday, thanks to captain Harry Wilson's back-down try in the dying stages. 'It was certainly a relief when Harry got over and dotted it down, that's for sure,' Schmidt said.
In a spectacular contest enjoyed by a sell-out 28,132 crowd at McDonald Jones Stadium, the match looked in Australia's control late in the first half. At that point the hosts led 14-0 and had more than 70% of the territory.
But a poor kick in midfield handed the Fijians the ball. Several missed tackles later came the try to trigger a shift in momentum, setting the scene for an exhilarating second half. '100% we should have went in the first half 14-0, but Fiji are a world-class team,' Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii said to Stan Sport after the match.
The Flying Fijians are ranked just below Australia at ninth in the world, and will become the next nation to join tier one competition as early as next year. Suaalii, of course, is expected to be world class himself. The highly touted rugby league recruit is rightly lauded for his skills and physical ability, and his debut last year in Twickenham showed he can live up to expectation.
But his muted contribution on Sunday, up against Fiji's imposing centre Josua Tuisova, was cause for concern, given the power the Lions also boast through Sione Tuipulotu and Bundee Aki in that part of the field. Scrum-half Nic White was asked by a British journalist to comment on the modest impact of the centre, who has missed two months of football with a broken jaw. 'I thought he was pretty good,' he replied flatly. 'Sometimes he's going to attract some attention and open up space for others, and some games there'd be space for him.'
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The Wallabies will finalise their squad for the Lions series on Friday, and questions surround much of the side. Rob Valetini, the back-to-back John Eales Medallist and one of the Wallabies' few genuine strike weapons, has been nursing a calf complaint. Imposing lock Will Skelton and scrum-half Jake Gordon also missed the Fiji clash with injuries. Schmidt says all three will be ready for the first Test in Brisbane on 19 July.
Yet they are far from the coach's only concerns. In the front-row Schmidt gained little clarity from Sunday's clash after starters James Slipper and David Porecki were both forced from the field due to injury at different times. Fly half Noah Lolesio appears unlikely to play in the first Lions Test after being driven off in a medicab with what looked like a serious neck injury. 'It was frustrating, just because we wanted to get some time with those combinations,' Schmidt said. 'That's the nature of sport. You don't get what you want.'
There were a 'myriad of things', as Schmidt described, that will keep him up at night over the next two weeks. Whether Australia can get reward for their scrum and their lineout. Whether they will continue to make skill errors like the forward passes which cost the team two tries against the Fijians. Whether Australia's wingers can resist the urge to kick and keep possession in order to build pressure.
Schmidt said he hadn't yet considered whether his team could harness the 'underdog' mindset that might be crucial in toppling the mighty Lions, but he recognised his side look like outsiders. 'We didn't play well enough today for people to have the expectation that we're going to come bowling into Brisbane and knock the Lions over,' he said. 'But then, I'm not sure whether that expectation was there before today, and we're just going to have to build that quiet resolve, that inch by inch we can work our way toward that.'
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