Corey Toole may have again been overlooked for a Test debut, but Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has hinted that the Olympic flyer will be handed an opportunity before the year is out.
Schmidt on Thursday named his squad for Bledisloe II in Wellington, promoting winger Dylan Pietsch to the starting side after Marika Koroibete suffered an injured wrist in the 31-28 defeat by the All Blacks in Sydney.
Pietsch’s ascension to the starting side comes after an impressive cameo off the bench at Accor Stadium, while Reds utility Josh Flook has joined the replacements as further backline cover.
Toole, meanwhile, has been hard at work on the training paddock after he returned home from Australia’s Olympic sevens campaign, where he was a key part of the squad that finished fourth after a narrow loss to South Africa in the bronze medal playoff.
Asked whether Toole was nearing a maiden Test callup, Schmidt said the Brumbies flyer continued to impress with his speed but that he still needed to work on a couple of other areas of his game to be ready for international XVs rugby.
“In Australia he is, certainly speed times there a couple of guys on the stats that I have seen that are a bit quicker, but he’d be right up there,” Schmidt told reporters in Wellington.
“Today the quickest guy at training was Darby Lancaster, he’s another very quick young man and we’re just trying to build the depth with those two guys [and it’s] really exciting.
“Darby has had an opportunity, Corey was at the Olympics and I thought they did a super job there, I thought they were so close to getting a medal.
“Corey’s opportunity will come. I had a great meeting with Corey yesterday and talking through his game, he’s got a few priorities that he’s working on. It’s a matter of ‘when’ as long as he keeps tracking as he does – [but] he’s quick, yeah.”
While he was one of the fastest players in Super Rugby Pacific, Toole is also one of the lightest, which may explain why Schmidt and his fellow Wallabies coach don’t feel he is ready for the physicality of Test rugby.
“Some of those small guys like [Kurt-Lee] Arendse and Cheslin Kolbe are incredibly powerful and quick and experienced,” Schmidt referenced in discussing Toole.
“Corey really hasn’t had that much experience, he’s come from the sevens program, he’s had a season with the Brumbies and he’s still learning the XVs game, even positionally.
“We’re trying to fast-track him, as I say he is very fast, and so that track hopefully will get eaten up quite quickly.”
Schmidt has meanwhile stuck with Harry Wilson as captain for the fourth straight Test, giving the Wallabies their first real bit of captaincy continuity since James Slipper assumed the reins after Michael Hooper stepped away from the role because of mental health issues during the 2022 Rugby Championship.
While the Wallabies coach did not confirm whether that meant Wilson had the job on a permanent basis, he did praise the Gunnedah-raised No. 8 for his no-frills approach to the role.
“Harry’s been really good for us, he’s played well, he’s led well – not because he’s said a lot – but there’s a strong leadership group so that Harry doesn’t have to say too much,” Schmidt said.
“He doesn’t necessarily make a lot of the decisions on the field, he’s got his head down working hard, so there’s guys inevitably in behind him that are making decisions on what’s happening. He makes the big decisions from static play, but apart from that he’s just trying to decide how he’s going to get to the ball next and how he’s going to carry that one or tackle that one. And it’s one of the things with Harry, his volume of work has been really positive.”
One of the past criticisms of Wilson was a lack of repeat efforts in defence, which saw him fall out of favour under former Wallabies coach Dave Rennie and then not be considered at all by Eddie Jones.
But Schmidt lauded that part of his skipper’s game as part of a wider back-row unit that is starting to look as well balanced as any in recent Wallabies forward packs.
“It’s a big body, so what I have been impressed with is the big body getting back up off the ground and into position and being loaded to go again, because that’s what we need from Harry,” Schmidt said.
“We need the impact that he offers but also the volume of work that he offers, and they’ve been two real positives for us. And on the back of a loose trio, that are trying to work really hard together.”