SYDNEY : Wallabies halfbacks Nic White and Noah Lolesio will start the new Super Rugby Pacific season on the bench after returning coach Stephen Larkham named them as replacements for Friday’s match against the New South Wales Waratahs in Sydney.
White, when available, has been Australia’s starting scrumhalf for the last couple of seasons, while Lolesio has been long marked out as the Wallabies flyhalf of the future.
Larkham has preferred the experience of Jack Debreczeni in the number 10 shirt and Australia A international Ryan Lonergan inside him, despite the match marking White’s 100th Super Rugby appearance.
Wallabies captain and loosehead prop James Slipper will also start on the bench, indicating that Larkham wants his team to finish strongly against the Waratahs at the newly-rebuilt Sydney Football Stadium.
“It’s a big occasion for the Waratahs and they’ve certainly talked pretty openly about their aspirations, but we know where we want to go as a team, and we’ll be ready to go at 7:35 pm Friday night,” Larkham said.
Waratahs coach Darren Coleman has selected Tane Edmed as his starting flyhalf for the match with Ben Donaldson, who played his first two tests for Australia in the number 10 shirt on last year’s November tour, taking the fullback role.
Kurtley Beale would have been expected to play at fullback but was suspended from all rugby last month after being charged by police with sexual assault.
Teenager Max Jorgensen, son of former Wallaby Peter, gets his first Super Rugby start on the left wing leaving experienced Fijian flyer Nemani Nadolo to make his return to the competition after seven years in Europe off the bench.
“Max has been getting a lot of press at the moment – he’s a talented young player, and we understand he’s going to have his ups and downs but we’re with him for the ride,” Coleman said.”I think you’ll see as his confidence grows, the talent that he has will shine through.”
The Brumbies, who reached the semi-finals of the competition last year, have won the last nine meetings between the sides but the Waratahs have big ambitions for the 2023 season after a major revival under Coleman last year.
