Joe Schmidt calls on Wallabies to ‘unburden’ flyhalf Noah Lolesio

Coach Joe Schmidt has called on other members of the Wallabies’ backline to help “unburden” the weight of responsibility and pressure that’s been resting on Noah Lolesio’s shoulders.

Lolesio has worn Australia’s No. 10 jersey in three Tests this year but some fans remain unconvinced by what the 24-year-old brought to the table. The flyhalf showed glimpses of promise in the wins over Wales but was utterly outclassed by the Boks in Brisbane.

With South Africa taking control from practically the opening minute at Suncorp Stadium, Lolesio failed to make a meaningful impact as the Test got away from Australia. The Springboks dominated possession and territory which didn’t help Lolesio’s cause.

The Wallabies will be desperate to bounce back from that 33-7 loss when they take on the same opposition at Perth’s Optus Stadium on Saturday. Australia have made a handful of changes to their First XV but coach Schmidt has stuck with Lolesio at flyhalf.

Test veteran Nic White comes into the run-on side at halfback and will partner his former ACT Brumbies teammate in the halves. That familiarity should come as a boost to Lolesio who has shown in Super Rugby Pacific how good he can be at the elite level.

“There’s a lot of responsibility falling onto Noah’s shoulders. When you’re a game driver and you’re in a new team and you’re trying to drive the team around the field as well as play your own game really accurately, inevitably, you sometimes struggle to see all the spaces in front of you because you can’t see the big South African boys that are coming your way,” Joe Schmidt told reporters on Thursday in Perth.

“I’m hoping that it’s not so much Nic (White) that takes the pressure off him. I thought Hunter (Paisami) and Lenny (Ikitau) did a good job last weekend hopefully they can take a bit more pressure off him.

“Andrew Kellaway, he’s got good experience. As mentioned, Marika has got 59 caps and Tom Wright’s got experience. I think they need to share the load a little but because I agree, he looked a little bit burdened and if we can unburden him a little bit, he has got a good game that he can bring to the table.”

In Australia, fans want to see their team win each and every week, which is no doubt a common theme amongst supporters around the world. But the Wallabies are a team building, growing and changing, so their redemption arc is going to take some time.

Last year’s Rugby World Cup feels like a long time ago now. The Wallabies have a new coaching group, a fresh face in the captaincy department with Allan Alaalatoa slotting into that role nicely, and they’ve been quite successful to start the year.

The Wallabies got the better of Warren Gatland’s Wales in two Tests last month before surviving a scare against Georgia in Sydney. Those three wins on the trot meant they had the longest active winning streak of any men’s tier-one team at the time.

But after last weekend’s discouraging loss to the Springboks, that was enough for some to ring the alarms once again. The Wallabies themselves aren’t panicking or looking too far ahead, though, as they continue to chip away at what needs to be done.

“We are very short-term focused. We don’t talk to the players about anything that’s coming up. Argentina or the All Blacks or the Spring Tour, whatever, none of that ever gets mentioned. It’s about who we’re up against, who we are, how we play and trying to best demonstrate the most positive aspects of that,” Schmidt explained.

“We missed some things last week. The first two attacking kicks that we tried to put in, they were easily received and without pressure. When you’re trying to get access into a game, a nine-four penalty count in the first half just meant that we couldn’t get a foothold in the attacking half.

“You live life in your own half or your own 22 long enough with the Springboks, it’s pretty hard to stop them scoring. I admired the way the players scrambled – I thought we saved a couple of situations that looked like they could have scored from and then fought our way back off the line to get back into the game.

“But at the same time, the disappointing one with the ball being loose, we stopped their maul, the ball goes loose behind and we just lose a bit of our connection. How many times does a bouncing ball end up in a try? You’ve just got to stay connected in front of it.”