'Mate, I'd take Samu and Quade over me anyday. Samu is killing it'

Giant Wallabies lock Will Skelton says he would love to play against England this July, but admits he may not be taken as one of three overseas players afforded to Wallabies head coach Dave Rennie.

With the Giteau Law now scrapped, Rennie is now only allowed to use three players from overseas “per tournament, series, or competition” as per Rugby Australia regulations.

The La Rochelle second-row appeared on Le French Rugby Podcast this week and says he is yet to hear anything from Rennie about the series.

“I read something online but I haven’t really spoken to anyone in the Aussie ranks,” said Skelton when asked if he’d feature against England. “Going back to November, that was awesome. It was really cool to back with some guys who I had played with when I was back in Australia. The likes of Allan [Alaalatoa], Hoops [Michael Hooper], Whitey [Nic White] as well. It was awesome to be back in the environment, to see where Rens is taking them.

“It’s something like starting from scratch sort of thing. It’s a younger squad and you can definitely see there’s something special.

“I haven’t been told anything about the England series yet, hopefully I find something out soon. Maybe there’ll be some answers.

“Mate, I’d take Samu and Quade over me anyday. Samu is killing it out there in Japan.”

England last toured Australia in 2016 and Eddie Jones served the then Michael Cheika’s coached side up in a humiliating three-nothing series clean sweep.

“Looking at the series, it will be awesome with England coming over. They busted us up in 2016, which I was a part of. It wasn’t nice to be swept at home so hopefully the boys who were part of it will do a good job for us.”

Skelton revealed that there hasn’t been much dialogue since November with Rennie.

“There’s been nothing really. Yeah, nothing. Maybe that was me, my final cap in Wales!” laughed Skelton, who has also cast an eye ahead to the Rugby World Cup in France next year. “Just being here [in France] it’s easy if someone goes down, I’ll be here doing pre-season and able to put my hand up and be available straight away.

“It’s still a long way away, but it’s definitely a goal to play to play in the World Cup, but it’s something that is not in my control at the moment. I can only control how I play on the field.

“Hopefully my performances warrant selection.”