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‘Made my job easier’: Rob Valetini’s praise for Wallabies’ new-look trio

Liam Wright of the Wallabies in action during the men's International Test match between Australia Wallabies and Wales at Allianz Stadium on July 06, 2024 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Wallabies enforcer Rob Valetini has praised teammates Liam Wright and Fraser McReight for making “my job easier” on Saturday as the backrow trio combined for a strong performance in the win over Wales.

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In Australia’s first Test of the year, new coach Joe Schmidt threw a curveball by naming Queenslander Liam Wright as both the starting blindside flanker and captain. Wright would join Reds teammate Fraser McReight on the flanks, with Valetini at No. 8.

That decision proved to be a masterstroke from the coaching staff with all three men putting in decent shifts in the 25-16 win at Allianz Stadium. Valetini was especially impressive with a game-high 17 carries and the most tackles from any Wallaby with 13.

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Joe Schmidt and Liam Wright after Wallabies win over Wales

Coach Joe Schmidt and captain Liam Wright spoke to media following their 25-16 win over Wales in Sydney. Wright became the 89th captain of Australia when he led the side out for the first time in front of more than 35,00

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Joe Schmidt and Liam Wright after Wallabies win over Wales

Coach Joe Schmidt and captain Liam Wright spoke to media following their 25-16 win over Wales in Sydney. Wright became the 89th captain of Australia when he led the side out for the first time in front of more than 35,00

While The Roar have reported that Wright has missed out on selection to take on Cymru at Melbourne’s AAMI Park this weekend, with the Brumbies’ Charlie Cale believed to be starting according to Christy Doran, last week’s backrow is still positive.

Depth is so important for any squad who’s looking to forge their own path as a team on the rise. For coach Schmidt and the Wallabies moving forward, the combination of Wright, McReight and Valetini is a reliable option.

“It felt good. I thought Wrongaz went well for his first time captaining Australia,” Valetini told reporters on Tuesday.

“Had a lot of confidence in Wrongaz and Fraser as well, obviously coming through (and) playing under-20s with them and playing a few seasons with him in the gold jersey.

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“Had a lot of confidence in both of them and just knowing that they’re gonna do their job as well. It made my job easier so yeah, felt good out there.

“I feel like he’s a natural leader, and through his actions, not just his words which is always good for the boys. It’s easier to follow someone when they’re doing that,” he added when asked about Wright captaining the Wallabies for the first time.

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“He’s calm as well which is something I like about him out on the field and I know if I listen to him… it calms me down as well in those tight moments towards the end.

“It was good to have him out there.”

Last Saturday in Sydney will go down in Australian rugby history as a proud night for the Wallabies. Australia were coming off the back of a Rugby World Cup disaster but they’ve bounced back with help from a new coaching group.

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That was the Wallabies’ first win over a ‘Tier One’ opponent since beating Wales in Cardiff in November 2022. The Welsh are in the midst of a difficult period themselves as they look to end their international campaign with a win.

Wales’ last victory was in the Rugby World Cup pool stages against Georgia, but since then they’ve lost to Argentina, gone winless in the Six Nations, and suffered one defeat to both South Africa and Australia.

They won’t want to let that run of eight defeats turn into nine.

“The boys have been happy but I think we know if we were in the Wales camp this week, I think they’d be putting everything into this week and throwing everything at us on Saturday,” Valetini said.

“We’re happy with the win [but we know] it’s gonna be another tough match this week and we’ve got to keep working and rolling up our sleeves and knowing that we’ve got another job to do.”

The Wallabies’ team to take on Wales in Melbourne will officially be announced on Thursday.

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4 Comments
j
john 134 days ago

Wright, the captain, was subbed around the 60 minute mark and has now been dropped.
Yep master stroke alright.

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JW 1 hour ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Where? I remember saying "unders"? The LNR was formed by the FFR, if I said that in a way that meant the 'pro' side of the game didn't have an equal representation/say as the 'amateur' side (FFR remit) that was not my intent.


But also, as it is the governing body, it also has more responsibility. As long as WR looks at FFR as the running body for rugby in France, that 'power' will remain. If the LNR refuses to govern their clubs use of players to enable a request by FFR (from WR) to ensure it's players are able to compete in International rugby takes place they will simply remove their participation. If the players complain to the France's body, either of their health and safety concerns (through playing too many 'minutes' etc) or that they are not allowed to be part in matches of national interest, my understanding is action can be taken against the LNR like it could be any other body/business. I see where you're coming from now re EPCR and the shake up they gave it, yes, that wasn't meant to be a separate statement to say that FFR can threaten them with EPCR expulsion by itself, simply that it would be a strong repercussion for those teams to be removed (no one would want them after the above).


You keep bringing up these other things I cannot understand why. Again, do you think if the LNR were not acting responsibly they would be able to get away with whatever they want (the attitude of these posters saying "they pay the players")? You may deem what theyre doing currently as being irresponsible but most do not. Countries like New Zealand have not even complained about it because they've never had it different, never got things like windfall TV contracts from France, so they can't complain because theyre not missing out on anything. Sure, if the French kept doing things like withholding million dollar game payments, or causing millions of dollars of devaluation in rights, they these things I'm outlining would be taking place. That's not the case currently however, no one here really cares what the French do. It's upto them to sort themselves out if they're not happy. Now, that said, if they did make it obvious to World Rugby that they were never going to send the French side away (like they possibly did stating their intent to exclude 20 targeted players) in July, well then they would simply be given XV fixtures against tier 2 sides during that window and the FFR would need to do things like the 50/50 revenue split to get big teams visiting in Nov.

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