Wallabies rallying around three-minute debutant

The Wallabies have rallied round debutant Tane Edmed, the talented flyhalf whose big moment against Ireland lasted just three minutes before being knocked out the game.

The 24-year-old Waratahs’ five-eighth was brought into the heat of battle on Saturday night, called on to replace Noah Lolesio in the 74th minute in Dublin with the Test still on a knife-edge.

But while looking composed as he began his quest to pull the game out of the fire with the Wallabies three points down, Edmed took a head knock after throwing himself into a tackle and had to come off for a HIA, his debut over as Australia went on to lose 22-19.

Edmed was the record 19th debutant to be awarded a cap in 2024 by coach Joe Schmidt, who, along with the rest of the squad, had every sympathy for the son of former Balmain Tigers NRL star Steve Edmed.

Points Flow Chart

Ireland win +3

Time in lead

14

Mins in lead

58

18%

% Of Game In Lead

73%

48%

Possession Last 10 min

52%

7

Points Last 10 min

0

“He said he feels all right, which is obviously the most important thing, and he feels okay,” reported teammate Andrew Kellaway.

“It’s such a hard one, because he came on and did a great job in the short time he was on. He put himself in a position to make a tackle on a big man, with a big size difference there, and did a really good job.

“I’m sure he’ll be a little bit disappointed, but, at the end of the day, he’s a Wallaby now – and that’s something we’re all so proud to be.

“And we’re so proud of him, and I’m sure his family feel the same.”

Wallaby No. 990 – Tane Edmed 🤝#Wallabies pic.twitter.com/gKlwraHSwy

— Wallabies (@wallabies) December 1, 2024

Schmidt hailed Edmed as “a super young man” and an example of how the Wallabies were building their depth with a view to the 2025 campaign by blooding new talent.

“And in building that depth, we hope that base allows us to be in a strong position,” he said.

Edmed was Wallaby number 990, the 19th fresh face of the year – a record in a single 12-month spell since 1928, when Australian rugby was still being redeveloped and patched up after the First World War.

THE WALLABIES’ 19 DEBUTANTS IN 2024

Josh Flook, Jeremy Williams, Angus Blyth, Isaac Kailea, Charlie Cale, Tom Lynagh, Dylan Pietsch, Josh Nasser, Darby Lancaster, Alex Hodgman, Carlo Tizzano, Luke Reimer, Max Jorgensen, Seru Uru, Hamish Stewart, Josh Canham, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Harry Potter, Tane Edmed.