With everyday starter Noah Lolesio sidelined, Lynagh, 22, will play his first international game in the Suncorp Stadium, number 10 jersey like Michael did during the 1989 series against the Lions. The star forwards Rob Valetini and Will Skelton are both out due to calf issues, which denies Australia head coach Joe Schmidt two of his biggest ball runners.
Schmidt downplayed his team’s prospects of defeating the Lions in the three-Test series following his team’s 21-18 victory over Fiji, but revealed that both Valetini and Skelton were on the cusp of selection. They were at the edge,” he added. “If it were the final game of the series, they most likely would have played, but you can’t attempt to rush them. Nick Champion de Crespigny makes his debut on the flank in place of Valetini, with Harry Wilson captaining from number eight and Fraser McReight completing the back row.
“The positive with Nick, he’s a decent line-out player,” Schmidt added. “He’s likely a bit more of a floating scavenger than ‘Bobby V’ (Valetini), who has been in the past a huge ball-carrier for us, and so he’ll bring a bit to work off Fraser in that role. Nick Frost and Jeremy Williams operate in the second row in the absence of the mauling Skelton.
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, the 21-year-old cross-code phenomenon, joins Len Ikitau in an intriguing midfield. Loose-head prop Angus Bell is restricted to the bench, with 2013 series veteran James Slipper given the nod.
Western Force fly-half Ben Donaldson is favoured over the veteran James O’Connor as Lynagh’s back-up, with the latter having started against the Lions in 2013 and being brought into the team after Lolesio’s neck injury. Schmidt has supported Lynagh to do well in the high-pressure environment of Saturday’s contest, but conceded it will be a baptism of fire for the newbie.
Lynagh has only played an hour of Test rugby, with all three of his tests for Australia as a reserve. He might not look like he’s built to play a game and control what’s going on, but he’s got a quiet confidence that gives us a quiet confidence,” Schmidt said.
“He’s settled in well and given us the confidence he’s going to play the game well. It’s Suncorp Stadium, it’s his home track, and it’s a great opportunity. It’s not the perfect scenario to be beginning your first Test match for the Wallabies against the Lions, but if not now, when? You have got to begin somewhere.”
Starting XV: Wright; Jorgensen, Suaalii, Ikitau, Potter; Lynagh, Gordon; Slipper, Faessler, Alaalatoa, Frost, Williams, De Crespigny, McReight, Wilson (capt) Replacements: Pollard, Bell, Robertson, Hooper, Tizzano, McDermott, Donaldson, Kellaway.
Despite the Lions’ impressive Brisbane record – the visiting side has never lost in Queensland – Wallaby legend Will Genia is convinced that the players from Australia will be motivated by the Suncorp Stadium on Saturday. I would say for us it’s the unofficial home of rugby in Australia,” the 110-cap scrum-half said in an interview with the Rugby Union Weekly podcast.
“The best record we have is at the Suncorp Stadium. And having played there myself, there is a different feel about it. It feels like an actual home ground for us, so that adds a bit of confidence for the boys heading into the game. Genia started all three Tests for Australia in the 2013 series against the Lions, and despite the 2-1 series defeat, he remembers fondly the scale of the occasion 12 years ago.
“If I think back to the actual Test series, I would say it was the greatest experience of my rugby career,” he added. Every 12 years, tradition, history, the prestige and the spotlight around it – it was an incredible experience.
“I just never had anything like it. You know you are faced with the best players from four countries uniting. So that alone as a challenge was something I thoroughly relished. To place myself there under that pressure was something I thoroughly enjoyed.”
