Joe Schmidt\u2019s hopes of beefing up his wobbling Wallabies have suffered a massive blow as Will Skelton has been ruled out of the tour-closing matches versus Ireland and France.<\/p>\n
The gigantic second-row was unavailable to play for Australia in their November 1 clash with England<\/a> in London as that match fell outside the regulation nine player release window.<\/p>\n However, rather than send an SOS to get Skelton involved for last weekend\u2019s match versus Italy, which the Wallabies<\/a> would have been entitled to do as it was the first weekend in the three-weekend window, Schmidt decided to allow the forward to stay with La Rochelle and feature in their Top 14 match away to Toulon.<\/p>\n That fixture had been postponed at the last-minute in September due to the weather and it was rescheduled for November 8, the same day the Wallabies would be in Udine to take on the Italians.<\/p>\n Miscalculated<\/p>\n Schmidt miscalculated in believing he could do without Skelton in Italy, as Australia were beaten 26-19, and the sour taste of that loss has now been compounded with the revelation that the lock was injured playing for La Rochelle and has been ruled out of the Test matches in Dublin and Paris.<\/p>\n Skelton was a nuisance for Andy Farrell when the Ireland boss was in charge of the recent British and Irish Lions tour, causing them multiple problems in Melbourne and Sydney with his trademark physicality.<\/p>\n Despite the loss of the 32-year-old to an ankle injury, the Wallabies confirmed they were happy to allow Darcy Swain to leave the tour and head home to Australia after providing cover for their recent matches.<\/p>\n November Test Team of the Week: Springboks \u2018sheer masterclass\u2019, All Blacks\u2019 saviour and \u2018world-class\u2019 Englishman rewarded<\/a><\/p>\n Latest World Rugby rankings: Australia dealt a hammer blow before World Cup draw, England target third and the big shock climbers<\/a><\/p>\n In other team news, Schmidt also confirmed the call-up of the now England-based James O\u2019Connor<\/a>. The 35-year-old featured in five of his country\u2019s six recent Rugby Championship matches, ending his spell in the Test rugby wilderness since 2022.<\/p>\n The player release window meant the new Leicester player was unavailable for the England match, even though he spent that Saturday working at Twickenham in a corporate function role. He then provided TV punditry last Saturday from TNT Sports studios in London, but has now been called back into the Wallabies set-up.<\/p>\n Since O\u2019Connor\u2019s last appearance for the Wallabies, away to New Zealand in Auckland in September, Schmidt selected Tane Edmed as his No.10 versus the All Blacks<\/a> in Perth, Japan in Tokyo and England in London before going with Carter Gordon against Italy following his recent return to union after a switch to rugby league.<\/p>\n Wallabies player ratings v Italy: \u2018A game to forget\u2019 for Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii as Fraser McReight \u2018stands out\u2019 in Azzurri defeat<\/a><\/p>\n Italy v Australia: Five takeaways as Aussie-born stars land killer blows to down \u2018woeful\u2019 Wallabies who \u2018limp\u2019 to the end of Joe Schmidt\u2019s era<\/a><\/p>\n