{"id":33001,"date":"2025-07-30T08:37:07","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T08:37:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/33001\/"},"modified":"2025-07-30T08:37:07","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T08:37:07","slug":"joe-schmidt-makes-bold-selection-calls-for-lions-finale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/33001\/","title":{"rendered":"Joe Schmidt makes BOLD selection calls for Lions finale"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Joe Schmidt is expected to make several changes to his Wallabies matchday 23 for the final Test match against the British and Irish Lions.<\/p>\n<p>While the Lions have already wrapped up the series following their victory at the MCG last weekend, Australia will be out to deny the tourists a clean sweep Down Under.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetrugby.com\/team\/australia\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Wallabies<\/a> boss has kept the same backline for the first two Tests of the series, but that is set to change for the third and final game.<\/p>\n<p>Nic White set for Wallabies swansong<\/p>\n<p>According to <a rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theroar.com.au\/2025\/07\/30\/exclusive-wallabies-weapon-out-of-third-lions-test-as-tupou-and-white-return-in-huge-schmidt-call-for-sydney\/\" target=\"_blank\">ROAR<\/a> Sports, Western Force speedster Dylan Pietch will come into the starting XV, replacing Harry Potter, who was forced off the field with a head knock in the second Test.<\/p>\n<p>Joining him in the run-on team will be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetrugby.com\/tag\/Nic-White\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Nic White<\/a>, with the veteran scrum-half replacing Jake Gordon at number nine in what is expected to be his final game for the Wallabies.<\/p>\n<p>It is reported that the nippy halfback\u2019s contributions to Australian Rugby have been celebrated in the build-up to the final <a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetrugby.com\/team\/british-and-irish-lions\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Lions<\/a> Test, with the 35-year-old set to call time on his international career.<\/p>\n<p>He would replace Gordon, who impressed in the second Test but is expected to fall out of the team after going the full 80 minutes in Melbourne in what was just his second game back from injury.<\/p>\n<p>It is hoped that White\u2019s presence in the starting lineup will galvanise the Wallabies, with the experienced halfback partnering Tom Lynagh, who is set to earn his third straight start for the Wallabies. It is also reported that James O\u2019Connor will not make the matchday 23 after earning a recall to the squad following the injury to Noah Lolesio.<\/p>\n<p class=\"px-3 xs:px-4 mt-3 mb-2 font-semibold leading-snug text-base text-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetrugby.com\/news\/wallabies-star-left-thinking-what-could-have-been-after-test-two-defeat-as-side-urged-to-put-it-behind-them\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Wallabies star left thinking \u2018what could have been\u2019 after Test Two defeat as side urged to \u2018put it behind them\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"px-3 xs:px-4 mt-3 mb-2 font-semibold leading-snug text-base text-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetrugby.com\/news\/joe-schmidt-takes-aim-at-carlo-tizzano-diving-claims-after-high-magnitude-impact-detected-after-jac-morgan-clear-out\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Joe Schmidt takes aim at Carlo Tizzano diving claims after \u2018high-magnitude impact\u2019 detected after Jac Morgan clear-out<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Double injury blow<\/p>\n<p>While the addition of White in the starting XV is a tactical change, Schmidt has been forced into two changes up front, according to the report, with flanker Rob Valetini and tighthead prop Allan Alaalatoa ruled out through injury.<\/p>\n<p>Alaalatoa\u2019s absence opens the door for Taniela Tupou\u2019s return, while Exeter-bound back-rower Tom Hooper is tipped to replace Valetini, who shone in the second Test, in the run-on team.<\/p>\n<p>Schmidt will confirm his team to tackle the Wallabies on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the Lions have hinted that they will be going full-tilt in the tour finale and will not make mass rotations with the match effectively being a dead rubber.<\/p>\n<p>READ MORE:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetrugby.com\/news\/british-and-irish-lions-to-reward-form-as-major-selection-hint-dropped\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">British and Irish Lions to \u2018reward form\u2019 as major selection hint dropped<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Joe Schmidt is expected to make several changes to his Wallabies matchday 23 for the final Test match&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33002,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[428,3481,348,15457,50,19928,5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-33001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-australia","tag-british-and-irish-lions","tag-home-page","tag-joe-schmidt","tag-news","tag-nic-white","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}