Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt believes new back-rower Nick Champion de Crespigny has the tools to complement Fraser McReight and Harry Wilson perfectly as he throws the debutant into the Lions.
The 29-year-old will make his Test debut against the British & Irish Lions on Saturday, with Schmidt blooding the Force stars after Rob Valetini and Langi Gleeson were ruled out with injury.
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The Wallabies opted not to risk Valetini as he continues to deal with a calf strain, while Gleeson picked up a cork in the win over Fiji.
They join Will Skelton on the sidelines, who also missed the Newcastle Test, with all trio to be cleared to return next week.
“Right on the edge to be honest, if it was the last game of the series I think they would have been in the mix,” he said on how close the trio were to playing.
“The risk you take if you put those guys out there and they're not quite ready and you try to push them through, you might end up worse off.
“I wouldn't say we've taken a long-term view with them, but we just felt it was the most judicious decision at the time.
“…Will didn't report anything during the training. He completed the training and then just felt it a little bit the next morning and then we just decided to be conservative.
"Bobby V, his again was right at the end of the session when he wasn't actually moving very fast, not by his standards anyway.
“They’ll do a session on Saturday that will include max velocity, change direction, a little bit of contact. That will be a controlled game simulation so that they can be ticked off and cleared for training in the Melbourne week.
It provides the opportunity for the former Sydney Uni product on the biggest stage possible, continuing a dream season after his return to Australia from France.
“He’s trained well, had a good Super Rugby season and is very excited about the opportunity he has,” Schmidt said.
“…We certainly knew a fair bit about Nick. I keep an eye on the Top 14 having coached them many years ago, obviously Nick was playing for Castres and they'd been a high-performing team in the Top 14 and so when he decided to come back he was immediately on the radar, not necessarily right in the middle of it, but he was on the periphery of it.
“H's got a good profile in the air, he's quick in the air, he is really consistent around his tackle and tackle recovery and really consistent around his ball carry and his support play. He's a good package for us, we think, and we're excited that he's going to get an opportunity.
“The good thing with Nick, he's a good line-out option, I thought he was very good in the force lineout. He is probably a bit more of a roving scavenger than ‘Bobby V’, who in the past has been a big ball-carrier for us, and so he'll compliment Fraser [McReight] in that respect.”
Schmidt was feeling the loss of Valetini, one of the premier back-rowers in the world right now.
The back-to-back John Eales Medalist has been one of the Wallabies best in the 2020s and Schmidt was looking for the rest of the pack to pick up his load.
“You put a training team together and all the boys are looking if they’re in Bobby’s team, just to see if they've got a better chance of starting, because Bobby has been a very regular starter for us and a big player for us,” he added.
“…It probably puts a little bit more onus on Harry Wilson to fulfil the ball-carry role, and at the same time I do think that Fraser and Nick can help me out with that, and with Carlo [Tizzano] coming off the bench, Tom Hooper off the bench, they're another couple of guys who carry really well for us."
