Nic White is set to be unretired for a third time, as the Wallabies call on the veteran's services for Perth following their 33-24 loss to the All Blacks at Eden Park.
The 77-capped halfback is one of four names who will join the Wallabies in Perth, as Joe Schmidt's men look to avoid an All Black 11-match losing streak, which would be the worst in Bledisloe Cup history.
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White will join Jake Gordon and Ryan Lonergan in the scrumhalves role, with the latter making his debut following a hamstring injury to Tate McDermott at Eden Park.
“Tate appears to have damaged his hamstring, so we’ll get something pretty early in the week to determine what degree of damage that is, but it doesn’t look great,” Schmidt said to reporters following last night's loss.
“Whitey, he is the gift that keeps on giving. We had Whitey in the change-room now, so he’s not too far away and he lives in Perth. He’s such a good character within the team."
They will be joined by Reds' utility option Josh Flook to complete the backline options, replacing Andrew Kellaway after the veteran went down with a calf injury ahead of Saturday's clash.
In even better news, the men in gold are set to have two of their biggest enforcers return to the squad, Rob Valetini and Will Skelton.
Overcoming a niggling calf injury throughout the 2025 season, Valetini has struggled for consistent game time that saw him with the John Eales Medal in 2024.
However, the Brumbies enforcer has looked strong in the game time he has managed to get this year, suggesting he is not far away from regaining his 2024 form should he stay injury free.
Skelton has been released from his club commitments at La Rochelle, with the club side picking up a win over Perpignan over the weekend.
Skelton missed the Eden Park clash and the two home fixtures against the Pumas, and his return to the squad has been the topic of much speculation.
The lock had been a mammoth weapon for the side throughout 2025, being involved in the Sydney victory over the British & Irish Lions, and the Ellis Park victory over the Springboks.
Despite the loss in Eden Park, Schmidt is confident the side can bounce back strongly in Perth.
“We’ve got a lot of confidence in our squad,” the head coach affirmed.
“Strength and depth is going to take a little bit of time to build, but I think we’re going in the right direction."
In other news, James Slipper has taken time to relish becoming the third player in history to reach 150 caps, and has hinted that he may consider his future as a Wallaby come the end of 2025.
"There's still a bit of water that needs to go under the bridge, so I won't call it now," Slipper said.
"It comes down to what's best for the team. That's probably what's going to make my decision.
"The improvement we've seen over the last 18 months has been really positive for our group and for rugby in Australia.
"We're still just probably not getting as many results as we want, and consistent results, but in terms of the base of the game and what we want to see, we're seeing it."
