The First Nations Pasifika squad has been boosted significantly by the addition of Taniela Tupou, Filipo Daugunu and Ponipate Loganimasi for Tuesday’s tour match against the British & Irish Lions in Melbourne.
Loganimasi has already linked up with the squad, with Tupou and Daugunu to join in the coming days.
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It comes after the Australian pair missed selection for the first Wallabies side ahead of Saturday’s Test in Brisbane.
Tupou will get his chance to face the Lions for a second time after featuring for the NSW Waratahs earlier in the tour.
Meanwhile, Daugunu was one of the Wallabies’ best in the July series last year, before injury saw the likes of Harry Potter and Max Jorgensen cement themselves as the starters.
Daugunu came off the bench during the win over Fiji earlier in the month, with the Queensland Reds star able to cover either wing or centre.
As for Loganimasi, he adds to the incredible depth at outside back for the squad, emerging as a bright spot for the Fijian Drua in 2025.
The 27-year-old scored seven tries in 2025, including four tries in his opening three games of the season.
He will compete with the likes of Daugunu, Andy Muirhead and Triston Reilly for a spot on the wing.
The group is currently in camp in Melbourne, with Muirhead talking about the excitement of bonding together ahead of the inaugural fixture.
"You obviously play against these guys week in, week out through Super Rugby and you get a good relationship with those guys," Muirhead said.
"It's nice to come together for the week and talk about what's important for us in terms of culture.
"We've got a good group here and we've got a nice big forward back and some silky outside backs, so I'm hoping we can use the next couple of days to gel and get that cohesion and hopefully put on a good performance on Tuesday.
"You take a lot of learnings out of these sort of things. You speak about what's important. We had a great welcome to country yesterday and the boys have done a couple of welcomes and acknowledgments but not know the meaning behind it.
"I think that's a big factor in this week in learning traditions and cultures that we have and us as First Nations guys can learn a little bit about the island culture as well."
