The Wallabies have gone back to the future with veteran James O'Connor named to start in Australia's Rugby Championship opener against the Springboks, but the bad luck has continued at training after Ben Donaldson went down late at training on Thursday.
Just eight weeks after he was omitted from Australia's first 36-man squad of 2025, 35-year-old O'Connor is set to wear the No. 10 jersey at Johannesburg's famed Ellis Park early Sunday morning [AEST].
It is an about-face, of sorts, from Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt who last year put a metaphorical stake in the ground, declaring Australia had to move on from the likes of O'Connor, Quade Cooper and Bernard Foley, and instead back the emerging trio of Noah Lolesio, Tom Lynagh Ben Donaldson.
But injuries first to Lolesio, who underwent neck surgery after Australia's narrow win over Fiji, and then Tom Lynagh, who was on the end of a dangerous clean-out from British and Irish Lions hooker Dan Sheehan, have since forced Schmidt's hand.
It was thought, however, that Schmidt would turn to Donaldson and instead bring O'Connor off the bench in South Africa, but the Kiwi has seemingly opted for experience over potential, with Donaldson missing the 23 altogether after becoming the latest Wallabies player to suffer an injury late at training.
While Schmidt originally opted for a 6-2 split on the bench, the Kiwi soon reversed his decision, bringing one-cap Wallaby Tane Edmed, who was only added to the squad to cover Tom Lynagh's omission, into the 23 as a fly-half replacement off the bench.
"In the second last play of the training, Donno kicked the ball and pulled up short," Schmidt said during his team announcement on Thursday.
"So we don't know what the extent of the injury is. We've only been back from training for about an hour. So he will get a scan. We'll have a definitive picture because we need to know for next week as well whether we need more cover.
"And at the same time, we're still trying to probably work out what we do to best get that coverage (for No.10 at Ellis Park). Nic White can maybe cover 10 and is astute enough to do so. Andrew Kellaway has the skill set to cover 10. But it does leave us a little bit light.
"That's something that we're going to look at the captain's run and just see what best fits for us. Because it's all it's all happened just in a very short space of time.
"(Edmed) is in consideration for sure. Tane is one of the options. Hunter Paisami played 10 until in the under 20s and then shifted to 12, plus gives us really good midfield cover. So there's a few options that we're just going to try to get our best coverage and best confidence from."
Donaldson's injury is the latest in a string of training setbacks for the Wallabies, with Rob Valetini, Will Skelton and Jake Gordon all going down either before or during the British and Irish Lions series.
First Valetini and Skelton suffered calf injuries at the team's training camp in Newcastle ahead of the one-off Test with Fiji, before Gordon then suffered a reoccurrence of his hamstring trouble just two days out from the Sydney clash with the Lions. The scrum-half was not however going to be a part of the matchday 23 in the third Test.
Schmidt has otherwise shown faith in his squad that downed the Lions in the final Test in Sydney, with O'Connor to only change to the starting side that triumphed 22-12.
For now, though, Nick Champion de Crespigny, is in line for his second Test with Schmidt opting for an extra forward to combat the big Springboks pack, despite the world champions at this stage going with a 5-3 split.
O'Connor, meanwhile, hasn't played since the Crusaders' victory over the Chiefs in the Super Rugby Pacific final, when he came off the bench for the final 90 seconds of his side's 16-12 victory.
And the 64-Test veteran hasn't played a Test since 2022, when he was recalled to the national team by then-Wallabies coach Dave Rennie.
But his form for the Crusaders this season, when he largely filled a finishers' role, led to calls for him to be considered for Wallabies selection once more, which Schmidt eventually heeded when he added the 35-year-old to his squad to face the Lions after Lolesio's injury.
The weekend's assignment could not be more daunting for O'Connor nor the Wallabies, though, with Australia having not beaten the Springboks in South Africa since 2010 and having only one win at Ellis Park, from way back in 1963.
But Australia should at least be battle-hardened for a date with the world champions following three torrid encounters with the Lions, while they have also retained the services of world-class lock Will Skelton for their two-game tour of South Africa.
"The Springboks, I think they've grown their game a little bit," Schmidt said of South Africa. "I think Tony Brown, I'd have a lot of respect for his acumen. Felix [Jones], obviously, I coached Felix, I know him well. Obviously, I worked with Rassie [Erasmus] before, so I think they've got a coaching group that are very, very strong. Jerry Flannery as well, another Irishman.
"I'm expecting that they'll be really strong in the set-piece, as they always are. Their kick-chase game will be very strong. On any turnover or any bit of space they get, they've got lethal finishes, with [Kurt-Lee] Arendse, [Edwill] van der Merwe.
"Jesse Kriel is such a strong player. You mentioned yesterday, I remember two years ago, I was working with the All Blacks, but I watched this game from South Africa. He was a colossus and was really difficult for the Australians to contain. That poses a similar problem on Saturday."
Wallabies:Tom Wright, Max Jorgensen, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Len Ikitau, Dylan Pietsch, James O'Connor, Nic White, Harry Wilson, Fraser McReight, Tom Hooper, Will Skelton, Nick Frost, Taniela Tupou, Billy Pollard, James Slipper.
Replacements: Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Angus Bell, Zane Nonggorr, Jeremy Williams, Langi Gleeson, Nick Champion de Crespigny, Tate McDermott, Andrew Kellaway.
