Donaldson nears Italy return as Wallabies seek to end six-game losing streak

Ben Donaldson is on course to return for Australia’s Test against Italy in Perth on Saturday after the Western Force flyhalf resumed full training following a calf injury that ruled him out of the Wallabies’ 42-26 defeat to France in Brisbane.

Donaldson and fellow flyhalf Carter Gordon both missed the Nations Championship clash with France, leaving debutant Declan Meredith to wear the No.10 jersey against the Six Nations champions. The loss extended Australia’s losing run to six consecutive Tests and left them with just one win from their last 10 — a victory over Japan.

“I trained today, I’ll train tomorrow and if I get through training, then all is good,” Donaldson said on Monday. “I ran Saturday morning and did some skills as well, and it felt good, pulled up well, so train tomorrow as per normal and then hopefully good to go.”

Donaldson had previously come off the bench in the opening Test in Sydney against Ireland, which Australia lost 33-31. He was candid about the misfortune of both flyhalves going down with the same injury at the same time. “If we had bigger calves, maybe we wouldn’t get injured. We’ve both got pretty skinny little calves,” he joked.

Meredith’s debut against France drew warm praise from Donaldson despite the second-half collapse that ultimately cost Australia the match. “As a 10, you understand how big an ask it is to come in against a French team, who are a pretty powerful team,” Donaldson said. “He controlled the game very well, and you saw at halftime how he set the boys up in the lead. He’s a confident fella, he had a great year with the Brumbies and moving forward, he’s going to take a lot of experience and growth out of that game.”

Meredith’s appearance made him Australia’s seventh flyhalf across the past 17 Tests, a statistic that underlines the injury disruption that has plagued the position throughout coach Joe Schmidt’s tenure.

The Italy fixture at HBF Park carries added significance as Schmidt’s final match in charge. His current win rate of 36.66 per cent means a defeat would leave him with the worst win-loss ratio of any Wallabies head coach, finishing below Dave Rennie’s 38.2 per cent. Les Kiss, who coached the Queensland Reds in Super Rugby Pacific this season, is set to take over next month.