Schmidt drops Salakaia-Loto again as Wallabies eye World Cup conditioning block

Joe Schmidt has omitted Lukhan Salakaia-Loto from Australia’s 37-man squad for their Nations Championship Tests against Ireland, France and Italy next month, framing the decision as a long-term investment in the 29-year-old’s conditioning ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup on home soil.

The Queensland Reds lock, who had been widely expected to fill the enforcer role left vacant by the injured Will Skelton, was passed over alongside Brumbies second-rower and 38-Test veteran Nick Frost. In their place, Schmidt has called up rookie locks Lachlan Shaw and Miles Amatosero alongside Josh Canham and Jeremy Williams.

“Incredible athlete, had some really good moments in Super Rugby, it was just stringing consecutive moments together,” Schmidt said in Sydney on Friday. “We’re looking for him to have a block to get into the best physical shape to contribute to the team. We need fast jumping locks. We know he’s got that speed, but isn’t quite where we’d like him to be at the moment.”

With the World Cup looming — “in 16, 17 months’ time it’s going to be massive here in Australia,” Schmidt noted — the coach made clear the omission is a targeted challenge rather than a permanent door closing.

Salakaia-Loto’s path back into the squad has been a stop-start one. Left out of the Wallabies group for the British and Irish Lions tour, he produced eye-catching cameos for the Reds, the Anzac XV and the First Nations Pasifika XV against the tourists. Test caps followed in defeats to Argentina and New Zealand, but an injury inside 10 minutes against Japan curtailed his momentum, and he featured only once more on the subsequent European tour.

Schmidt, who consulted closely with incoming head coach Les Kiss on squad selection — Kiss takes over after this three-Test window — said the rookies have earned their opportunities. He praised 23-year-old Brisbane junior Shaw’s workrate and highlighted the potential of 24-year-old Amatosero, who spent three years at Clermont Auvergne before returning to the Waratahs in Sydney. “He’s the right size and shape,” Schmidt said. “For them to get a bit of experience in a window now allows Les a broader selection group.”

Elsewhere in the squad, veteran loosehead James Slipper has answered an SOS call from Schmidt after retiring last November and could surpass All Blacks great Sam Whitelock as rugby’s second most-capped player in history. Fellow loosehead Angus Bell returns following a season-long sabbatical with Ulster, while French-based tighthead Taniela Tupou is available to face Ireland should his Racing 92 side exit the Top 14 semi-finals this weekend. Uncapped Brumbies playmaker Declan Meredith, who grew up in Cairns, completes the new faces in the group.