Tom Wright hails Declan Meredith's swagger as uncapped Brumby earns Wallabies call-up

Declan Meredith has earned a place in the Wallabies’ 37-man squad for the July Nations Championship as one of three uncapped players, with ACT Brumbies teammate Tom Wright crediting a dramatic rise in the fly-half’s confidence for his breakthrough campaign.

Meredith started 14 of 15 Super Rugby Pacific appearances for the Brumbies in 2025, locking down the No. 10 jersey ahead of new arrival Tane Edmed, who joined from the NSW Waratahs after Noah Lolesio and Jack Debrecenzi departed the capital club. Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt had already spoken highly of Meredith in mid-March, flagging him as a genuine Test bolter before the squad announcement confirmed his selection.

“The biggest change that I’ve seen would be that the confidence level has just gone through the roof,” Wright told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday. “[Stephen Larkham] injected a ton of confidence in him and once we knew the movement of Noah and Deb’s on from the Brumbies last year, we saw glimpses of what he could do — but it’s difficult to potentially do that when you’re a little bit unsure of yourself sometimes. You don’t know if you’ve got the green light to go.”

Wright, who missed most of the Super Rugby season recovering from a long-term knee injury, said the transformation became clear when he rejoined the group during rehabilitation. “I could just see a little bit of swagger as a 10 that you need. People speak about being able to play with confidence as a five-eight. Just the way he held himself — to be able to call plays, bang, you’re our guy. We saw his running game, his passing game, he chased a grubber from [James Slipper], he started to do everything. It was awesome to see.”

Meredith had captained a new-look Brumbies side against Hong Kong China last November before cementing his place as the team’s first-choice playmaker throughout the following season. Brumbies captain Ryan Lonergan also spoke positively about Meredith earlier in the week.

In the wider Wallabies squad, Ben Donaldson leads the fly-half options with 19 Test caps, while Queensland Reds pivot Carter Gordon provides another proven alternative. Five Brumbies backs have been named in total, including Lonergan, Paris Olympian Corey Toole, and reigning John Eales Medallist Len Ikitau, who spent the 2025-26 season with Premiership runners-up Exeter Chiefs.

Wright himself returned to action for the Brumbies across seven appearances after his recovery, featuring in wins over the British & Irish Lions in Sydney and the Springboks in Johannesburg during last year’s Rugby Championship.