‘Nervous’ Schmidt says Wallabies have ‘huge respect’ for Georgia despite most changes since ugly loss to Italy – The Roar

Despite overhauling their starting XI for Saturday’s Test match against Georgia, Joe Schmidt says he has “huge respect” for the rising European nation, even if Richard Cockerill’s men “have something to say about that”.

As first reported by The roar On Wednesday, the Wallabies announced ten changes for their afternoon clash at Allianz Stadium against the 12th-placed nation.

The sweeping changes are just one fewer than the number Dave Rennie made to his Wallabies team before their historic first loss to Italy in 2022.

The 28-27 defeat in Florence was the moment that Rennie officially lost the support of the Rugby Australia board. He was sacked two months later, despite ending the 2022 season with a comeback win over Wales in Cardiff.

After back-to-back victories over Warren Gatland’s Wales, a shadow of the team that beat the Wallabies 40-6 in Lyon last year to end Eddie Jones’ World Cup campaign, Schmidt ultimately decided that Saturday’s final Test match in July – and the last before the Rugby Championship – was crucial to learning more about his entire squad.

“I think we lacked a bit of cohesion today because when you make so many changes you lose your rhythm a bit and that’s a risk for us,” Schmidt said after a shaky Thursday morning session, which lasted long after several lapses on the field at Concord Oval.

“But if we don’t do that, then we’re not sure where we are with some of the guys in the squad and you don’t know when you’re going to lose someone, when you have someone in a certain position. So you have to keep adding to your depth.

“We have a very short-term focus, a long-term view, and I know that’s a paradox, but it’s a paradox that you almost have to apply to best vaccinate yourself against future injuries or future changes or forms.”

Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt says he is “nervous” ahead of Saturday’s Test match against Georgia but adds he has “huge respect” for the rising European nation. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

For a country struggling with PTSD after last year’s disaster, it seems excessive to make so many changes after a year of experimentation on the international stage that ultimately resulted in just two wins from nine games.

One of those victories came against Georgia, with Jones’ men winning 35-15 at the Stade de France in Paris on the opening weekend of the World Cup.

However, the 20-point victory was only secured when Ben Donaldson scored his second try late in the game.

Georgia indeed had every chance in the second half, but a lucky try from Donaldson against the odds gave the Wallabies a sigh of relief.

Schmidt, who has admitted he has “never been so unprepared” for his first few games as team manager and was “nervous”, described the massive changes as a balancing act and was certainly not a sign of arrogance ahead of their clash.

“It’s an impossible balance to get it right because you don’t know you’ve done the right thing until the team steps out on the pitch,” he said. “We have a huge amount of respect for Georgia.

“We predict they won’t have that many changes, but rather that many changes, and they will see an opportunity, especially given the recent wins – Wales, Italy, last week against Japan – and even some of the other big teams that they’ve certainly been in the game with for a long time.

“I think people just have to have faith in the changes, and we have faith in the changes.

“We believe we are showing a good game and they will show that, but I am sure the Georgians will have something to say about that too.”

The Wallabies have made 10 changes to their starting XI from the team that defeated Wales in Melbourne. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

While Schmidt’s comments are reflective of a man in a situation where he can’t win – if he wins it’s to be expected, if he loses they’re crucified – the Wallabies have paid the price for their experiments in the past.

Robbie Deans’ team suffered tough defeats against Samoa and Scotland in 2011 and 2012 after playing several international matches.

Michael Cheika also paid the price for his experiment against Scotland at the Allianz Stadium in 2017, while Rennie’s worst moment came after he made 11 changes to the starting XI against Italy, midway through his gruelling five-Test tour.

The Wallabies react after their loss to Italy at Stadio Artemio Franchi on November 12, 2022 in Florence. (Photo by Timothy Rogers/Getty Images)

Schmidt reiterated that he was “nervous” about the encounter, but added that the combinations across the squad gave him the confidence to get through the banana-skin clash.

“I think I said last week that I’m always worried,” Schmidt said. “I don’t think that changes for me.

“I’m nervous about how things will develop and how the match will go.

“But we have a lot of combinations. Billy Pollard has his first start but (Brumbies team-mate) Allan Alaalatoa is right next to him.

“So yeah, I’m nervous. But I don’t think there’s a real nervousness in the team. I think there’s a real… I can see there’s an excitement. They just want to go out there and they want to get into the game and start playing.

“And when you have a team like that, I’m a little excited too. There’s always that… trying to find that balance between nervousness and anticipation of what they’re hopefully going to deliver.”

Meanwhile, Schmidt confirmed The Roar’s According to a report on Wednesday, it was still unclear when captain Liam Wright, who was the best player under the new coach, would return after suffering a shoulder injury in the second half against Wales in Sydney.

“His shoulder just took a little longer than we would have liked,” Schmidt said.

“I don’t know if he’ll make the Reds-Tonga game but he just wasn’t in time for us this week and we’ll see how that plays out over the next few weeks.

“We obviously need to appoint a new squad in maybe two and a half weeks so that we can look at what this squad has achieved and then build on what we feel is necessary for the TRC.”