Wallabies coach Dave Rennie has told Noah Lolesio to add some size this preseason, after leaving the Brumbies playmaker out of his squad for next month's spring tour.
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The 37-man squad included 10 Brumbies, but Lolesio wasn't one of them with the 21-year-old set to stay behind as widely expected after not featuring in any of the Wallabies' last four matches. Queensland young gun Harry Wilson has also been left out of the spring touring party.
Brumbies hooker Connal McInerney has earned a spot on the plane and will chase a maiden Wallabies appearance in games against Japan, Scotland England and Wales.
Allan Alaalatoa will rejoin Rennie's squad after sitting out the back half of the Rugby Championship, having returned to Canberra for the birth of his first child.
Folau Fainga'a, Len Ikitau, Pete Samu, James Slipper, Darcy Swain, Rob Valetini, Nic White and Tom Wright are also on the plane to Japan.
Missing the spring tour will give Lolesio a chance for a much-needed rest after an exhausting 18 months, and Rennie was quick to reaffirm the flyhalf was still a part of his 2023 World Cup plans.
"He needs to put on a little bit of muscle mass and deal with the physical nature of having to defend at 10," Rennie said.
"He'll work on getting more explosive and acceleration, try and get a bit of distance in his kicking game. This is going to give him time to do that.
"Both [Lolesio and Wilson are] good young men who we think have got a big future in the gold jersey, and [this is] a chance for them to make some shifts."
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French-based trio Will Skelton, Rory Arnold and Tolu Latu are all part of the Spring Tour squad as Rugby Australia's recent selection policy shake ups hit top gear.
They were among six overseas-based players picked by Rennie, and will link up with the side in the United Kingdom.
Joining Samu Kerevi and Sean McMahon, the French-based trio are the latest to benefit from the loosening of eligibility rules which previously only allowed overseas-based players with 60 caps or seven years of playing service in Australian rugby to be called up.
That rule was established ahead of the 2015 World Cup, enabling both Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell to return to the fray.
Before that there was no wriggle room at all, but COVID-19's logistical constraints have allowed for some exemptions that Rennie has taken full advantage of.
"That's not necessarily the plan going forward and there will be discussions we have after the Spring Tour," Rennie said of RA's eligibility rules, adding he'd been in constant contact with Arnold for the last two years.
"There's nothing based in concrete at this stage ... the preference is still to pick from here, it's important we promote from within.
"But some of these guys coming in, getting a taste of that environment and culture encourages them to come back and play here (once their overseas contracts expire).
"We're trying to bring as many home as we can."
Australia had dropped to a career-low seventh in the world rankings this year after a stream of talent left Super Rugby for big deals in Europe, Japan and the US, but have since bounced back to third.
- With AAP
James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
