'I've backed the young blokes': Jones backs a new era of Wallabies for World Cup

The Brumbies prop is one of three uncapped players in a 33-man squad set to be captained by lock Will Skelton as coach Eddie Jones turns to his fifth skipper just four Tests into his tenure.

Jones' new-look squad boasts just six Brumbies, making the ACT the second-least represented Australian Super Rugby team despite their clear standing as the country's best-performing side.

Schoupp joins prop James Slipper, lock Nick Frost, back-row duo Tom Hooper and Rob Valetini, and scrumhalf Nic White - who is bound for the Western Force.

Eighteen-year-old rookie Max Jorgensen and former Brumbies scrumhalf Issak Fines-Leleiwasa round out the uncapped trio.

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Outside centre Len Ikitau and Michael Hooper will be left behind when the Wallabies fly to France in a selection call that is likely to end the latter's 125-Test career.

"I've backed the young blokes because they earned it. Simple as that," Jones said.

"I haven't handed it to them. They grabbed it. It's exciting for me to go to work each day with these guys who are just busting to improve, to learn and to get better. They want to succeed, and they will succeed and that excitement is rubbing off on everyone. We're in a good place.

"The experts have written us off. No one believes we can do it, but we believe. The coaches believe, the players believe and that's all that matters."

Gone from Jones' squad are Michael Hooper and Quade Cooper in a move that will likely signal the end of their time in Wallaby gold, while Pete Samu has been left out amid whispers Jones is picking a back-row with an eye to the future.

Jones' decision to herald a new era of Wallabies means the Australian team enters the World Cup with an average of 20 Tests per player - their lowest since 1991.

If Wallabies fans are looking for a glimmer of hope, it is that Australia won that 1991 tournament.

They will have to do it this time without Ikitau, who had established himself as the Wallabies' first-choice No.13 before suffering a broken shoulder against Argentina during the Rugby Championship which left him racing the clock for the World Cup opener.

Brumbies fullback Tom Wright has also been overlooked after being cut ahead of the Bledisloe Cup series, while hooker Lachlan Lonergan and scrumhalf Ryan Lonergan missed the squad.

Melbourne Rebels playmaker Carter Gordon is the lone flyhalf in the squad with Waratah Ben Donaldson backed to fill the utility role for a Wallabies side chasing its first win of the year.

Few would have pinched themselves quite as much as Schoupp when the squad was announced at the Darwin Waterfront on Thursday.

Schoupp was unwanted by the NSW Waratahs beyond a single day of training as a COVID-19 cover and arrived in Canberra with a point to prove last summer.

Now he is on the cusp of realising a dream after a breakout campaign with the Brumbies.

"It's a young squad, it's an exciting squad and it will be a successful squad," Jones said.

"We are making good progress. Our challenge is to continue to improve. To get a little bit better every day in everything we do on and off the field.

"As I've said since I took over, in Australian rugby we have the talent, but we don't yet have the team. That's still the case. But we are getting there and I'm backing that we will surprise a few people."

"Rugby World Cup is a tournament, and tournament rugby is different to competition rugby. Look at the women's football World Cup. Favourites get beaten. Upsets happen. It's all part of the challenge.

"All the teams start from the same place. We all get the same opportunity. The team that improves the most is generally the team that will win it and that's the task we have set ourselves."

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