‘Made my job easier’: Rob Valetini’s praise for Wallabies’ new-look trio

Wallabies enforcer Rob Valetini has praised teammates Liam Wright and Fraser McReight for making “my job easier” on Saturday as the backrow trio combined for a strong performance in the win over Wales.

In Australia’s first Test of the year, new coach Joe Schmidt threw a curveball by naming Queenslander Liam Wright as both the starting blindside flanker and captain. Wright would join Reds teammate Fraser McReight on the flanks, with Valetini at No. 8.

That decision proved to be a masterstroke from the coaching staff with all three men putting in decent shifts in the 25-16 win at Allianz Stadium. Valetini was especially impressive with a game-high 17 carries and the most tackles from any Wallaby with 13.

While The Roar have reported that Wright has missed out on selection to take on Cymru at Melbourne’s AAMI Park this weekend, with the Brumbies’ Charlie Cale believed to be starting according to Christy Doran, last week’s backrow is still positive.

Depth is so important for any squad who’s looking to forge their own path as a team on the rise. For coach Schmidt and the Wallabies moving forward, the combination of Wright, McReight and Valetini is a reliable option.

“It felt good. I thought Wrongaz went well for his first time captaining Australia,” Valetini told reporters on Tuesday.

“Had a lot of confidence in Wrongaz and Fraser as well, obviously coming through (and) playing under-20s with them and playing a few seasons with him in the gold jersey.

“Had a lot of confidence in both of them and just knowing that they’re gonna do their job as well. It made my job easier so yeah, felt good out there.

“I feel like he’s a natural leader, and through his actions, not just his words which is always good for the boys. It’s easier to follow someone when they’re doing that,” he added when asked about Wright captaining the Wallabies for the first time.

“He’s calm as well which is something I like about him out on the field and I know if I listen to him… it calms me down as well in those tight moments towards the end.

“It was good to have him out there.”

Last Saturday in Sydney will go down in Australian rugby history as a proud night for the Wallabies. Australia were coming off the back of a Rugby World Cup disaster but they’ve bounced back with help from a new coaching group.

That was the Wallabies’ first win over a ‘Tier One’ opponent since beating Wales in Cardiff in November 2022. The Welsh are in the midst of a difficult period themselves as they look to end their international campaign with a win.

Wales’ last victory was in the Rugby World Cup pool stages against Georgia, but since then they’ve lost to Argentina, gone winless in the Six Nations, and suffered one defeat to both South Africa and Australia.

They won’t want to let that run of eight defeats turn into nine.

“The boys have been happy but I think we know if we were in the Wales camp this week, I think they’d be putting everything into this week and throwing everything at us on Saturday,” Valetini said.

“We’re happy with the win [but we know] it’s gonna be another tough match this week and we’ve got to keep working and rolling up our sleeves and knowing that we’ve got another job to do.”

The Wallabies’ team to take on Wales in Melbourne will officially be announced on Thursday.