‘He’s earned it’: The Brumbies enforcer set for first start in Wallaby gold

At just 23 years of age, ACT Brumbies bruiser Charlie Cale has been handed a maiden Test start by Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt ahead of this weekend’s clash with Wales in Melbourne.

Cale debuted off the bench in last week’s 25-16 win over the Welsh at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium but has received a promotion to the First XV. After an injury to skipper Liam Wright, a backrow reshuffle has opened the door for an exciting new challenge.

Wright officially became the 89^th Wallabies captain five days ago but will sit out the upcoming Test with a shoulder injury. Queenslander Fraser McReight holds onto his place at openside while Rob Valetini shifts from No. 8 to blindside to accommodate Cale’s selection.

Earlier this year, rugby fans and pundits around Australia were singing the praises of young Cale who was in the midst of a breakout campaign with the Brumbies. Cale started 10 matches in Super Rugby Pacific, including the Brumbies’ quarter and semi-final.

Heralded as a Wallaby-in-waiting, the Beecroft junior was thrown into the Test arena by Schmidt last time out, and while Cale didn’t exactly set the world alight, the loosie has done enough to make the No. 8 jersey his own for at least one week.

“There’s obviously a bit of fortune with Liam being injured but you earn what you get and I think he’s earned it on the back of Super Rugby form,” Schmidt told reporters on Thursday.

“He was relatively quiet when he came off the bench last week and I think, to give a young player real confidence – to get the training week, to get the clarity… he can get his head around the requirements.

“Inevitably, when you’re coming off the bench you don’t get the same reps in the team and so, for lineout clarity where he’s so quick into the air, for clarity around his role in the defensive system or in the attacking shape… it’ll be a nice runway into Saturday’s game.”

The backrow change is the only real tweak to the Wallabies’ XV that handed Wales their eighth loss on the bounce. Schmidt has gone with the same backline and tight five, with the only difference being the captaincy to James Slipper.

Wales are in a bit of similar situation with world-class No. 8 Aaron Wainwright ruled out of the remainder of their tour Down Under with an injury. Wainwright was one of the visitor’s best last weekend before picking up the injury in the dying stages.

These changes present an exciting matchup at the back of the scrum between Cale and four-Test loosie Taine Plumtree. The pair will go head-to-head in what should be an exciting clash between two young players with a point to prove.

“I haven’t heard what the reason is with Liam in terms of the captaincy, I don’t know if he’s got an injury,” Wales coach Warren Gatland questioned when asked about the Wallabies’ backrow.

“But Charlie, I thought he’s been pretty outstanding in terms of his carries and the impact he’s had in some of those games in Super Rugby.”

With Cale coming into the side for Wright, there is that change at captaincy with Test veteran James Slipper taking up the position. This will be the 15^th time the loosehead prop leads the Wallabies into battle.

Wright will be disappointed with the injury after forcing his way back into Wallaby gold for the first time in almost four years, but there is good news with Schmidt saying the flanker should be in the mix to play Georgia next weekend.

“It’s frustrating,” Schmidt said when prompted about Wright’s injury. “We’ve got confidence in the squad.

“We thought it would come right pretty quickly. He got the whack in the game and post-match, we thought the progress would be pretty quick and it’s just a little bit slower than we would’ve liked.

“Once he wasn’t fully fit to be named to train on Tuesday, we just felt it was better to give certainty to the guys that were going to be there – particularly a young guy like Charlie Cale, his first Test match last week, his first Test start this week. You want to support that run in as best you can with a nice, clean entry into the game through the training week.”