Wallabies player ratings: Multi-million dollar Joseph-Aukuso Suaalli ...

Following the Wallabies’ dramatic 42-37 win over England at Allianz Stadium, here’s our player ratings for Joe Schmidt’s Australian side.

15 Tom Wright: What an attacking sensation. Wright has gone from being left out of the Wallabies squad to being the chief threat on the counter-attack. The full-back oozes creativity and had another stormer in Wallabies gold. Outstanding effort with a try to match. 9

14 Andrew Kellaway: The experienced man showed up in heaps on the Twickenham stage, complete with a crucial try in the second half where he snapped up a loose ball to run in unopposed. Elsewhere he was lively with ball in hand and made plenty of carry metres. 7

13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii: Absolutely impressive. Now it was not the perfect outing but considering he just made his rugby union debut against England at Twickenham with such a lack of fuss shows his immense quality. There were question marks when Schmidt picked the million-dollar man but he produced the goods. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, remember that name because today a special Wallaby was born. 9

12 Len Ikitau: The centre underlined his game-breaking ability with that audacious out the backdoor offload putting Max Jorgensen in to win the game. Ikitau was inspired throughout with his hard carrying, evasive running and attacking nous. We were interested to see how he would go at 12 and man alive did he hit the ground running. 8

11 Dylan Pietsch: Potent. This really was the first time the winger really announced himself on the Test scene as a member of a red-hot back-three. While he is the most inexperienced outside back it did not show as he got his hands on the ball and cut through the line three times, making good metres in the process. 7

10 Noah Lolesio: Much better for the pivot who was far more assured in this Test and his side really benefited from it. Lolesio is far from the finished product but seeing him take a step closer to fulfilling his potential was a joy to watch. 7

9 Jake Gordon: A big part of Lolesio’s shift was the confidence given to the fly-half by Gordon’s consistently solid play. His distribution was good, he kicked solidly and showed he is a great option to start the game, although Tate McDermott’s cameo was electric. 6

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8 Harry Wilson: Really settling into the skipper role now thanks to his typically high tackle and carry numbers as is ALWAYS the case. The tireless eight was rewarded for his epic shift with his first Wallabies try. Schmidt has jumped between captains this year but Wilson looks to be a man built for the role. 8

7 Fraser McReight: It is as if that Michael Hooper shadow has been completely lifted with the Reds flank doing his best impression of the great captain. McReight is consistently in the thick of it and is quite simply a world-class openside flank. He has become very important for Australia. 9

6 Robert Valetini: *Insert the standard blurb for Valetini… In all seriousness, the 2024 John Eales Medal winner dropped yet another barnstorming performance where he had no regard for his own safety and instead spent 80 minutes launching himself into his English opponents. 7

5 Jeremy Williams: Many will say his try shouldn’t have stood but it did and it was fair reward for a very encouraging start to Williams’ Test career. It was his best international outing complete with a solid line-out performance and a busy contribution in the loose. 8

4 Nick Frost: The more experienced of the two second-rows and equally as hard-working as Williams. Frost has grown under Schmidt and finally the tight five are ticking the boxes that give the Wallabies options. An important figure for Schmidt. 8

3 Taniela Tupou: The gargantuan prop would not be happy with his returns in the scrum but did grow into the game in general play. We are yet to see that game-breaking performance from the unique talent. 6

2 Matthew Faessler: A clever rugby player who made some solid contributions for his side. Clearly the incumbent hooker and a warrior in gold today. 6

1 Angus Bell: NINE DEFENDERS BEATEN! No this is not Cheslin Kolbe’s blurb, you read that right, Angus Bell beat nine players against England. That alone is sensational but Bell was a rock in the scrum and defended like a warrior. It is so good to see such a strong performance from a man who really struggled with injury over the last two years. 9

Replacements: This is an area Schmidt got right. McDermott was absolutely electric and caught England without a pillar resulting in Wilson’s try. Elsewhere the forwards brought energy and big bodies while Jorgensen galloped over for the winner with the clock in red. 8

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