Rugby union fans in Sydney are gearing up for a highly anticipated opening clash of the inaugural World Rugby Nations Championship this Saturday, as Australia’s national side the Wallabies have announced a revamped starting lineup headlined by the return of Jock Campbell for his first test cap since 2022. The match at Sydney Football Stadium is already sold out, drawing a capacity crowd to watch the first fixture of the groundbreaking new global tournament.
Campbell will take the starting fullback position, pairing with 21-year-old rising talent Max Jorgensen and Dylan Pietsch to form the Wallabies’ new-look back three. The halves combination will be made up of Ryan Lonergan and Carter Gordon, while another first-time test starter, Josh Canham of the Queensland Reds, will partner Western Force lock Jeremy Williams in the second row. Star forward Harry Wilson will retain his position as starting number eight and team captain.
In a notable selection that highlights the team’s depth and experience, head coach Joe Schmidt named 151-test veteran prop James Slipper to the matchday bench. Slipper shocked the rugby world last month when he announced he would come out of international retirement to make a comeback with the Wallabies, adding valuable veteran leadership to the squad for the new tournament.
Speaking following Thursday’s official squad announcement, Schmidt emphasized the team’s rapid preparation for the stiff test ahead, noting that Ireland enters the match ranked third in the global men’s rugby rankings. “The group has reconnected quickly and we’ve worked hard over the past week to prepare as best we can for what is an exciting challenge against the No. 3 team in world rugby,” Schmidt said.
This Saturday’s test also carries broader off-field significance for Australian rugby: it will open the final stretch of Schmidt’s tenure as Wallabies head coach, before Les Kiss takes over the top job permanently. Schmidt’s tenure has hit rocky patches in recent months, with the Wallabies finishing winless on their end-of-year tour to the United Kingdom in late 2024. Schmidt will lead the side for two additional Nations Championship matches after the Ireland opener: against France in Brisbane on July 11, and against Italy in Perth on July 18. Kiss will officially step into the head coaching role on July 20, and will make his debut in charge during August’s test series against Japan. He is currently wrapping up his duties with the Queensland Reds Super Rugby side while assisting the Wallabies with current selection processes.
On the opposing side, Ireland comes into the opener off a strong 2026 Six Nations Championship campaign that saw them finish as runners-up behind France. The Irish notched key wins over Italy and claimed their 15th Triple Crown title with victories over England, Scotland and Wales, before falling 36-14 to tournament champions France in their final Six Nations fixture. Following this weekend’s clash with Australia, Ireland will continue their Nations Championship road trip with matches against Japan and New Zealand.
The newly launched Nations Championship, a 12-team global competition structured as a North-South showpiece by World Rugby, is designed to crown an undisputed men’s world number one outside of the quadrennial Rugby World Cup. The tournament splits participating teams into two conferences: southern and northern. In the July window, all northern hemisphere teams travel to the southern hemisphere for their away fixtures, while the November window will see southern hemisphere teams travel north for their away matches. After six rounds of round-robin play, the top four teams will advance to a finals series hosted in London in late November, where the tournament’s first champion will be crowned.
The full announced Wallabies matchday squad for Saturday’s opener is as follows: Starting lineup: Jock Campbell, Max Jorgensen, Joseph-Aukuso Sua’alii, Len Ikitau, Dylan Pietsch, Carter Gordon, Ryan Lonergan; Harry Wilson (captain), Fraser McReight, Rob Valetini, Josh Canham, Jeremy Williams, Allan Ala’alatoa, Josh Nasser, Angus Bell. Reserves: Brandon Paenga-Amosa, James Slipper, Taniela Tupou, Lachlan Shaw, Tom Hooper, Tate McDermott, Ben Donaldson, Tom Wright.