Six appeal: Brumbies roll dice on major change as Wallabies return

In a bid to manage top-two expectations and the need to keep players fresh, Larkham has made major selection calls ahead of the clash at Canberra Stadium.

Connal McInerney gets his first start at hooker in more than a year, while Nick Frost and Tom Hooper start in the second row with Cadeyrn Neville dropping out of the game-day squad.

Ryan Lonergan, who captained the team last week, moves to the bench to give Harrison Goddard more game time and Andy Muirhead is on the wing after returning via the bench last week.

In total there are six changes to the starting XV and three new faces on the bench.

Jahrome Brown will be injected into the back row while rookie Charlie Cale rotates out, Len Ikitau has been cleared to play despite being concussed last week and Declan Meredith and Hudson Creighton join the bench.

Larkham has been tasked with a delicate juggling act over the next five weeks. His team is third on the ladder and desperately trying to force its way into the top two, but he is also wary of burning too much petrol to get there and running out of energy in the play-offs.

Corey Toole (ankle) and Blake Schoupp (shoulder) will miss three and six weeks respectively after suffering injuries last week, putting them in a race to prove themselves for the finals and for Wallabies duties.

Resurgent flanker Rory Scott is confident he has buried the injury demons that have haunted him for most of this year as he pushes his name forward to be a finals impact player.

Scott will make just his second start of the season after holding on to the No. 7 role despite stiff competition from Brown and Luke Reimer.

Scott has been battling a nagging ankle problem, which has limited the 23-year-old to one start and one game from the bench this season.

It has been a frustrating campaign for the Marist and Royals junior, who went on an Australia A tour in 2022 and then was called into Wallabies training camps last year.

"I've had a little ankle niggle and it just didn't settle as it was supposed to," Scott said of his injury delays.

"It's obviously a very competitive back row [at the Brumbies] with lots of quality players. It is hard and you want to get your job [done] ... you can't complain though. You keep chipping away and eventually you'll get a chance.

"All games are important, but the back end of the season is when you want to run faster."

McInerney has missed most of the year after needing surgery to fuse discs in his neck. His return to the field was fast-tracked after Lachlan Lonergan dislocated his ankle, and with one Test cap to his name he'll be keen to show he can still be one of Australia's best hookers.

Hooper was the Wallabies bolter last year, but has been trying to fit into a stacked forward pack for the Brumbies. With Neville out of the game-day squad and Darcy Swain shifting to the bench, Hooper will partner another Wallaby, Frost, in the second row.

The Brumbies changes come as the race for Wallabies spots heats up. New Test Joe Schmidt admits he probably won't know his best starting side until the end of the spring tour in December, as he builds towards next year's British and Irish Lions series.

Schmidt said while he'd love to break New Zealand's 21-year stranglehold on the Bledisloe Cup this year, he's playing the long game - with 2025's incoming series the target.

Australia's first Tests under the Kiwi coach are against Wales in Sydney on July 6 and Melbourne a week later, while they play a one-off Test against World Cup foes Georgia back at Allianz Stadium on July 20.

The Bledisloe Cup is a two-Test series as part of the Rugby Championship in late September, before they will hunt a grand slam on the spring tour to the UK and Ireland.

Schmidt said, while he will pick the "best available" team to take on Wales, it could take all 13 Tests - the last of the year coming against his former side Ireland on December 1 - before he's clear on his first-choice line-up.

He has been scouring the options at the five Australian Super Rugby Pacific sides and said there is an exciting mix of fresh faces and experience in the selection pot.

"We started with a list that was about three deep in every position and that list has been jumbled around," Schmidt said on Wednesday at an announcement of afternoon kickoffs for three home Tests.

"Names have appeared on the bottom of it and the list has grown.

"That's confusing a little bit for me, and makes more work because I'm trying to track different players - but it's exciting."

Asked when he would know his best 15 he said "early December".

"When you learn most around players and selection is when you've had time with them," Schmidt said.

"I'm looking forward to the end-of-year tour to have a little bit more time with them.

"It's probably facetious to say early December but that's when we'll get a bit more growth from the team.

"Through these early games we'll know our best available 15 when we name it to play Wales.

"We're taking it one step at a time but we want to be really competitive from the first kick-off.

"We want to be as competitive as we can be when the Lions arrive - that's my massive target, that's the pinnacle that's next up."

While not ruling out overseas selection completely, Schmidt plans to prioritise Super Rugby players over those such as Japan-based winger Marika Koroibete or World Cup skipper Will Skelton, who is in France.

Saturday: ACT Brumbies v Fijian Drua at Canberra Stadium, 7.35pm

Brumbies team: 1. James Slipper, 2. Connal McInerney, 3. Allan Alaalatoa, 4. Nick Frost, 5. Tom Hooper, 6. Jahrome Brown, 7. Rory Scott, 8. Rob Valetini, 9. Harrison Goddard, 10. Noah Lolesio, 11. Ollie Sapsford, 12. Tamati Tua, 13. Len Ikitau, 14, Andy Muirhead, 15. Tom Wright. Reserves: 16. Billy Pollard, 17. Harry Vella, 18. Sefo Kautai, 19. Darcy Swain, 20. Luke Reimer, 21. Ryan Lonergan, 22. Declan Meredith, 23. Hudson Creighton.

Corey Toole's hopes of bolting into the Wallabies squad have been dealt a cruel blow after the Super Rugby excitement machine was ruled out until the eve of the play-offs.

The ACT Brumbies flyer will miss at least three weeks after suffering an ankle syndesmosis injury, while it is hoped Blake Schoupp won't be out for longer after dislocating his shoulder in the win against the Wellington Hurricanes.

Toole won't be back until the May 24 game against the Melbourne Rebels, while Schoupp is still being assessed but is likely to be missing until the finals campaign begins.

Both will be racing the clock to get back in time to impress new Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt and boost the Brumbies' chances of chasing a Super Rugby title.

They are third on the ladder, one win behind the Hurricanes and Auckland Blues, with five games left in the regular season. Finishing in the top two gives teams a massive advantage at finals time, guaranteeing at least two home games and the chance to host the final.

But back-row enforcer Rob Valetini says the players won't get distracted by the top-two discussion, wary of looking too far ahead and slipping before the play-offs even begin.

"I think the way we started [the season] was all right. But now we have tweaked some of our training and it's showing in games. We're trying to peak at the right time," Valetini said.

"If we think about top two, we get lost. We'll take it day by day because every game from now on is going to be tough. [Every match] will be critical to finishing in that top two but if we get too far ahead we'll get lost on the weekend."

The injury absences will open the door for Ben O'Donnell and Harry Vella to rejoin the match-day squad, while Larkham will also consider rotating his locks and managing any niggling problems.

Rugby Australia has cleared the way for Valetini - the reigning John Eales Medal winner - to power through the rest of the season despite shouldering a massive workload for the Test team and the Brumbies.

He has played all but 46 minutes this year - the most of any forward at the Brumbies - and is eager for more as he prepares for a match up against his older brother, Kemu, this weekend.

Kemu was the toast of the Valetini family earlier this year after he slotted a late drop goal to beat the NSW Waratahs and, in the process, steal bragging rights from his young sibling.

Valetini is hoping the pair get a chance to go head to head, and Kemu should be wary because the Brumbies star says being more mature this season has helped him unleash hell on opponents.

"They [Larkham and forward coach Ben Mowen] let me do my thing, which is sort of what I like. There's not a lot of pressure on, I can just go out and play my game," Valetini said.

"If anything I've been thinking of being a leader more through my actions. I had to grow up a bit, I'm not young any more. I think [that's about] setting a good example for others, knowing that I'm not the youngest any more and trying to be my best.

"If my brother plays it will be pretty cool. Family will probably come up for that ... I've enjoyed playing the Drua in the last two years. They bring something different - they're all big men and powerful, so I'm keen to rip in."