Updated June 19, 2026 — 11:28am,first published June 18, 2026 — 8:38pmWallabies coach Joe Schmidt identified inconsistency, lineout jumping concerns and building long-term depth as factors in his decision to snub Reds enforcer Lukhan Salakaia-Loto for Australia’s July Tests.Schmidt is coaching his last three Wallabies Tests, against Ireland, France and Italy, before handing over the reins to incoming head coach Les Kiss.And just as he did two years ago when he made a handful of shock selections in his first Wallabies squad, Schmidt is going out with the same mindset.In a relatively settled squad, there was still room for a few selection bombshells – most notably the omissions of experienced Wallabies locks Nick Frost and Salakaia-Loto, and the additions of uncapped pair Lachie Shaw and Miles Amatosero.The first Wallabies squad selection for Brumbies No.10 Declan Meredith, ahead of incumbent Tane Edmed, was also noteworthy, despite being flagged by Edmed’s absence from a training camp this week.Lukhan Salakaia-Loto breaks a tackle against the Lions in July.Getty ImagesFrost has been a Wallabies regular since making his debut in 2022, but paid the price for a lacklustre Super Rugby season and was overtaken by 23-year-old Shaw, who has become a mainstay in the Brumbies starting pack.Salakaia-Loto’s absence had many fans scratching their heads, however, given the 198cm, 123kg lock has been in strong form for Queensland this year and another big, physical presence, Will Skelton, suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon injury in April.Salakaia-Loto, who has played 45 Tests since making his debut in 2017, looked like the man to step into Skelton’s massive boots as the Wallabies’ enforcer at tight-head lock.Joe Schmidt, Ben Donaldson and Miles Amatosero pose for a portrait during the Wallabies Nations Championship squad announcement at Allianz Stadium on Friday.Getty ImagesBut the 29-year-old has mysteriously fallen in and out of favour with Schmidt. After playing 11 Tests in 2024, Salakaia-Loto was contentiously left out of the Wallabies squad for the Lions series last year, before returning for four more Tests later in the year. But even after being named in the Super Rugby team of the year during the week, Salakaia-Loto could not crack a spot in Schmidt’s final squad.Big Waratahs lock Amatosero, 24, was preferred despite not banging down the door with his form for the Tahs this year.“Lukhan is an incredible athlete. He had some really good moments in Super Rugby. It was probably just stringing consecutive moments together,” Schmidt said of his decision to omit Salakaia-Loto.“We’re looking for him just to have a bit of a block where he can get himself into the best physical shape to best contribute to the team. We need fast-jumping locks, and we know he’s got that speed, but he’s just not quite where we’d like him to be at the moment. We just think we could take this window [to work on it]. He’s been a big part of Les’ team this year.”Salakaia-Loto appeared bemused with his latest omission, posting laugh-cry emojis on Instagram above a picture of his training gear and a field.Schmidt pointed out Kiss had sat in on the selection meetings and “contributed”, but RA high-performance boss Peter Horne told this masthead that Schmidt would have final say on the July squad.Schmidt said the decision to include Shaw and Amatosero was also partly based on a desire to give the youngsters experience at Test level, with the 2027 Rugby World Cup around the corner.“Les was very much in the meetings where we were doing selection, and we’re just trying to put together the best plan that includes that very much, that short-term focus – we’ve got Ireland in two weeks,” Schmidt said.Lukhan Salakaia-Loto’s post on Instagram.Instagram/Lukhan Salakaia-Loto“We also talked about the longer term. We won’t know how well we’ve balanced that until the end of this bracket of games, and we’re very, very keen on being absolutely competitive. It’s a sold-out stadium.“We need to start getting some wins on the board. So we’re very cognisant of that, and at the same time, I’m just aware in the back of my mind that I was brought here to do a job to be competitive against the Lions, and to set Australia up for the best World Cup they can possibly have.“We know the runway is really short. So for a guy like Miles Amatosero, for a guy like Lachie Shaw, for them to get a little bit of experience in a window now just allows Les a broader selection group in a very important position for us.”Elsewhere, Jock Campbell has won a recall to the Wallabies squad for the first time since 2022, and Charlie Cale also returns after making his Test debut in 2024, then missing subsequent Test series with injury. Ben Donaldson also won a recall after missing the spring tour last year.Schmidt said Len Ikitau and Tom Hooper would be considered for selection against Ireland on July 4, despite only returning from England midway through next week. The pair are playing for Exeter in the English Premiership final on Sunday. Taniela Tupou was also named and is in a similar boat, given he is set to line up for Racing 92 in the semi-finals of France’s Top 14 on Sunday.Schmidt also delivered positive news on Hunter Paisami, who has a knee injury but could be in contention for the Ireland Test if he passes a fitness test next Saturday. Zac Lomax was not considered for selection due to a groin injury.News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.From our partners