July 17, 2026 — 3:33pmThe never-ending carousel of Wallabies playmakers is nothing new – just ask Quade Cooper.In 2021, before facing the world champion Springboks on the Gold Coast, Cooper stepped into the breach after a season playing Division Two rugby in Japan with Kintetsu Liners.His return as an experienced veteran was perfectly timed. He kicked seven penalty goals from as many attempts, including the game-winning three points after the siren to beat South Africa 28-26 on the Gold Coast.Quade Cooper kicks the winner against South Africa on the Gold Coast in 2021.Getty ImagesThere is some irony that the man who made way for Cooper that day was Noah Lolesio. Five years later, Lolesio has just finished a season starring in the Japanese second tier, but unlike Cooper, has not been called up in Australia’s time of need.Cooper is struggling to understand the decision by Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt to overlook Lolesio, given his own successful case study.Ahead of facing France in Brisbane, and despite calf injuries to playmakers Ben Donaldson and Carter Gordon, Schmidt decided against recalling Lolesio. Rookie Declan Meredith was given a Test debut and Jock Campbell, who had never played a Super Rugby game at five-eighth, was named on the bench to face one of the world’s best in Romain Ntamack.Noah Lolesio is now based in Japan and was a consistent selection previously under Joe Schmidt.Getty ImagesAgainst Italy this weekend, Lolesio has remained surplus to requirements, with Meredith given the start and Donaldson left on the bench.Before his move to Japan, Lolesio started 12 times at five-eighth for the Wallabies under Schmidt, before suffering a serious neck injury in a Test against Fiji last July, which ruled him out of the British and Irish Lions series. In May, Lolesio told this masthead of his desire to keep representing the Wallabies.When asked before the French Test whether Lolesio could return to the squad, Schmidt referenced the player’s time away from the team and his stint with Japanese club Shuttles Aichi.“He [Lolesio] had a good season in Japan, but the level as well, playing Div 2 over there, I don’t think it’s the best preparation for Test footy,” Schmidt said. “I think Super Rugby is a much better preparation tool for those players.”Cooper agrees there is no comparison between Division Two in Japan and Super Rugby, but feels it is more than adequate for a player of the talent of Lolesio, who helped Shuttles Aichi to the Division Two title, scoring seven tries during the season.Cooper also pointed to Springbok Manie Libbok as evidence that playing in Japan’s lower tiers does not prevent an established player from returning successfully to Test rugby.Libbok finished a season with Cooper’s old club Kintetsu Liners and started at five-eighth for South Africa in their 45-21 win over England in the first round of the Nations Championship on July 5.The long list of Wallabies playmakersSince the 2019 Rugby World Cup, the Wallabies have cycled through a long list of playmakers, with three different coaches seemingly unable to settle on their chosen one.In 73 Tests, there have been 10 separate players selected to wear the gold No.10 jersey, and from match to match, the person wearing it has been changed a staggering 31 times.Many changes have been due to injury, but a decent chunk has come via selection decisions.Lolesio has, by some margin, played the most in the No.10 since 2020, with 25 Tests. His 11 starts in 2024 are easily the most of any player in a single season, and Lolesio’s six straight starts in 2021 and 2024 are the equal-most games in a row.James O’Connor (11 starts) and Cooper (eight) are next on the list.Brumbies rookie Declan Meredith had a tough debut against France last Saturday.Getty ImagesSchmidt’s time in charge has delivered periods of consistency and wild change. Compared to predecessors Dave Rennie and Eddie Jones, he has used the fewest five-eighths in a year (two), but also the equal most (five). Lolesio, Gordon, Donaldson, Tom Lynagh, O’Connor, Tane Edmed and now Declan Meredith have all worn the No.10 jersey for Australia in the Schmidt era. Super Rugby is not superGiven he has accumulated the most recent experience, and is still only 26, many wonder why Lolesio has all but been forgotten as far as a solution to the Wallabies’ No.10 problem.Even All Blacks legend Dan Carter nominated Lolesio when asked last year who he would choose as his Wallabies’ five-eighth for the 2027 World Cup.“I always thought Noah was the man, but unfortunately at key times he had injuries, so if he can get his body right and build some consistency, then for me, he’s shown enough on occasions to drive the team,” Carter said.Lolesio has paid a price, then, for making a move to Japan.Cooper feels Rugby Australia’s selection policy, which still only allows three overseas players to participate in each Test, should not penalise the likes of Lolesio for trying new experiences.Apart from playing in Japan, Cooper had a stint with Toulon in France and credits working under England playmaker Jonny Wilkinson with improving his game.‘I don’t even like calling it Super Rugby because it’s not super at all.’Quade Cooper“When you’re going to be stubborn and hold the players captive to playing in Australia, you don’t allow them to gain experience and play in some of the biggest games in the world against some of the best players in the world and grow their rugby IP,” Cooper said.“Take Matthieu Jalibert [France playmaker] – he’s probably the best 10 in the world. But look at the games he has played in the last two years – he’s playing in European Cup finals [for Bordeaux], look at the magnitude of those games – whereas you look at our boys and what have they played in like Super Rugby. I don’t even like calling it Super Rugby, because it’s not super at all.”Cooper also believes that encouraging talented players to experience life overseas will not only help the Wallabies on the field, it can also free up money to develop emerging talent in Australia.Trickle down rugby-nomics Cooper believes that RA should adopt an unlimited overseas selection policy – similar to Argentina and South Africa – with the purpose of fielding the most competitive Wallabies team at all times.Rather than kill off domestic rugby, as more quality players move overseas, the former Wallabies playmaker believes that a more successful Wallabies team will encourage more people to engage with the game.“Everybody’s trying to make everything attractive to everyone, so they’re trying to make Super Rugby the attractive footy and so forth,” he said. “But it’s like, at the end of the day, the one that matters the most is your showpiece, and that’s the Wallabies.“So if the showpiece is going really well, all the rest is going to thrive. You can’t keep hanging on to Super Rugby as your premier piece because it’s not, your premier piece is the Wallabies. The upside of rugby is it’s truly a world game, so rather than fighting that, lean into it.”Meredith’s debut and coaching confusionWhile Cooper is confident Meredith will bounce back from a tough debut against France when he takes the field on Saturday night against Italy, he feels the impending coaching handover from Schmidt to Les Kiss is disrupting the team’s preparation.“On form, France have got some of the best players in the world right now, so it’s always going to be a tough ask, but he’s [Meredith] going to be better for having that experience of playing against those guys,” Cooper said.“He’s got footage to directly go and watch and look back on and see where he could be better. But, the coaching situation for all of us right now is a bit of an interesting situation to say the least.“You’ve got a coach [Schmidt] coaching three games and another coach [Kiss] coming in after this next game.“[Kiss] should have had a big say in who was getting selected in these three games, because you imagine that there could be a big turnover of players after that.”From our partners