The Wallabies’ No.10 jumper is cursed. But at least one Italian has sympathy
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt is set to show faith in rookie five-eighth Declan Meredith against Italy on Saturday in Perth, while Ben Donaldson will return from a calf injury as a replacement.
However, Italy winger Louis Lynagh is thinking about another Wallabies playmaker, his brother Tom, who will have to watch from the stands in Perth after his own difficult run with calf issues.
Louis is getting an odd sense of déjà vu at his hotel in Perth. The last time he saw his brother was when Italy defeated the Wallabies on a chilly November night in Udine, with Tom again left watching from the sidelines nursing an injury, then a hamstring.
The pair are the sons of Wallabies great Michael Lynagh, and there is unfinished business for both on the rugby field.
“I’m disappointed and sad for Tom – he’s had a terrible run of injuries this year,” Louis said. “It’s nothing major, but it has been constant injuries that keep him out for a month or two at a time.
“The Super Rugby season comes and goes very quickly, so it’s more the disappointment on his part of not getting selected and not being able to find his feet again with the [Queensland] Reds and Australia.
“I’d like to say it’s third time lucky. Maybe the next time Australia and Italy play, hopefully we’ll either be facing each other, or maybe we’ll end up playing together one day.”
The brothers talk sparingly about rugby, choosing instead to engage in other topics to take their minds off their day jobs, be it the soccer World Cup or their respective golf handicaps. But far too often the conversation has returned to injuries.
“He [Tom] had two back-to-back calf tears,” Louis said. “I thought it was just constant niggles, like hamstring and calf issues, but it was more serious this time around.
“He seems to be doing well now, touch wood. He ran today [in Perth] and went to the gym, so he seems to be back on top of it.
“He’s been training a lot with the Reds during the off-season, so maybe come Australia’s games in the Rugby Championship he’ll get put back into the squad.
“If not, I know he’s ready to get stuck back in with the Reds whenever the next available opportunity is.”
Louis is the eldest brother at 25 years old in a talented sporting family. Tom (23) and Nic (18) are both at the Reds, while father Michael is a Wallabies great. There is a great appreciation of each man’s talents, but that doesn’t mean that they express it openly.
“Dad and I have never really been openly emotional with each other. It has become more so now that I’m older and playing more rugby,” Louis said.
“It’s unspoken that we know how much a certain situation means to both of us, and we want it to go well. It’s the same with Tom and Nic.
“With my brothers and my dad, it’s more about taking the piss out of each other, and that’s how you show love.
“With my mum [Isabella, who is Italian], I’m very affectionate towards her because that’s our relationship and that’s more the Italian way.”
Louis made his debuted for Italy just over two years ago, but believes that the past two victories against the Wallabies, in 2022 and 2025, were very different. The first victory was a shock, but the second, when Australian qualified Lynagh and Monty Ioane scored both tries for the home side, defined what Italian rugby has now become.
“If you look back to the 2022 victory against Australia, that was more of – I don’t want to say a fluke – but it kind of was; it was that classic Italian performance where you somehow beat one of the world’s best teams out of nowhere,” Louis said.
“This victory [in 2025] against Australia was different. It was the start of the new Test season, Australia were our first game on Italian soil, and we came out of the blocks firing.
“We didn’t win in a lucky way. I think it was pretty convincing. We put our foot down and showed that we could not only attack well, but also defend very well. Then we nearly went and backed it up against South Africa. It showed what was possible.”
After the November victory against the Wallabies, Italy went on to beat Scotland and England in the Six Nations. Recent results have not been quite so kind, with a defeat against Japan and a comfortable New Zealand victory, despite Italy leading for the first 30 minutes.
Lynagh grew up in the English rugby system and knew how Italian rugby was perceived. The winger believes that has changed, but with more respect, Italy have to learn how to live with expectations.
“We’ve always been used to being the underdogs, but now we’re getting more success, we’ve got to realise that teams will start giving us the respect we’ve wanted for so long,” Lynagh said.
“With that respect comes teams putting out their best sides against us, preparing very well and shutting down our strong suits.
“Maybe some people still think, ‘It’s only Italy, we’ll walk over them.’ But as we keep showing, that’s just not the case any more.”
Iain Payten is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
