On his debut against Ireland, he lasted three minutes and had to leave the field due to a head knock. Against South Africa in Cape Town, Edmed had to come on after 40 minutes and play inside centre, a position he’s not overly familiar with. In his last Test against Argentina, in Sydney, he made a costly error, getting his free kick charged down by Pumas captain Julian Montoya for a try.
Each of the experiences has provided Edmed with a crucial learning curve at the start of his Test career.
Allan Alaalatoa could make his return to the Wallabies after injuring his shoulder in the second Test against the British and Irish Lions.Credit: Getty Images
“I’ve been thrown into a difficult situation against South Africa, and I felt like I did a pretty reasonable job at 12,” he said. “And then to start last week in the Argentina game was again another bit of experience for me to kind of learn from.”
The Wallabies will be without two-time John Eales medallist Rob Valetini at Eden Park due to calf tightness, but the potential return of tight-head prop Allan Alaalatoa from a shoulder injury will provide Australia with a stronger scrum at one of the toughest venues in world rugby.
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Brumbies captain Alaalatoa was part of the squad for two Tests against Argentina and was proud of the fightback shown in the victory in Townsville and the defeat in Sydney, but believes the Wallabies must address their slow starts to have any chance of becoming the first team to beat New Zealand at Eden Park since France in 1994.
“I think for us there’s plenty of growth,” Alaalatoa said. “What we saw over the course of two weeks was lots of pride for the jersey and the fightback in both games.
“I think the point for us though is to not let teams get up at the start … I was very proud to watch the fight that the boys had to come back and to win one [in Townsville], and to give ourselves an opportunity to potentially win the next [in Sydney], but there’s definitely some key learnings in there for us that we need to address this week.”
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