Joe Schmidt has used one of his final Wallabies squads to send a blunt message to one of Australian rugby's most physically imposing forwards, leaving Lukhan Salakaia-Loto out of the 37-player group named for July's Nations Championship Tests against Ireland, France and Italy.
The omission is the headline call in a squad that hands potential debuts to three uncapped players — Brumbies flyhalf Declan Meredith, Brumbies lock Lachlan Shaw and Waratahs lock Miles Amatosero — and confirms the comeback of all-time Wallabies appearance record holder James Slipper from Test retirement. The group of 20 forwards and 17 backs assembles in Sydney before facing Ireland at a sold-out Allianz Stadium on July 4, France at Suncorp Stadium on July 11 and Italy at Perth's HBF Park on July 18.
Salakaia-Loto's exclusion stings because it came days after he was named in the Super Rugby Pacific Team of the Year. Schmidt did not hide that the decision was about getting more from the Reds enforcer rather than any drop in standing.
"Lukhan's an incredible athlete. I think he had some really good moments in Super Rugby. It was probably just stringing consecutive moments together," Schmidt told reporters.
"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. What we do need is 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 and we just think we can take this window."
Schmidt confirmed incoming coach Les Kiss had been in the selection meetings, adding that Salakaia-Loto "has been a big part of Les' team this year."
In his place, Shaw and Amatosero are rewarded for breakout seasons. Schmidt was effusive about the workload of the 23-year-old Shaw, who started almost every game for the Brumbies.
"I think the volume of work that Lachie Shaw got through this year was unbelievable really," Schmidt remarked. "The amount of contacts he gets through in the game, the amount of kilometres that he's chalked off during the Super Rugby season has been outstanding."
Few stories in the squad carry the arc of Amatosero's. The 24-year-old began 2026 suspended after a training-ground clash with former Reds back Angus Scott-Young, an incident that left him barred from team sessions and training alone at a Sydney park.
"I was training on my own. Some of the starts were 5:30 am or 6 am, and I do my field session and then head to the gym at Bondi Junction," Amatosero recalled of those weeks in isolation. "It was so tough. My biggest thing is the boys and team, and being away from them, seeing how it affected the team really hurt."
Now he is on the verge of a maiden cap in his home city against Ireland.
"It's a massive surprise for me," Amatosero said of the call-up. "I just went back to working hard and trying to do my best and perform each week for the boys has resulted in this and this is amazing."
"I can't really put it into words, it'd mean everything, home city in front of friends and family, living out my dreams."
Not everyone is convinced the call on Salakaia-Loto is purely about conditioning. The Sydney Morning Herald argued the Reds lock's form had been strong all season and that Kiss has a defined role for him at the Reds, suggesting the omission exposes the gap between the theory of a smooth Schmidt-to-Kiss handover and the reality of two coaches who may not pick the same side.
Schmidt also recalled Reds fullback Jock Campbell, uncapped since 2022, and welcomed back Charlie Cale, Tate McDermott and Tom Wright from injury, while overseas-based trio Len Ikitau, Tom Hooper and Taniela Tupou were named alongside Angus Bell, fresh from a sabbatical with Ulster. Salakaia-Loto, Schmidt insisted, is not far away — but for now the lock has been told consistency, not talent, is what stands between him and the gold jersey.
