Wallabies head coach Eddie Jones had planned to call-up Tom Lynagh for his first training squad, but wasn’t able to due to injury.
Tom was born in Italy but grew up in England. However, he opted to quit English rugby and relocate to Ballymore in 2021 to pursue his own Wallabies career.
“I watched him in (a trial game in) Narrabri and club rugby (for University of Queensland last year),” Jones said of Tom.
“Nice skills, outstanding kicker of the ball like his father and has the potential to be a very good player.”
Jones previously called up Tom’s brother Louis during his time in charge of England, but didn’t cap the Harlequins flier.
Asked whether Louis could swap nations, Jones revealed that would be unlikely but he’d certainly ask the question
Both brothers are the sons of former Australia captain Michael Lynagh, who was capped 72 times and won the Rugby World Cup in 1991.
Eddie Jones reveals his worst England call-up
We take a look at some of those players Jones called up since taking over in December 2015, and using the Aussies own words we try to understand why they never established themselves as fans once hoped.
#5. Denny Solomona
His England career began with the definition of a ‘bang’ – a dream first run out in the England shirt, he came off the bench to score a last-minute winner in a dramatic 38-34 win against Argentina in San Juan on June 10, 2017.
Jones said: “There’s something about him, he finds the [try] line and you like wingers who find the line. I think he’s got that X factor, whatever you want to call it.”
However, two months later, Solomona was sent home from England’s training camp in disgrace after returning drunk to the team hotel. The winger would win just three more caps, failing to score in any of them with Jones questioning the speedster’s character. Not what we all expected after a stunning debut.
RUCK VERDICT: He has vowed to put his off-field problems behind him. His Premiership form before lockdown earned him some admirers – time for an international recall? You never know.
