Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt is confident outside back Max Jorgensen can step up to international level if called upon against the Springboks.
Jorgensen was named in the squad for the two Tests against the world champions starting August 10 in Brisbane after a wretched run of injuries.
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The 19-year-old was restricted to just eight games for the Waratahs in 2024 after hip and hamstring injuries, with Jorgensen last featuring in May for Randwick.
Jorgensen was set to debut at the 2023 Rugby World Cup before breaking his leg in training.
It was initially expected the Waratah will return via the Shute Shield after making a late push to be fit for the U20 World Championships.
However, Schmidt believes the exposure to the full-time program will bring the best out of him, with his early speed catching the Wallabies coach’s eye.
“We’ve had a long-term plan with Max and Max is really well across it,” Schmidt said.
“I had a few discussions with (head coach) Stephen Hoiles at Randwick and probably the original plan was to bring him back through club rugby with Randwick, but Max is going really well.
“He was the quickest guy we had at training today across the ground. He’s definitely fully fit so I think if someone’s fully fit, whether he maybe plays or trains for club, I think he’ll get more volume of training with the Wallabies in a full-time program.
“On top of that, every team has their own lexicon, their own language and their own expectation. I think it’s just easier to meld them more quickly into the Wallabies set up with him being present.”
Schmidt recognises the ‘conundrum’ facing Jorgensen’s return and what the best process is.
Having spoken to the young gun, the former Irish boss remains confident that Jorgensen has the mentality and skill set to thrive at Test level dspite his inexperience and injury history.
“Yeah, it’s a conundrum because you never know when you talk to players,” Schmidt admits. “I had a good chat with Max today and he seems confident.
“He is very keen, super keen. So that keenness and confidence hopefully will be evident in the way he plays, but it’s a big Test match for him to inject himself into.”
Jorgensen’s Waratahs teammate Angus Bell remains on the mend but is slowly returning to full fitness.
“Angus didn’t quite hit the speeds that Max Jorgensen did today, but he looked big and robust carrying the ball and he trained fully,” Schmidt added.
“I think it is a little bit see how he comes through the week before considering him but he’s done everything we’ve asked of him so far so that’s a big tick in that column.”
