New captaincy dilemma in star's plea to Joe Schmidt as Wallabies take on Wales in Cardiff

Former Wallabies star Cameron Shepherd has urged Joe Schmidt to stick to a winning lineup as Australia's unlikely Grand Slam bid continues against a reeling Wales in Cardiff on Monday (AEDT).

Coach Schmidt will have to make two enforced changes to his starting XV with captain Harry Wilson expected to be ruled out after being concussed against England and winger Dylan Pietsch (calf) forced to return home.

Twickenham match winner Max Jorgensen is the obvious replacement for Pietsch but No.8 Wilson's replacement is a fascinating selection dilemma.

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Schmidt has experimented heavily in his first season in charge but has sharpened his focus in recent Tests.

"If it's me, we keep the same squad as best we possibly can," Shepherd said on Stan Sport's Rugby Heaven.

"You're coming up against a team that hasn't won in 400 days. To me, they've lost 10 in a row, the pressure is most certainly on Wales.

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"There is no need for us to put extra pressure on ourselves, in my opinion. Plus, if there's one thing they've really lacked in the last two years - probably even closer to five years - is consistency. So let's try and get a few on the bounce.

"And then we can worry about maybe integrating a few of these other players."

Wales have made four changes to their starting XV after losing to Fiji.

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Schmidt will name his lineup on Friday afternoon, Cardiff time.

Langi Gleeson could potentially replace Wilson at the boot of the scrum in a like for like move but there are plenty of other options if ironman Rob Valetini switches from No.6 to No.8 where he is more than comfortable.

"Lukhan Salakaia-Loto could come in, (Jeremy) Williams could move back to six," Tim Horan said on Rugby Heaven.

"I reckon your options are Langi Gleeson starts at six or Will Skelton - does Will Skelton then come in to the second row and give him an opportunity.

"And then does Langi start at six or does Williams go back to six?"

Shepherd predicted Salakaia-Loto would start at blindside flanker with Valetini at No.8 and Gleeson on the bench.

"Skelton has been brought into the squad for a reason though," he said.

"What's the point of bringing these guys in like (Samu) Kerevi and Skelton if they're just going to sit in the grandstand, So maybe this is the opportunity to give Will a run and Williams to six."

Schmidt has also been happy to share the captaincy around in 2024 and has a policy of picking his best possible run on side before worrying about skipper.

Horan felt Allan Alaalatoa - used from the bench in London - may take the role at Principality Stadium.

"And you bring Taniela (Tupou) off the bench," Horan said.

"Taniela didn't have a great game, he only played 40 odd minutes. Allan Alaalatoa has been skipper obviously many times for the Wallabies, his leadership is really important. And then you have a vice-captain in Fraser McReight.

"So if Alaalatoa does leave the field after 40 or 50 minutes, you've got a leader to then take over the captaincy in Fraser McReight."

Meanwhile, Wallabies halfback Tate McDermott - himself a former captain - stressed the need for Australia to avoid resting on the laurels of the stunning 42-37 win to kick off the Spring Tour.

"The group in general has a feeling that repeatability is the biggest thing for us to move forward and we've got to make sure," McDermott said.

"We've had a couple of good wins this year – flashback to Argentina where we knocked them off in the first game and a week later, we're a completely different team (in a record 67-27 loss).

"Backing up the performance against the English is crucial for us.

"It's a fresh page and while last week was a great moment, it's irrelevant because we've got a fierce Welsh team in our face and we've got to make sure we're ready for them."

The Wallabies conceded a record number of points in the Rugby Championship as they picked up the wooden spoon and those defensive lapses continued against England.

"We know that we conceded far too many points and quite often in Test matches, if you concede 37 points, you don't win the game," McDermott said.

"We were skilful and composed enough in the end to get the win against England but we know that the Welsh are going to be looking at how England scored those points and we've got to make sure we plug those holes pretty quickly."

Australia beat Wales twice at home in July but Gatland now has a stronger group at his disposal - at least on paper.

"You're always wary of a Welsh side as you know on their day what they're going to bring regardless of how they're going," McDermott said.

"It's an incredibly strong set piece and a good defensive pressure game – that's two things that they brought against us in our Sydney and Melbourne Tests earlier in the year and they were both incredibly tough Test matches for us. There were a couple of late tries in both those games that got us the victories."

AT A GLANCE

WALES (15-1): Cameron Winnett, Tom Rogers, Max Llewellyn, Ben Thomas, Blair Murray, Gareth Anscombe, Ellis Bevan, Aaron Wainwright, Jac Morgan, James Botham, Adam Beard, Will Rowlands, Archie Griffin, Dewi Lake (c), Gareth Thomas

Reserves: Ryan Elias, Nicky Smith, Keiron Assiratti, Christ Tshiunza, Tommy Reffell, Rhodri Williams, Sam Costelow, Eddie James

AUSTRALIA (TBC)

Referee: James Doleman (New Zealand)

Kickoff: Monday 3.10am AEDT at Cardiff's Principality Stadium