Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has challenged lock Lukhan Salakaia-Loto to find a new level of consistency as he backs young locks Lachlan Shaw and Miles Amatosero for the first Tests of the year.
Shaw and Amatosero are among the uncapped players named for the July Nations Championship Tests against Ireland, France and Italy, with Brumbies flyhalf Declan Meredith the other potential debutant.
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The pair were favoured over Salakaia-Loto and Nick Frost, with Frost finding himself behind Shaw in the Brumbies pecking order.
Salakaia-Loto is fresh off being named in the Super Rugby Pacific Team of the Year, however, Schmidt was looking for the Reds enforcer to grow his output.
“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 [to get there].
“He's been a big part of Les' [Kiss, incoming Wallabies coach] team this year. Les was very much in the meetings where we were doing selection, and we're just trying to put together the best plan."
Shaw and Amatosero are coming off breakout seasons in Super Rugby, with Shaw starting almost every game for the Brumbies under coach Stephen Larkham.
For Amatosero, it's a remarkable rise after starting the season suspended due to a training incident with Angus Scott-Young.
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.
“Miles, you can see…he's the right size and shape and he's brought a really positive mentality to his own growth and development, particularly through that Super Rugby once he got over a few hiccups and he’s gone really well.
“I think we've always got that short-term focus but a long-term vision. He's had three years playing in France, he's had a couple of years back here now, so he's put himself in the right position to really springboard from there."
