Australia recall veteran Jock Campbell after three years in wilderness
Jock Campbell has been rewarded for his outstanding Super Rugby form and durability with a return to the Wallabies’ starting team, more than three years after he last donned the gold jersey.
Campbell has been named as the full-back to face Ireland at the sold-out Allianz Stadium on Saturday, with manager Joe Schmidt preferring the 31-year-old over Tom Wright and Max Jorgensen.
The squad to face the Irish is largely established, but in his final month in charge of the Wallabies Schmidt has still opted for a few surprises; Young Brumbies lock Lachie Shaw has been named on the bench for a possible Test start, with two-Test Reds lock Josh Canham starting at second.
Josh Nasser starts at hooker and Ryan Lonergan will make his debut as a halfback alongside Carter Gordon.
Exeter returnee Len Ikitau will start at No. 12 but will come off a strong bench that also includes Chiefs team-mate Tom Hooper, Taniela Tupou and Tate McDermott.
Campbell played four Tests under Dave Rennie in 2022, most recently coming off the bench for the Wallabies in Australia’s dramatic come-from-behind win over Wales in Cardiff in November.
The humble Queenslander started against France in Paris the week before and despite scoring a try and playing solidly, Campbell unfairly took the blame for the one-point defeat as the winger missed a tackle on Damian Penaud for the go-ahead try.
Campbell was then overlooked by Eddie Jones in 2023 and Schmidt in 2024 and 2025.
By Saturday, Campbell’s break between Test matches will reach 1,316 days, placing him 11th on the list of longest breaks between Wallabies Tests in the modern era.
Wallabies prop Greg Holmes tops the table with a break of 2858 days (almost eight years) between Tests between 2007 and 2015, and is also fourth after a five-year break between 2016 and 2021.
The likes of Radike Samo, James O’Connor, Quade Cooper, Will Skelton and Matt Giteau also sit above Campbell and, remarkably, George Smith missed the same number of days (1316) as Campbell between his last Test and his infamous third Lions Test return in 2013.
But if we only count the players who stayed in Australia during their wait, Campbell comes second on the list. Although almost all of the top 10 had served overseas during these long breaks, only Ben Tune (1344 days between 2003 and 2006) and Campbell remained at home. Tune also lost years due to injury.
The all-time record for longest break between Wallabies Test matches is held by Keith Windon, who played on both sides of World War II. Between 1937 and 1946 the Randwick winger served in the RAAF and played his third and final Test after a nine-year absence.
Campbell told this imprint last month that he never gave up hope of returning to the Wallabies.
“I think you always have a little bit of a doubt. Joe is good at communicating with the players, so he always gives good feedback; you feel the connection there,” Campbell said.
“But I guess when you haven’t been in the band for a while and obviously as you get older you get these thoughts. But you can only do one thing and that’s to go with it. Keep working hard and keep putting your hand up.”
Iain Payten is senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect with: X or email.
