Marika Koroibete has withdrawn from the Wallabies spring tour for personal reasons.
David Rennie confirmed Koroibete wouldn't take part in the upcoming trips to Japan and the United Kingdom as he returns home to Australia to spend more time with his family, with his partner recently giving birth to their third child.
“Marika’s chosen not to tour,” Rennie said ahead of next Saturday's test against Japan.
“We’ve been discussing it for a while. Obviously we let him go home a week early during The Rugby Championship.
“COVID’s thrown a lot of curveballs at all of us. Marika’s been away from home for a long time, [wife] Emma’s pretty isolated; they’ve had a newborn baby and they’ve got a couple of other young boys.”
With an impending move to Japanese outfit Panasonic Wild Knights next year, it could mean Koroibete has played his last game in green and gold for a while.
Rugby Australia have softened their stance around eligibility rules recently, predominantly due to the travel difficulties posed by the pandemic.
Its seen the Quade Cooper and Samu Kerevi return to the fold recently, with six overseas players picked in the spring tour squad, with Will Skelton among them after five years over in France.
Although, typically players based overseas aren't eligible for national selection unless they have at least 60 Test caps to their name, which for Koroibete, who has 47 caps, could realistically spell the end of his Wallabies career.
Koroibete didn't feature in the Wallabies' last out win over Argentina in the Rugby Championship, which saw Rennie trial 21-year-old prodigy Jordan Petaia on the wing.
Rennie said while the loss of Koroibete, the 2019 John Eales Medal winner, is a big blow, it will allow the Wallabies coach to cast an eye over his backline depth with two years to go until the World Cup.
“As always, it’s an opportunity, isn’t it? Marika didn’t play the last game [against Argentina]. Jordie [Petaia] got a start, it gave Tom Wright a sniff off the bench who played really well,” Rennie said.
“Marika’s an unbelievable player, massive work ethic and physicality, so big shoes to feel. But we feel… it’s a position we’ve got a bit of depth in.”
As well as Koroibete's omission, back-rower Sean McMahon has left the squad's bubble for family reasons, while Samu Kerevi is battling an ankle injury that is likely to see him ruled out against the Brave Blossoms.
Rising prop Pone Fa’amausili will also be absent against Japan due to ongoing calf and hamstring complications, Rennie confirmed.
Rennie said his side was anticipating a challenging encounter with Japan, whose high-octane style of play has caused the Wallabies trouble in the past.
“The key thing is, we’ve got to try and shut down their set piece. They will have innovative plays from lineout and scrum, we’ve got to make that source of ball difficult for them," Rennie added.
“We’re going to have to do a good job around the quality of our defence and slowing their ball down to get a wall in front of them. We’ve got a plan around how we need to play against these guys.
“We’re playing in a stadium that has a roof so we should get a fast track and two sides that both want to play. It should be a belter.”