- David Campese believes the Wallabies lack culture
- Called out coach Joe Schmidt and prop Taniela Tupou
- Wallabies tackle England on Sunday from 2:10am AEDT
Outspoken rugby legend David Campese has accused modern day Wallabies stars of not understanding what their gold jersey represents – and feels many are just playing for the money.
Campese, 62, has never been shy to voice his opinions – and that is why the 1991 World Cup winner believes he has been shunned by countless Australian journalists in recent years.
Not that ‘Campo’ is losing any sleep over his perceived snubbing – what concerns the decorated winger is the current Australian squad lacking culture.
‘If you don’t understand why you’re playing, then it doesn’t help,’ he told the Sydney Morning Herald ahead of the Wallabies starting their Spring Tour in the United Kingdom.
‘It’s about money. They [current players] are well paid. It’s a job. But when you get paid and you play for a big country [like Australia], I think you should have more respect and understanding of why you’re there.
‘When I started, aged 19, I had no idea what the hell I was doing, but I soon learnt about the history and the culture of the Wallabies.’
Campese also believes he has been ‘cancelled for telling the truth’ and questioned why the Wallabies are coached by Kiwi Joe Schmidt, who has ‘no idea about Australian rugby.’
Taniela Tupou was next in Campese’s sights, who called for the prop to play 80 minutes this weekend against England and ‘grow some balls’.
Outspoken rugby legend David Campese has accused modern-day Wallabies stars of not understanding what their gold jersey represents – and feels many are just playing for the money
Taniela Tupou was next in Campese’s sights, who called for the prop to play 80 minutes this weekend against England at Twickenham and to also ‘grow some balls’
Cross code star Joseph Suaalii will make his Wallabies debut at outside centre against England – and you can see the match and all the action from rugby’s Autumn Nations Series live and exclusive on Stan Sport
Meanwhile, England captain Jamie George has admitted Joseph Suaalii is an unknown quantity ahead of his Wallabies debut – but the hosts plan to make sure Australia’s new cross-code recruit ‘knows what Test rugby is all about.’
Suaalii, 21, will play outside centre with Len Ikitau on his inside, as he prepares for his first game of senior rugby five years since he last played the code as a schoolboy star at The Kings School in Sydney.
‘Joe Schmidt is someone that I’ve been a massive fan of, I respect hugely in terms of his understanding and knowledge and I know that if he [Suaalii] wasn’t ready to play, then he wouldn’t be playing,’ George said.
‘So that’s something that we’ve got to be very aware of. There’s this element of the unknown, but at the same time we’ve got to make sure we’re as clued up as we possibly can be.
‘And we also need to make sure that he knows what Test match rugby is all about.’
England assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth added Suaalii is ‘obviously an incredible athlete and talent, which is why he’s come over with the reputation and the price tag he’s got.’
