Queensland Reds lock Ryan Smith says he won’t “throw the toys out of the cot” and will continue to “chip away” in pursuit of a maiden Wallabies cap despite once again being overlooked by Joe Schmidt.
Smith has experienced a roller-coaster past six weeks after initially being named in Schmidt’s first-up 38-man Wallabies squad in late June before quickly slipping off the selection table.
After a strong Super Rugby campaign, the hard-working second-rower justified his inclusion when he was initially named by Schmidt.
Indeed, much of the focus and surprise centred around his Reds teammate Angus Blyth’s maiden call-up rather than Smith, whose ability to hit attacking rucks, tackle often and be at the centre of a much-improved maul, hadn’t gone unnoticed by many.
For the 27-year-old, whose rise through the ranks at Brothers didn’t happen overnight, it was reward for years of toil.
“There’s been a few times when the Wallabies team and squad’s been announced and I’ve been hopeful to see my name there and haven’t. So to see my name inside the 38 was really cool,” Smith said on The Roar Rugby podcast.
“I went into the bruising camp and was putting everything into it. And it was really great fun.
“And, as you say, to be under some new coaches is always exciting. Everyone’s more or less starting at a clean slate with the coaching staff. So I was really excited and I was picking the brains off of absolutely everyone and really enjoying my time.”
Ryan Smith in action during a Wallabies training session at Ballymore Stadium on June 27, 2024 in Brisbane. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
But after spending a week in camp with the Wallabies, Smith was told he wasn’t required for their Test match preparations against Wales.
It was a bitter blow.
“It was really tough,” he said. “I went from sort of the highest high on the Saturday and Sunday going into camp to then all of a sudden on the Thursday, it was one of the lowest lows.”
Asked what, if any, feedback he received, Smith said the New Zealander wanted someone who was a chop-tackling lock.
“I did get some feedback earlier,” Smith revealed.
“We had a camp the week before the Brissy camp and I met with two of the coaches and went through some clips throughout the whole Super year, which was really cool and cool to see exactly what their selection criteria went off, and some of it was just a little bit differing from what we were expected at the Reds.
“It was cool to try and adapt to that within the week.
“Some of the stuff was just across defensive structure and fitting in within the team there.
“I think they preferred the chop tackler, the inside tackler, more of a chop focus where the outside guy can put a hit on and then have a second action; a little bit different from how we defend at the Reds.
“So I think that was definitely part of this decision for me not being in the squad.”
Ryan Smith during a Wallabies training camp at Sanctuary Cove. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Schmidt has since said one of the factors that has impressed him about Blyth is the 204cm lock’s ability to tackle low.
Despite Blyth, whose frame has always been an exciting prospect, not necessarily setting the world alight against Wales and Georgia, the Reds giant once again retained his spot for The Rugby Championship.
Smith, meanwhile, once again missed selection alongside new teammate Josh Canham, with Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Nick Frost and Jeremy Williams named alongside Blyth. The versatile Seru Uru can also play in the second-row.
Despite the second blow in as many months, Smith said he was doing everything he could to ensure he’s in the best possible position to succeed if another call-up is forthcoming.
“Across my career, I’ve always just looked to kind of chip off that next step and that next rung of the ladder,” he said.
“I’d never been called into a squad before, so that’s that next rung for me and hopefully I’ll go back and do some work and then manage next time to get some minutes off the bench and try and just keep chipping it away like that.
“It was really disappointing, but I’m never one to just give up and throw the toys out with the cot.
“The very next week, I played 80 minutes for Brothers and then another 80 against Wales, and then a third 80 against Tonga. So even since then, I’ve played three full games, and they were all pretty physical, and I think I learned a lot even from those three games.
“I’ve kept in touch a little bit with a few of the coaches and I’ve kept on watching lineout sessions and things online, trying to stay up to date, which is a little bit hard sometimes when it’s progressing so quickly and you’re not actually there for meetings.
“So trying to decipher some stuff across a video and things like that’s pretty tough. But yeah, I absolutely love my time in the camp and obviously very hopeful to put my hand up for the next squad that gets announced coming up.”
