Schmidt lays down gauntlet ahead of Rugby Championship opener
- 715
Joe Schmidt says he remains unsure about some of his Australia players following their 40-29 victory over Georgia at Sydney Football Stadium.
Rob Valetini and Fraser McReight scored doubles for the hosts, with the Wallabies surviving a red card picked up by Filipo Daugunu for a knee to the head of Sandro Todua, to maintain their new head coach's unbeaten start.
Schmidt made 10 changes to the side that beat Wales last Saturday in Melbourne, with some taking the opportunity with both hands, while others fell short.
"Some guys have really put their hands up and other guys probably need a bit of work," he said.
"Some guys are delivering really consistent training performances and pushing for match day selection.
"We have a number of players who we're not sure about, who is maybe the best option in a particular position or who's the best combination."
Australia led 26-10 at the break, and although Georgia rallied in the second half, the home side triumphed in only the third meeting between the pair.
Hunter Paisami and Isaac Kailea went over the line early on, but Dauganu's sending off allowed Georgia a way back into the contest.
The visitors closed to within two points of Australia with two scintillating tries early in the second half through Davit Niniashvili and Akaki Tabutsadze.
However, their challenge faded as Niniashvili was sin-binned for a deliberate knockdown, as McReight and Valetini secured three successive wins for the first time since late 2021.
"It is only three weeks that we've been together, and we made 10 changes, and we knew there was an element of risk in that," Schmidt added.
"But I like the way we built our way into the game, bar the early three points.
"We put a few nice tries together and built a lead, but it was really disappointing that they got back into the game, and we were scrambling just a little bit."
The Wallabies next face world champions South Africa in their Rugby Championship opener in Brisbane on August 10.
