What Wallabies coach Schmidt told Force star Zac Lomax
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Former NRL star Zac Lomax has three weeks to impress Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt to nab an international call-up for the Nations Championship.
Lomax has made an impressive start to life in Super Rugby Pacific, producing a series of strong performances on the wing for the Western Force.
The 26-year-old's ultimate goal is to be in the Wallabies squad for the 2027 home World Cup, and he received some important feedback on his progress from Schmidt this week.
Schmidt is in Perth ahead of Saturday night's clash between the Force and Queensland Reds at HBF Park.
After taking on the Reds, the Force host Fijian Drua and NSW Waratahs to round out the regular season.
It means Lomax has three big chances to impress Schmidt before the Wallabies squad is named for the Nations Champions, where Australia will take on Ireland, France and Italy across July.
"We bounced a few observations back and forth," Schmidt said on Thursday when asked about his chat with Lomax this week.
"We'll be watching over the next few weeks, three home games to finish the season.
"That's perfect for the Force, and it's perfect for Zac if he can get a rhythm through those games."
When asked what he needed to see from Lomax over those three weeks, Schmidt re-iterated his point of Lomax finding his groove.
"Just see him get that playing rhythm. And there's a whole lot of elements to that playing rhythm," he said.
"It's trying to get into the right place at the right time, because that's a little bit different from the 13-man code.
"Certainly his aerial attack has been strong. I think he's problem solving (defensively) really well."
Force scrumhalf Henry Robertson was also on Schmidt's radar following a breakout season before the 26-year-old ruptured his ACL in last week's 32-15 loss to the Brumbies.
"He's a good package. He's competitive too, quite physical," Schmidt said.
"So we're disappointed he's not in the frame for the July Tests, but he's a young man.
"I'd love to see him challenge again in the future for those gold jerseys."
