Schmidt rolls dice with Lions debutants

WALLABIES coach Joe Schmidt backed Nick Champion de Crespigny to be the team’s “roving scavenger” yesterday after handing him a shock debut in the opening British and Irish Lions Test in Brisbane.

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Hard man Champion de Crespigny, who spent three seasons at French side Castres before joining Western Force this year, gets his chance on Saturday with first-choice blindside flanker Rob Valetini not fully fit.

His elevation is an eyeopener, preferred to Tom Hooper, but Schmidt said he had no doubt about his abilities.

“I keep an eye on the Top 14, having coached there many years ago,” said Schmidt.

“Obviously Nick was playing for Castres and they'd been a high-performing team, so when he decided to come back he was immediately on the radar.

“The good thing with Nick is that he’s a good line-out option... he is probably a bit more of a roving scavenger than ‘Bobby V’, who in the past has been a big ball-carrier for us, and so he’ll complement Fraser [McReight] in that respect.”