Kangaroos players Hunter Pasami and Fraser McWright to withdraw from Argentina tour

There was more bad injury news for the Kangaroos as Queensland stars Hunter Paisami and Fraser McReight were injured and missed their two Argentina tour games.

Pasami left the Kangaroos’ loss to the Springboks in Perth on Saturday with a leg injury and the fast-running midfielder will miss the remainder of the Rugby Championship.

Japan’s Samu Kerevi was not selected, meaning Paisami’s midfield spot is likely to be taken by one of two rookies who have not played for their country, with David Feliuai and Hamish Stewart both included in Joe Schmidt’s 35-man squad.

McCreight missed both Tests against South Africa after undergoing surgery on a thumb injury, but it is hoped that the flanker will be fit enough for the Argentina tour, where Australia will play in La Plata on September 1 and Santa Fe on September 8.

But the star wing is one of the injured players on Schmidt’s list and will not leave with the team on Friday. Luke Reimer has also been left out of the squad, meaning Schmidt will take the risk of sending just one professional open wing to the tournament. Jeremy Williams and Tom Hooper are seen as potential back-row options.

Schmidt called up experienced Force pairing Tom Robertson and Brandon Paenga-Amosa to bolster his front-row credentials for both games following long absences from the Test arena.

Paenga-Amosa made his debut in 2018 and then played his last Test match for Australia in 2021 before moving to French side Montpellier, but the 28-year-old recently returned to Australia and signed with the Australian team for next season. He has replaced Brumbies seamer Billy Pollard in the Australian squad.

Robertson, 29, played 31 games for the club and was expected to play at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in Australia, but suffered a season-ending cruciate ligament injury. He took a gap year at Oxford University, where the former medical student completed a Masters of Public Policy (Health Professions) and represented the prestigious university in an intervarsity match against Cambridge University in March.