If the Ospreys’ outgoings this summer, with captain Jac Morgan and vice-captain Dewi Lake heading over the Severn Bridge, are more than a little concerning, then the scales have at least been balanced a bit by their recruitment work.
Australian trio Lawson Creighton, Lalakai Foketi and Liam Wright will all head to Swansea ahead of next season. The latter, having previously captained the Wallabies, is perhaps the most intriguing signing.
Since being Joe Schmidt’s first skipper at the start of his reign in 2024, injuries have conspired to keep Wright out of action.
Following that Test against Wales in the summer of 2024, where he led his country out in Sydney, the 28-year-old has managed just 57 minutes of rugby at the highest level.
Having left the Queensland Reds last year – with only James Horwill and Mark Loane having captained the club on more occasions – the 28-year-old has had to bide his time just a little.
However, months after leaving Ballymore, the six-cap Wallaby is ready for his next adventure in Wales – following some help from a familiar face.
“I’d spoken a lot with Ryan Smith,” Wright tells WalesOnline from Sydney ahead of his move to Wales. “If he’s got a head on his shoulders, he’ll be taking commission from all these guys joining the Ospreys.
“He’s been a strong driving point at least for me to go there. I know him and Lawson are good mates as well and he’s crossed paths with Lalakai as well in his footy career.
“But I think that just says about what the place is around the Ospreys. It sounds like a good place to be and a good culture.
“Somewhere where you can grow as a footy player and as a person. We’ve been sold on that and I’m really excited.
“When I started speaking to Mark Jones, he was just really excited about what could be built. I think there was a bit of an appeal around just trying something different to be honest and getting into a different brand of footy, in a different competition.
“After being in Queensland for a long, long time, it was something I really wanted to explore. And if my future wasn’t really going to be in Australia, then I wanted to make sure I got to explore and experience overseas rugby.
“I don’t think you get much different from Brisbane to Wales and Swansea, so I’m really looking forward to that.”
There is of course the elephant in the room that is the Ospreys’ future. Nothing is particularly certain in Welsh rugby right now, with the Welsh Rugby Union still harbouring plans to reduce the number of professional teams.
It can be easy, when you’re in the bubble, to lose sight of how widely-known your problem actually is. Just how aware are those in Australia of Welsh rugby’s current plight?
After all, they have their own problems Down Under.
“I’m reasonably aware,” admits Wright. “I probably wasn’t at the start of the process, but Australia’s been through that only recently with the Melbourne Rebels, so it’s kind of a similar situation.
“We know what it’s like for everyone to be a bit up in the air. There’s a lot of guys that came to Queensland over the last few years that were there during that period with the Rebels.
“I’ve been playing club footy recently with Brad Wilkin, who was the Melbourne captain at the time when he went through all that. I know it plays a part, but when I started chatting to Mark a while back, he was pretty open and honest about that.
“There was also an air of confidence in the Ospreys camp that they had the foundations set and the resilience to carry through that, which obviously turned out to be true and that’s great news for us.
“It’s one of those things where I think rugby is such a global game that you sometimes do get caught in your own bubble, but I’m happy to see that they’ve been guaranteed through for a few more years and it adds to the appeal, that bit of security as well.”
When Wright’s move was confirmed, the eye-catching part of the release was his Welsh family history. However, the man himself admits that wasn’t behind the move.
Having been born in Durban, the early years of his life were spent in South Africa before his family made the move to Sydney when Wright was seven.
“My family history isn’t that well-known to me,” he admits. “My dad’s dad passed recently and we probably left a few stories there (in South Africa).
“But once then process started to go a bit further ahead, that’s when I really only learned that my grandpa was from Pembroke, as were his parents.
“So that wasn’t a factor in the decision, but I think it’s just really cool. It’s something my fiancée and I have been talking about where it’s just almost meant to happen in a way.
“My last game for Australia was against Wales. The history with my family and my dad’s dad there as well, so I think it just shows that this is everything lining up nicely. Without getting too up in the stars about all that stuff, I just think it shows that it’s going to be a great experience for us.
“It’s something we’re really looking forward to, but it wasn’t really part of the plan. I think I was just really enticed by what Mark and the coaching staff are doing and what the whole team is trying to grow.”
Naturally, once a players’ Welsh roots become apparent, it’s only a matter of time before the question is asked about when they’ll pull on the red jersey.
Wright’s last Australia cap was in the summer of 2024 – meaning, following a three-year stand-down period, he would be available for Steve Tandy next summer if both parties were interested.
Given he captained the Wallabies, his Test credentials aren’t really in question. But, again, it’s not something Wright is considering at this stage.
“That’s something I only found out when I was talking to the media team about the release,” he says. “I said, ‘Yeah, I’ve just kind of learned about my Welsh heritage,’ and then once that came out, you saw everyone jump onto that. It’s not something I’ve really considered.
“Having been in an international setup, I know how much it takes to get into there and to really put your performances forward, so it’s something I’ll just work hard towards. I think being out of the game a little bit, you realize how much needs to go into the performance.
“So thinking about getting too far ahead of yourself with being back in international setups, whether that’s Wales or Australia, it’s not something I think is really appropriate to comment on until I put in back-to-back good performances for Ospreys consistently.
“That’s something I’ve always prided my game on, my kind of character I guess, is being reliable and consistent throughout the season. Down the line, I guess that’s something we’ll revisit, but at the moment, it’s just putting in good performances for the Ospreys and just getting back out there on that field for sort of 80 minutes at a time.”
That opportunity to captain the Wallabies two years ago was testament to Wright’s efforts as a player. First called up by Michael Cheika before playing a single Super Rugby match, Wright won a handful of caps back in 2019.
Injuries kept him out of the famous gold jersey, but having been recalled by Schmidt two years ago, the former Ireland coach saw fit to trust him with the captaincy in his first match in charge – although he didn’t let Wright in on that secret.
“He kept it pretty quiet,” says Wright. “I was just hoping to find a spot in the 23. Then when it was announced, there was the ‘C’ next to my name.
“He caught me a bit off guard there. It was one of those things where I took a lot of pride in obviously wearing the jersey again and representing Australia as captain, but I think I was most proud around the journey that it took to get back there, and the resilience with the injuries.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think I really got to enjoy it that much because it instantly went back into another sort of rehab. But, again, now at the end of that, and into something new, you sort of do get a bit of time to reflect now.
“This journey is, whilst probably not the one I would have picked if I could have in terms of all the injuries and stuff, it’s something I’m quite proud of, and for making it out the other end now.”
In particular, the last year has seen Wright have to patiently build his way back to professional rugby following his departure from the Reds. His local club in Brisbane, Easts, have provided him with a chance to get a few games in.
He’s also been known to mow the pitch at the club in recent years. “Probably not as much now as my days are a lot busier, so I didn’t have the time to just go and sit on the mower for a couple of hours! But they’ve always been good to me, so hopping on the mower for a few hours is the least I could do.”
As well as playing for Easts to make sure his shoulder was right ahead of the move to Wales, Wright has done bits of coaching as well as some work with the Brisbane Junior Rugby Union’s pathways.
Making sure he’s prepared for life after rugby is important, with coaching certainly an enjoyable future role, but it’s clear that Wright is keen to get back on the pitch.
While Wright might not yet be too familiar with his new team-mates, he’s already “heard some yarns” from Smith. And, as the Ospreys prepare to start life without Morgan and Lake, helping fill that leadership void will be something that Wright can certainly manage in the months to come.
“Not so much in terms of actually being captain or vice-captain, as that’s not something I’ve really thought about,” he admits. “I think my leadership is often from getting to understand the squad and what the team might need at the time.
“For that to happen, I think I really need to understand the players, the team, the culture and the history. I just need to get my hands dirty and get involved there.
“But what I think I can bring is that, having been through a lot of ups and downs in my career, I’ve really learned what it takes to get my routine going; what it takes to get through a week, or a season, or through multiple years.
“I think that’s something I can hopefully show as an action-first player in the squad. Just leading by example and showing that it’s not always rosy.
“There’ll be times where you’ve got to get in early, rip in, do the work and stay late. All the things you sometimes can get away with not doing, but sometimes you really can’t.
“I’ve had to refine all that. Hopefully I can help show that professional of what it takes to make it as a young player.
“I guess there’s a lot of experience around the lineout too that I hope to bring. It’s something Ryan and I connected on years ago, running the lineout in Queensland. I’ve taken a liking to it over the years.
“I’m looking forward to working with the coaches and other lineout forwards there, as well as trying to grow my own game a bit. So if there’s a void that needs filling, I’ll put my hand up to try and do whatever the team needs.
“I’m just looking forward to the opportunity, I guess.”