Dylan Pietsch has left his mark on the Wallabies.
A circle, to be specific.
Born in the Riverina region of southern New South Wales, the proud Wiradjuri man became the 15th known Indigenous Wallaby when he made his Test debut in 2024 against Wales in Sydney.
A year later he scored against the Britsh and Irish Lions in the jersey he designed.
On Saturday he will play his 11th Test for Australia, in Brisbane against France, wearing an updated First Nations jersey with an extra circle on it.
"There's been 14 Indigenous Wallabies, represented by the 14 Indigenous circles, and now there's 15 on there," he said of the NAIDOC Week initiative.
"It's special to be on a Wallabies jersey for life. It (wearing the jersey) always gives you a pep in your step."
The jersey's design places emphasis on connection, and the winger did his best to assure any doubters that debutant flyhalf Declan Meredith would slot right in.
"Super confident; he's got a great head on his shoulders and ... he's got good speed, agility," Pietsch said of the 27-year-old from Cairns.
"He's going to have an awesome debut.
"He's not a young guy that's going to be reckless. He's played some footy and played under some great 10s.
"As a backline we feel really calm with him there, because he's really switched on."
Nick Champion de Crespigny has won a bench role, replacing injured enforcer Tom Hooper.
Now at the Western Force with Pietsch, the forward spent three years with Top 14's Castres and has family ties to the Normandy region on his father's side.
"I do like my treats and I'm very emotional, very passionate about what I do, and I think that's very French," Champion de Crespigny smiled.
He was at Castres with Tom Staniforth, the former NSW Waratahs and Brumbies lock who left for France in 2020, earned eligibility and debuted last week against the All Blacks.
Staniforth will come off the bench in Brisbane as part of a pack that includes prop Moses Alo-Emile and lock Emmanuel Meafou, who both played school football in Brisbane.
"Tom's a good friend of mine ... to play against him would be truly special," Champion de Crespigny said.
"I saw the amount of hard work he put in; he's so consistent and their style suits him and plays very direct."
The Wallabies, fresh off a gutting two-point loss to Ireland, have lost their past five Tests.
