Wallabies captain Harry Wilson looks back on the 2023 season with plenty of mixed feelings, the disappointment of the World Cup exit often comes to mind for both fans and players.
But the Queensland Red loose forward also looks at the year as a time of valuable professional and personal growth - and as the side stares down a reunion with Wallabies coach Eddie Jones, it’s those lessons Wilson is now thinking about.
Watch every second of the 2025 Autumn Nations Series live and on demand via Stan Sport.
“Obviously, it was extremely disappointing that year for myself personally,” Wilson told reporters.
“But for me, it probably was a year where I grew a lot as a football player and as a person. It's really helped me over the last couple of years, the learnings you take from that year.
“I guess, to never feel comfortable in a jersey or in a squad because you know how easily you can get taken away from you. When you're in these squads, you definitely take it for granted, and you'll have every bit about being a part of it.”
The 2025 Autumn series squad contains many new faces and omits many old ones, with James Slipper and Nic White among the key standouts not returning.
However, compared to 2024, which Wilson admitted was a ‘bit of an unknown’, the Wallabies come into this Autumn Series having claimed several big scalps across the year.
With World Cup calculations now front and centre, the Wallabies captain knows it now falls to him and the leadership group to come through with results.
“We'll miss the old fellas, Slippy and Whitey. We've lost a couple of our uncles,” Wilson joked.
“It's definitely different…no one's really been in a Wallabies squad without at least one of them in there. But the one thing they definitely did, they left the squad in a good position. They gave us everything they know.
“We've got a lot of confidence going into this group and then we get a few new faces come in like Kalani [Thomas], Carter Gordon, Aidan Ross.
“They sort of just slide into the way we do it because we do have a strong squad with a lot of continuity. And it's always nice getting a few new faces in.
“Last year was a bit of an unknown for a lot of us. Obviously, now as a group we've got the experience over there. Even the whole British and Irish Lions tour, we now know all those players really well.
“We're definitely in a better position than where we were 12 months ago, you really do form better relationships on and off the field.”
The big challenge concerning Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt has been the fatigue of such a big year, the New Zealander not hiding from the fact he’ll be trying some new combinations.
Wilson is not only excited to get back on the field after 12 days off, but to start with the Brave Blossoms, with the Reds star knowing several players in the side from his junior days.
“I think everyone really enjoyed the last 12 days off,” the Wallaby captain added.
“Joe really challenged everyone to get refreshed, mentally refreshed, physically refreshed.
“Even coming back in yesterday, it felt like we hadn't seen each other in ages. We're such a close group, and we love spending time around each other.
“We're really excited for these five weeks and playing in some unbelievable countries.
“It's obviously pretty cool when you know quite a few of their players. Benny Gunter, I played junior footy with in Gunnedah when I was young.
“He used to always jump in the car with us, and my dad was a coach, so he would drive us to training. Now, potentially getting to face him on the world stage is really cool.
“It definitely helps us knowing our opposition quite well. [Japan have] been playing some really good footy in the Pacific Cup and we're all aware of the threats across the park. We're going to be up for it on the day, that's for sure.”
While the signs seem promising following Australia A’s 71-7 demolition of the Japan XV yesterday, the Wallabies know the Brave Blossoms will be a different prospect altogether.
The elephant in the room will be seeing former coach Eddie Jones, the Australian having been at the helm of their ill-fated 2023 campaign.
While many fans will be hungry to see the Wallabies get a victory over the former coach, Wilson is focused on utilising the lessons learnt since then - and the job at hand that awaits them in Tokyo.
“No, obviously we're really excited to get to Japan,” Wilson said when asked about talk over facing Jones.
“A lot of us haven't played over there, and Japan are a really good opposition, they've been playing really well. We're definitely not focusing on the fact that Eddie Jones is the coach.
“A bit of a reunion for a fair few of the boys, but we're really excited to go over there and do a job and have a unique experience. You want to win every Test match and I'm sure a few of the boys would definitely love it.”
