The traditional collar will return to the Wallabies jersey next year in a nod to their past, while also featuring a new Indigenous design for the 2025 series against the British & Irish Lions.

It is also a Wallabies' first following a year of several firsts for Test newcomer, Dylan Pietsch.

The Wiradjuri man, who debuted for Australia in July, designed the first New South Wales Indigenous jersey for the Waratahs during the 2022 Super Rugby First Nations round.

After appearing for the Wallabies for a fifth time ahead of being selected for the British Isles' home nations tour throughout November, Pietsch became the first incumbent player to contribute to an Australian jersey design.

Next year's jersey for the three-Test Lions series in Australia contains Indigenous artwork lying underneath the sleeves and past the armpit to down the side of the jersey.

It also features a wallaby and lion meeting in confrontation, symbolising the two nations' historic battles which date back to 1899.

"The relationship is presented as a battle underpinned by respect," Pietsch told rugby.com.au.

"Respect for our game and respect for one another."

At the cornerstone of the lucrative British & Irish Lions tour, Rugby Australia has embraced the Indigenous artwork and their stories in a commemorative marketing campaign.

The unique creation of the commissioned First Nations' pieces, exclusively revealed through National Indigenous Times, are titled Series Identity.

Some of those designs from the artwork are duplicated onto the jersey.

The narrative behind the artwork incorporates a First Nations design that depicts the cities – Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney – that are involved in the Test matches as part of their connection to the Wallabies' Indigenous side.

The converted outside back took great pride in sharing the design with his teammates at the jersey launch in front of Sydney's harbour, with Pietsch eyeing off the potential of pulling it over his head nine or 10 months later.

"It's a really cool feeling to be able to see it and wear it," he said.

"To have your design on the jersey is always a special moment no matter what jersey it is, but for it to be a Wallabies jersey is a really proud moment.

"All I've wanted to be doing since I was little is to play for the Wallabies.

"For me personally, I wouldn't have deemed my career a success without being one.

"I'm really stoked."

The design process started during Pietsch's time between UK tour games for the Barbarians during the 2024 World Cup in France.

The latest Western Force recruit kept his clandestine creation under wraps from nosy teammates until a promotion that was leaked online gave them a hint of a sneak preview.

It also delivered the 26-year-old more motivation to debut this year and ensure he could experience a first cap against the Lions, who only visit Australia once every 12 years after touring South Africa and New Zealand in the immediate four-year breaks.

"It's a weird feeling," Pietsch said.

"Every time someone would ask me about it, I'd just brush it off, but it's really cool to be able to do it.

"To be able to wear the Wallaby gold is really special and also to hopefully be able to in the Lions tour."

After continuing his rise from featuring in Australia's sevens side, which ended at the Tokyo Olympics before debuting for the Waratahs the following year, Pietsch has began to celebrate culture through the encouragement of a Rugby Australia directive through to its sub-unions.

Pietsch now wants Indigenous representation on the Wallabies jersey to be more frequent than just one-off every year where "everyone smiles and (then) everyone forgets about it".

"Yeah, it's massive (change) since I first started," he said.

"There wasn't really much talked about it and I really think that Rugby Australia has been a pretty big part (of changing this).

"Singing the song in Gadigal at Commbank (in 2020 against Argentina) was a big thing in changing the anthem and having the (Indigenous) Wallabies jersey out there for the past eight years is a really big thing as a staple, not just a one-off.

"It's really special to acknowledge Aboriginal culture, as a consistent basis and not a one-off or anything like that."