Wallabies and Waratahs enforcer Will Skelton has signed a two-year contract extension that will keep the 22-year-old in Australian until at least the end of 2017.

Despite playing his first game of rugby at 15, Skelton has already made 39 Super Rugby appearances and played eight Tests for Australia and is a big part of new Waratahs coach Darryl Gibson’s plans for the future.

“Naturally we’re delighted that Will has re-committed to the Waratahs and Australian rugby and he will play a critical role in the structure of the team in the next few seasons,” Gibson said.

“Will is the type of player that you can build a team around, he’s got a huge presence on the field physically and is one of the most skilful players I have coached over the years.

Gibson believes the 203cm, 140kg lock is still developing as both an athlete and a rugby player and expects Skelton to continue to improve in the years to come.

“Will is still in the early stages of his career, but I expect his development to continue at an impressive rate,” he said.

“The challenge for Will is to fully maximise his physical presence and match that with an equivalent ability to carry the ball and create opportunities across the field.”