London: The Wallabies will be without star halfback Will Genia for their Spring Tour opener against Wales this weekend after he was denied a release from French club Stade Francais.

Australia had hoped to have the in-form playmaker – one of the stars of the Rugby Championship this year – available for the showdown at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday (Sunday morning AEDT), but News Corp reports a request from coach Michael Cheika fell on deaf ears.

The 72-Test veteran qualifies for the Wallabies by comfortably clearing the 60-Test threshold for overseas-based players, but Stade Francais are under no obligation to release him outside the official international window and Cheika was unable to convince the French powerhouse to do so.

Genia will next rejoin the squad ahead of their clash with Scotland in Edinburgh, and will be available for the subsequent fixtures against Ireland and France, but may again be recalled by Stade Francais before their season-ending Test against England.