Comment: Les Kiss decision creates ‘selection headaches’ for Wallabies boss ahead of tougher tests as ‘training wheels’ now off
Issac Henry, Carter Gordon and Hunter Paisami all impressed for the Wallabies.
Les Kiss did what his predecessor Joe Schmidt failed to do in November and was brave with his selections ahead of the return Test against Japan.
With sterner Tests to come, Kiss recognised that the return Test against Eddie Jones’s Brave Blossoms – a team ranked 12th on the World Rugby rankings – represented the perfect time to test his wider squad. It just so happened that it also came after a tense slog in the hot and humid Osaka heat a week earlier.
The decision paid off in spades, with the Wallabies delivering on Kiss’s faith by putting away a Japanese side that looked gassed and disconnected in the final half-hour in Townsville.
It was smart management from the Wallabies’ new and experienced coach, who is benefitting from having come straight out of the Australian system where he spent three years in Super Rugby, unlike his three predecessors.
He not just tested his wider squad but gave some of his key big men – Allan Alaalatoa, Josh Canham and Rob Valetini – a spell on the eve of an important two-week tour of Argentina.
Others like Lachie Shaw, the immensely talented Brumbies lock who struggled off the bench in his first two opportunities in July, will also head to Argentina feeling like they belong. That’s an important factor not just for the 23-year-old but the Wallabies too, because Australia needs internal competition for places across the board.
Selection headaches brewing
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii might be Australian rugby’s highest paid player, but the 23-year-old’s spot in the Wallabies’ starting XV is starting to come under threat.
After Hunter Paisami and especially Isaac Henry starred against Japan, Suaalii will know that there’s more than just the expectation on delivering on his hefty price tag.
Henry’s ability to run a brilliant line was on show against Japan even though the act was ultimately called back because of a forward pass thrown by Paisami. Henry – the 27-year-old Reds midfielder on starting debut – bamboozled Dylan Riley by looking to run on the centre’s outside shoulder, before changing direction and cutting him to shreds on the inside in the 29th minute. It was first-class rugby by the unheralded midfielder.
Nor was it the only time he found space and yards through the middle, with the Wallabies’ opening two tries coming after surging runs from Henry.
His impressive entry into the international game means the internal competition in the midfield is heating up – and that’s with Len Ikitau primed to return against Los Pumas after missing the Japan Tests because of an ankle injury, Josh Flook fit and itching for another chance, Jordan Petaia knocking on the door and Samu Kerevi yet to be sighted.
Kiss will welcome that thought, but the early selection headache will also serve as the new coach’s first big test, because selection is huge when it comes to the fine margins involved in international rugby.
Back-row balance questions only heating up
It’s not just the midfield where the selection battle is heating up, but in the back-row too.
Regular No.7 Fraser McReight might have made an immediate impact when he came on by winning an on-ball penalty in the final 10 minutes, but it came after Carlo Tizzano won three penalties in the opening 65 minutes.
Tizzano, 26, was everywhere in the match, especially in the second half.
The hard on-baller won praise from Michael Hooper for his timing and decision-making for when to attack the breakdown. It came after he won two penalties inside ten minutes (54th minute and 63rd minute) that ultimately thwarted Japan’s efforts.
Tizzano wasn’t alone, with the Wallabies winning six penalties at the breakdown in the second half to make life hell for the visitors.
It’s a much-improved area for the Wallabies.
Elsewhere, Harry Wilson, whose place in the side is still up for debate, showed his impressive skill set, regularly displaying his soft hands by passing just ahead of the line.
Charlie Cale’s pace and explosiveness also put the Japanese under a huge amount of pressure at the lineout.
The electric back-rower worked his way into the clash nicely, regularly finding space out wide the deeper the game went on – and it’s that factor that could be the biggest threat to McReight and Tizzano regularly being involved in the same 23.
With Valetini and Tom Hooper in the wings, Kiss has some tough decisions to make.
Halves taking shape
The one area that has worked itself out in the Wallabies is in the halves.
After Declan Meredith struggled over the past month, Carter Gordon returned to the No.10 jersey and immediately made an impact.
He challenged the line, directed the Wallabies around well and turned Japan around nicely ahead of the side’s second try.
Now the biggest challenge for Gordon is staying on the field.
Fortunately, he doesn’t have the added responsibilities of kicking for goal either, with Ryan Lonergan showing that his boot from the kicking tee is just as potent as his pass, having landed nine straight conversions over the past fortnight.
Sterner tests ahead
As positive as the Wallabies’ win in Townsville was, the training wheels are now off for Kiss.
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After being afforded a dream start to his coaching tenure with the Wallabies in much the same way Schmidt did (two home Tests against Wales followed by a home clash against Georgia) by taking on Japan, Kiss will be acutely aware that it’s only going to get tougher from here on in.
Consecutive Tests against Argentina are on the horizon, before a Test against the Springboks in Perth followed by the annual trans-Tasman Bledisloe Cup series.
Kiss will know that he’ll need to return home from Argentina with at least one win under his belt to keep the momentum going.
It also comes at a time when Michael Cheika – the man many thought should take over the Wallabies – is on the cusp of striking a deal with Rugby Australia to return to the Waratahs.
That in itself brings more scrutiny because Cheika has built an impressive record of being a successful change agent everywhere he goes, and it can’t be forgotten that the Wallabies have yet to beat a side in the top nine on the World Rugby rankings in almost a year.
