State of the Nation: Wallabies focusing on improvement as ‘new era’ under Les Kiss’ leadership gets underway

David Skippers 22 Jul 2026 10:05 PM

Ryan Lonergan and Fraser McReight image — Wallabies scrum-half Ryan Lonergan (inset) and openside flanker Fraser McReight.

Following the conclusion of the Southern Hemisphere leg of the 2026 Nations Championship, we update you on the state of the participating nations. Next up, it’s Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies.

Australia came into the 2026 international season with plenty to prove after their 2025 Autumn Nations Series campaign turned out to be a massive letdown as they only won their opening encounter against Japan before suffering successive defeats to England, Italy, Ireland and France..

This is a year of transition for the Wallabies as Schmidt‘s two-and-a-half-year stint as their head coach has come to an end with former Queensland Reds boss Les Kiss set to take over the coaching reins ahead of next month’s clash with Japan in Higashiosaka.

With the 2027 Rugby World Cup – which is set to be held in Australia – also looming large on the horizon, Kiss will be determined to hit the ground running in his new position and improve the Wallabies’ fortunes, as it’s imperative for the host nation to be competitive at the eagerly anticipated global tournament.

Nation Championship summary

After the Wallabies’ underwhelming performances during the Autumn Nations Series and another overall disappointing campaign from Australian franchises in Super Rugby Pacific, Schmidt and his troops were determined to improve their fortunes in the Nations Championship.

Despite delivering a competitive performance in their tournament opener against Ireland in Sydney, the Wallabies could not end their losing streak as they eventually suffered a narrow 33-31 defeat.

As the scoreline suggests, this match could have gone either way, and the visitors clinched their win in the game’s closing stages courtesy of a late converted try. Despite that, Australia had a chance to snatch a late win, but a last-gasp Ben Donaldson penalty attempt was unsuccessful.

The following week, they faced another tricky assignment against France in Brisbane. Still, unlike their effort against the Irish, the Wallabies came off second best in most facets of play and delivered an error-strewn performance before eventually suffering a comprehensive 42-26 loss.

That meant they simply had to win their last fixture, against the Azzurri in Perth, as another defeat would mean that Schmidt would end his reign with the worst winning percentage of a Wallabies coach in the professional era.

However, Australia’s players came to the fore with an outstanding all-round display and sealed a deserved 57-10 win which turned out to be their highest score during Schmidt’s coaching tenure.

Standout players

Although the Wallabies are still some way off where they want to be in the international arena, there were some players with excellent performances. One player who continued with his impressive form was exciting openside flanker Fraser McReight.

The 27-year-old tearaway was at the forefront of the Wallabies’ efforts on either side of the ball in the clashes against Ireland and France before also impressing off the replacements bench against Italy.

As usual, McReight showed his class with outstanding work at the breakdowns, but he also did well as a ball carrier and in the execution of his defensive duties.

Not far behind McReight was his back-row partner Rob Valetini, who came to the fore with brutal physicality as a ball carrier, which gave his side momentum on attack, while he also had a high work rate on defence.

Meanwhile, loosehead prop Angus Bell, who recently returned from a sabbatical with Ulster, showed that his stint with the United Rugby Championship outfit did him the world of good as he also did well in the forward exchanges.

Apart from catching the eye with superb shifts at the coalface of the forward effort, with fine scrummaging displays, Bell also did his bit as a ball carrier and on defence where he put in some big hits at close quarters.

Amongst the backline players, rookie scrum-half Ryan Lonergan made his first start for the Wallabies in the opening clash against Ireland and although he was forced off due to injury late in the first half of that clash, the Brumbies number nine recovered in time to start the next Test against France before retaining his position for the Italy clash.

Lonergan delivered a crisp service to his outside backs and looked dangerous on attack while he was also solid off the kicking tee when handed the goal-kicking duties for the Tests against France and Italy.

He received good support from the likes of outside backs Tom Wright and Max Jorgensen, who always proved a handful on attack although those moments were few and far between.

Stat leaders

Joe Schmidt makes blunt revelation on Wallabies’ ‘progress’ under his guidance

Although the Wallabies found the going tough in most of their Nations Championship matches, some players caught the eye during the tournament.

Leading the way was up-and-coming lock Canham, who finished as the competition’s second-highest try-scorer with four tries – just two adrift of All Blacks utility back Will Jordan.

Elsewhere, Wallabies skipper Harry Wilson led the charge on defence as he finished in 10th position overall for tackles made (44), which was 20 adrift of the table-topping Ross Vintcent of Italy.

Meanwhile, Lonergan was the seventh-highest points-scorer in the competition (21) while Canham finished in eighth position in that category (20) and Jorgensen ended in 10th spot for metres gained (176).

Success story

After coming off second best in a narrow defeat to Ireland in their tournament opener and suffering a comprehensive defeat against France, Australia desperately needed to finish their campaign on a high against Italy.

They did just that as there were encouraging signs for the Wallabies who delivered an outstanding all-round performance in which forwards and backs combined superbly as they cruised to an emphatic 57-10 triumph.

Australia controlled proceedings from start to finish and eventually outscored their opponents by a whopping nine tries to two

Apart from it being the Wallabies’ biggest-ever victory under Schmidt’s guidance, it was also their largest triumph on home soil since 2014 and sets them up nicely for their new era under Kiss.

Main regret

When the Wallabies review their Nations Championship campaign, they will wonder what could have been if they had started the competition on a positive note with a victory in their tournament opener against Ireland at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney.

Schmidt’s charges came into that encounter in a somewhat desperate mood as the men from the Emerald Isle have held the upper hand in that fixture in recent years after winning the last five matches between the sides.

Australia showed they meant business in Sydney though as they held the upper hand for long periods, especially in the opening half, and the teams changed sides at half-time with the home side leading 24-19.

It was a similar story in the second half as Schmidt’s charges continued to hold a slight edge as the match drew to a close, but they could, unfortunately, not close out the game and after holding a slender 31-26 lead for just over 20 minutes, Ireland clinched a 33-31 win after Thomas Clarkson scored a converted try in the 77th minute.

There was some late drama when Donaldson had a chance to secure a last-gasp victory for Australia via a penalty in the game’s dying moments.

It wasn’t to be, however, as his shot was off target, meaning the Wallabies lost another match to the Irish and were left to rue their inability to close out the game earlier in that half when they held a five-point lead for most of the second stanza.

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