Opinion: Wallabies can topple ‘vulnerable’ Springboks and All Blacks must ‘suck it up’ instead of whinging
Should Wallabies head coach Les Kiss have included fly-half Noah Lolesio in his squad?
Has Les Kiss made his first misstep since taking over from Joe Schmidt?
It certainly seems that way.
Kiss might have been talking to Jordan Petaia about calling up the talented athletic back for months. But was he needed?
His inclusion certainly gave reporters something to write about, but the headline also papered over the obvious shortcomings elsewhere in the Wallabies’ squad.
While Petaia will give the Wallabies some much-needed presence in the air out wide, more pressing is the side’s lack of genuine international playmaking options.
Between Ben Donaldson, Declan Meredith and uncapped Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, there are just 28 Test caps. Of those 28 caps, Donaldson, who has been in and out of the Wallabies since debuting in late 2022, has 25 of the caps, and only six of those have come in the No.10 jersey.
It begs the question: was McLaughin-Phillips the right person to come into the Wallabies?
After all, Kiss didn’t even have McLaughlin-Phillips in his matchday squad for the Reds’ qualifying final defeat to the Chiefs in June.
Nor did the Reds try everything they could to keep the 22-year-old at the franchise, instead preferring Wallabies Carter Gordon and Tom Lynagh – both of whom are injury-prone – on their books.
On Monday, Kiss explained that he could call on the experience of James O’Connor and Bernard Foley down the track, but what about Noah Lolesio?
With 30 Tests under his belt, the 26-year-old has years of international experience and is the only playmaker in Australian rugby under the age of 30 to have won a knockout match of any nature in professional footy.
Lolesio’s combination with Ryan Lonergan, Len Ikitau and Tom Wright makes a recall even more compelling.
Rugby Australia and Wallabies officials might be concerned about picking someone from Japan’s League Two competition and the message it sends other Australians thinking of leaving Super Rugby for financial riches, but that didn’t stop Rassie Erasmus from selecting Manie Libbok in the Springboks.
With 12 months to go until the World Cup, Kiss should only be asking himself one question: will either Meredith and McLaughlin-Phillips make the Wallabies’ squad for the tournament?
And if neither playmaker is likely to be in his plans save for a spate of injuries, should they be given time in the saddle now with just 15 Tests to go before the World Cup opener in Perth?
You wouldn’t think so.
After all, the last time the Wallabies went all-out on youth at a World Cup, the decision backfired spectacularly.
It’s why the decision to look past Lolesio is rather baffling.
The other player Kiss should be looking at
Given Samu Kerevi remains in Japan, the Wallabies are seemingly happy enough with their midfield options.
But is that the case at full-back?
It wouldn’t appear so, because not only has the versatile Petaia joined the Wallabies, but Jock Campbell, who will leave the Reds to join Hunter Paisami at the Blue Revs in Japan, has remained with the side too.
It comes as Tom Wright battles to rediscover the form that made him the Wallabies’ most threatening back until he sustained his ACL injury against the Springboks in Cape Town last August.
While it would surprise many if Wright was left out against the Springboks, the 29-year-old needs to show something in Perth because he’s running out of time to prove he’s the right man for the job.
Kiss also has a number of compelling options abroad in France, with Jack Maddocks and Tom Banks both getting on the scoresheet recently in France.
Banks, particularly, is coming off a fine season, having been nominated for French Top 14 player of the year.
He missed out on the top gong, and lost in the final too, but the Montpellier full-back’s quality was regularly on display throughout the 2025/26 campaign.
Banks was also a key part of the Brumbies’ cog, before leaving in mid-2022.
Wallabies can upset Boks
The Springboks might have reaffirmed their World Cup favouritism by beating the All Blacks 3-1 in the Greatest Rivalry series, but that doesn’t mean they’ll beat the Wallabies in their one-off match in Perth on September 27.
In fact, given the mooted changes on the way, it wouldn’t surprise if the Wallabies toppled the Springboks later this month.
As strong as the Springboks’ depth is, few teams can instantly click when they’re missing a bulk of regulars – and that’s what is expected.
Malcolm Marx, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Cobus Reinach, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel are all expected to be rested from the match.
It should have the Wallabies and Kiss licking his lips despite the issues at fly-half in the absence of Carter Gordon.
Although the Wallabies won’t say the Springboks are vulnerable, they should be – especially after a brutal and four-Test fatiguing series against the All Blacks where the physicality was a step up from anything we’ve seen on the international stage this year.
Suck it up
A couple of months ago, Italy’s Argentine coach Gonzalo Quesada was banned for questioning officials following their 47-17 loss to the All Blacks.
Quesada took aim at referee Luc Ramos, describing the referee’s performance as “super poor”.
“The score is a bit responsibility of the refereeing team… they did a lot of mistakes today,” Quesada said post-match.
It wasn’t long before Quesada was hit with a two-game fine for his comments.
Now, the pressure will be on for World Rugby to act once again, after the All Blacks’ Neil Barnes said the Springboks had been awarded penalties for “bugger all”.
Barnes continued by saying the Springboks kept on getting the “rub of the green”.
In reality though, the All Blacks shot themselves in the foot with some poor discipline and it’s time they admitted they weren’t good enough to win the big moments across the series.
Instead of whinging, they should focus on themselves and where they struggled – the scrum, defensive lineout pressure, the battle of the air and collisions, and their lack of discipline.
The most obvious case of that was Tupou Vaa’i hanging onto the ankle of Cameron Hanekom in the 69th minute when the All Blacks were deep in the Springboks’ red zone and trailing 29-21 after Ethan Blackadder’s try.
While Vaa’i was rightly criticised for the careless and needless moment, ill-discipline was an aspect that haunted Dave Rennie’s tenure as Wallabies coach with the men in gold the least disciplined side on the planet in 2022.
Veteran Aussie Super sides should snap up
His game wasn’t faultless but Kurtley Beale showed that he’s no spent force during his side’s last-gasp win over the Reds on Saturday.
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Beale played a strong role off the bench in the 29-28 win, unlocking his men out wide ahead of their penultimate try that gave the Force a sniff.
It’s understood Beale is currently sitting on a new contract extension with the Western Force.
But given the Force have also signed James O’Connor, how much will Beale feature for Simon Cron’s men when Donaldson and McLaughlin-Phillips are featuring in the Super Rugby season?
Plus, the Reds are in desperate need of another experienced option to cover flyhalf and fullback after losing Campbell, McLaughlin-Phillips and Ben Volavola.
The Reds had hoped that they would have enough depth, especially with Finn Mackay rising through the ranks, but the prodigious talent suffered an ACL injury last month.
The Waratahs also need another midfield option despite luring NRL star Angus Crichton to the Super Rugby franchise.
Beale could help unlock Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii in much the same way he combined spectacularly with Israel Folau.
Throw in Beale’s relationship with Michael Cheika, and could the stars align?
