Outgoing Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt has said that his successor, Les Kiss, will be afforded a lot of influence in squad selection for the upcoming Nations Championship in July.
Schmidt will be in charge for the three home games in the Nations Championship against Ireland, France and Italy. The new coach will observe preparations for the France and Italy games. Kiss will then take over from Schmidt for the build up to the home World Cup next year.
Schmidt stressed that his coaching and selection style had always been collaborative. He said “I’ll definitely involve Les in anything selection-wise. It’s very much a collective, and on the back of that, I’ll run things past Les and there’s a little bit of influence he can have.”
Terrible form in 2025
Australia were beaten 2-1 by the British and Irish Lions last year. They showed promise in morale boosting wins over South Africa and Argentina. However, they then limped through the rest of the season, finished with a 5-10 record in 2025.
Tom Lynagh is a player that Schmidt and Kiss are keen on selecting. He is out of contract at the end of the season. The 23-y-o wouldn’t be available for selection, under current Rugby Australia rules, should he decide to play overseas. Lynagh has only played 18 minutes for the Reds this season due to various leg injuries and illness.
Schmidt said “He’s going to need some sort of game time, but it doesn’t have to be a whole heap, and Tate (McDermott) is another guy in a similar situation. They have a known value. He’s seen there’s a fair bit of confidence shown in him, and he’s pretty keen to be involved with the Wallabies. And under current rules if he did go offshore, he wouldn’t really be accessible to us. He could get another couple of years under his belt (in Australia) and then, if he did choose to go offshore, he’d still be (eligible).”
Selection headaches
Kiss mentioned that NRL recruit Zac Lomax, who has played twice for Western Force, was also in the reckoning for the July tests. However, Schmidt also mentioned 11 other names, including Dylan Pietsch and Lachie Anderson, who hasn’t played since March due a wrist injury.
Schmidt said “There’s lots of good wingers, and just because we don’t pick them, it doesn’t mean we’re not talking to them.” He mentioned Jordan Petaia, who has flourished playing for Perpignan after being waived by the LA Chargers in the NFL.
Schmidt said ” I speak to Jordy Petaia a bit, he’s looked really good. He’s playing big at the moment. Jordy came in as a kid, who was always quite lean. But now he’s playing with a bit more authority.”
Schmidt also spoke to veteran fly-halves James O’Connor (Leicester) and Bernard Foley (Kubota). Both are off contract and have been linked to Super Rugby returns. He said “A lot more of that will be for Les to answer,” ruling out those two playing in any of his last three tests in charge.
