Wallabies hunt for response at Accor Stadium after 50-19 Eden Park defeat
The Wallabies will attempt to rebuild confidence when they meet the All Blacks in the return Bledisloe Cup test at Accor Stadium in Sydney on Saturday, following a 50-19 loss in Auckland last week.
Saturday’s fixture is the centerpiece of the first quadruple header at Accor Stadium, an afternoon that begins with the Wallaroos against Scotland and includes two sevens matches — the men’s Fiji side and New Zealand’s women. Last week in Eden Park Australia led 17-14 at half-time but collapsed to a 50-19 defeat, the ninth time the men’s XV have conceded a half-century, and the result extended New Zealand’s winning streak over Australia to 12 Tests, denting the momentum built under coach Les Kiss.
Les Kiss faces selection instability at fly-half after a run of injuries. Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, 22, is expected to come off the bench to make his debut as Wallaby No 1,001 and serve as deputy, after Ben Donaldson suffered a quad niggle that means Declan Meredith will wear No 10. Carter Gordon is sidelined with a broken leg and Tom Lynagh has sustained a new knee issue that rules him out of the Australia A tour of the US; McLaughlin-Phillips will join Tane Edmed on that tour.
Kiss traced the disruption at pivot back to Noah Lolesio’s neck injury sustained against Fiji in Newcastle last year, and noted Lolesio’s prospects are complicated by club commitments in Aichi, where his club compete in the second division and the season does not start for two months. The coach has emphasised the cumulative effect of those absences on selection and continuity.
The All Blacks, whose third-choice fly-half Damian McKenzie was instrumental in their Eden Park victory, have named eight changes to their 23 for the Sydney match but only three to the starting XV, one of which is injury-related. Timoci Tavatavanawai is likely to be available off the bench behind midfield starters Quinn Tupaea and Jordie Barrett, a combination that poses a stern assignment for Australia’s makeshift midfield of Isaac Henry and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii after Len Ikitau’s injury and Hunter Paisami’s suspension.
Kiss said he has spoken to Kurtley Beale multiple times this week and listed other experienced options. “He knows the role that he’s got, and we’ve also got James O’Connor as well sitting there, [Bernard] Foley,” he said. “Those boys have been through the mill. We know what we can expect from them, they know what to expect from this environment. The other boys get a great chance just to learn what it’s all about.”
Defending the selection of Meredith after his brief appearance for the final 13 minutes in Auckland and his omission in August, Kiss said: “This is an opportunity for other guys to be feeling it, tasting what Test rugby is about,” and added, “Declan is serving the team in a big way on and off the field and doing a good job for us. [It’s a] great opportunity for him to grow again, that’s how we’re seeing it.” He also acknowledged the pairing of Henry and Suaalii will be difficult to synchronise. “We’re not afraid of these challenges in this [match],” he said. “We need to be able to lean into it, explore what this looks like and smells like.”
The All Blacks have already secured the Bledisloe Cup for another year; Australia’s immediate task is the return test at Accor Stadium on Saturday, while Tom Lynagh will miss the upcoming Australia A tour of the US and replacements including McLaughlin-Phillips and Tane Edmed will travel instead.