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Kiss Names Reworked Wallabies XV for Osaka, Hands Two Players First Test Starts

He has reshaped the XV to test squad depth, using the Osaka Test to evaluate combinations with about 14 months until the home Rugby World Cup.

Overview

  • Les Kiss named his first matchday 23 for the Wallabies on Thursday, making nine changes to the squad that beat Italy and announcing a reworked starting XV for the Osaka Test.
  • Miles Amatosero and Aidan Ross received their first Test starts while Queensland centre Isaac Henry was named on the bench as the only uncapped player who could debut.
  • Kiss kept rookie Declan Meredith at flyhalf to continue the Lonergan‑Meredith pairing and left Ben Donaldson as a playmaking replacement on the bench.
  • Selection choices shifted heavily in the pack with returns for hooker Josh Nasser and flanker Fraser McReight, and several experienced forwards held for impact from the bench.
  • Kiss said the two‑Test series versus Eddie Jones' Japan is a live trial to build depth and combinations ahead of next year's home Rugby World Cup with heat and humidity in Osaka shaping a bench‑heavy game plan.