Overview
- The Wallabies assembled in Sydney and began full preparations under Les Kiss, who addressed the squad on Tuesday and will lead first full training sessions this week.
- Kiss has signalled a shift to a more expansive attacking game that uses greater width and a collaborative coaching structure rather than copying Joe Schmidt’s tight approach.
- Scott McLeod has been installed as defence coach to replace Laurie Fisher with an explicit focus on defensive tweaks around the ruck and regaining possession.
- Kiss’s initial squad includes recalled players such as Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and prop Isaac Kailea as he tests front-row depth and rotation ahead of match selection.
- Two Tests with Eddie Jones’s Japan — August 8 in Osaka and a return match in Townsville a week later — are being framed as the first practical assessment on the path to a busy Test schedule before the 2027 World Cup.