Australia brace to take on South Africa at home

Wallabies coach Les Kiss has said Australia need to take a big step up in physicality and intensity when they play world champions South Africa in Perth this month.

Kiss named his squad for the Test on Monday, bringing in uncapped flyhalf Harry McLaughlin-Phillips in place of the injured Carter Gordon and recalling Jordan Petaia after three years in the Test wilderness.

Having watched the Springboks go hammer and tongs with the All Blacks over four Tests, Kiss said the world champions would offer a different level of challenge to the opposition in his first four matches in charge, Japan and Argentina.

Australia head coach Les Kiss waits for the start of the Rugby union Test match between Argentina and Australia in Argentina on August 29.

Photo: AFP

“The intensity and the physicality of the matches, we’re a little bit removed from that,” he told reporters in Canberra yesterday.

“Certainly, over the last four games, we’ve had some good, intense matches but we’re certainly stepping up another level when we come up against Springboks in a fortnight,” Kiss said. “We’re aware of that. We know we have to be better in certain areas, and we’re working hard to make sure we can improve in that. But, look, they’re in our backyard, so we’ll be up for the fight.”

Kiss said 22-year-old McLaughlin-Phillips had earned his call-up as a replacement for Carter, who fractured his leg in the 28-28 draw with Argentina last week that kept the Wallabies unbeaten in five Tests.

Veterans James O’Connor and Bernard Foley, along with Noah Lolesio, had been touted as possible flyhalf options given the lack of experience in the playmaker role in the squad.

“We did our due diligence, that’s for sure, and it landed that Harry had earned this right, and he’s waiting on our doorstep,” Kiss added. “These younger guys, we’re trying to make sure we get them upskilled, get them to understand how they can lead the game and drive it forward.”

“And we know that we can always lean back into the experience if we need to,” he added.

Outside back Petaia won the first of his 31 caps as a teenager at the 2019 World Cup and was last included in the Wallabies squad for the 2023 edition before moving abroad and having a crack at making it in the NFL.

“We just wanted to have a touch base with him,” Kiss said of the 26-year-old, who after his NFL stint played for a season for USA Perpignan in France before joining Japanese club Urayasu D-Rocks.

“There’s a lot of good back three players in our country at the moment that are playing here. Jordy being a bit further away in France recently, we just felt it was an opportunity to bring him in and have a good look at him.”

The Wallabies face South Africa on September 27 before home-and-away Tests against the All Blacks in October.