Wallabies beef up bench for Bledisloe Cup as star faces fitness test

Les Kiss has shifted star prop Angus Bell to the bench to ensure there is no second-half fade out in Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup rematch, but there is no room for electric halfback Tate McDermott.

The news came as it emerged that Carter Gordon – the Wallabies’ first-choice playmaker – will have a fitness test in the next 48 hours to determine if he will be available for the Nations Championship campaign next month.

Gordon fractured his fibula during the Wallabies’ agonising 28-all draw with the Pumas in Argentina last month. The injury was expected to keep the Queensland star out for up to two months.

Should the 25-year-old be declared fit, it is expected he will be one of three playmakers included in Kiss’ squad for the campaign. Uncapped Wallaby Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, who is in the squad to face the All Blacks, would then join Australia A for their two-match tour of the USA.

The Australia A squad – which includes former Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt as an assistant alongside head coach Stephen Larkham – gathered in Sydney on Wednesday and will fly to America this weekend.

Already some of the selections for Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup clash are being viewed as part of the bigger picture, despite the Wallabies hoping to snap their 12-match losing streak against the All Blacks.

Bell, the Wallabies’ world-class loose-head prop, will come off the bench, with Aidan Ross set to start against the nation he played a Test for in 2022.

The decision is set to give the Wallabies some strike power in the second half, having been smashed 50-19 despite trailing by just three points at half-time last week at Eden Park.

In the same way that Allan Alaalatoa’s minutes have been managed throughout 2026, the Wallabies’ hierarchy are keen to keep the destructive ball-carrier fresh given there’s another four Tests in the next seven weeks.

Bell is expected to be joined on the bench by lock Josh Canham, who returns from a hamstring injury, and flanker Carlo Tizzano.

Following Len Ikitau’s concussion, Kiss is also expected to shift Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii to the midfield to join Isaac Henry, and promote Harry Potter to the wing.

The other significant change is Kalani Thomas being included on the bench at the expense of McDermott, who struggled last week and has yet to find his best form since returning from a long-term hamstring injury.

While McDermott’s axing will raise eyebrows, his omission is tied to the fact that the experienced halfback, who captained the Wallabies against the All Blacks in 2023, could miss part of the November campaign as he awaits the birth of his first child, according to informed sources unable to speak publicly.

It is also why selectors are keen to give Thomas some game time despite being named in the Australia A squad on Monday. The halfback is likely to join the Wallabies on tour in November.

Rising Waratahs halfback Teddy Wilson was a notable omission from the Australia A squad, but the 23-year-old is set for a maiden call-up to the Wallabies squad instead.