Coach Les Kiss has left out captain Harry Wilson and high-profile recruit Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii from the Wallabies XV to play Argentina in Jujuy this weekend as he seeks to develop more depth in the squad ahead of next year’s World Cup.
Tighthead prop Allan Alaalatoa will captain the side for the sixth time in the absence of Wilson who, having been rested entirely, will be replaced in the starting line-up at No 8 by Rob Valetini.
The entire forward pack has been rotated following the 56-17 victory over Japan in Townsville two weeks ago, and prop Isaac Kailea comes in to play his first Test since 2024.
Kiss said he and his staff have “tried to find out how deep we can go in each position” in the front row, while they have “reshaped” the pack this weekend because they think it’s “worthwhile exploring”.
“It may not seem like order from you what you’re seeing, but it’s making sense internally with the players in particular why we’re doing those things,” he said.
There is stability in the backline, however, with Ryan Lonergan again partnering Carter Gordon in the halves, and the back three of Max Jorgensen, Harry Potter and Tom Wright starting for a fourth straight match.
The centre pairing of Hunter Paisami and Isaac Henry has also been retained, meaning Suaalii – who has recovered from a minor hamstring strain – will start from the bench.
“We feel that there’s an opportunity to just maintain some continuity in that midfield that we did [have] with Carter [Gordon] and Lonners [Lonergan] there, and the back three, just to keep that in its right place and then utilise Joseph in any way that we wish from that position in terms of the positions he can cover,” Kiss said.
“Likely 13 at this stage is the position he’ll cover, because we know Zac [Isaac Henry] can go to 12 if we need to as well, so that’s just trying to use our resources in different ways.”
Wright said he did not have any preference about where he would like to see Suaalii come on and play. “I think you guys, the external guys [the media], all of you are entitled to your opinion, and well, I’ll leave you guys to have exactly that.”
The fullback added, however, that he understood why there was such a focus on the rugby league import. “He’s obviously one of the bigger names in all of world rugby, arguably, he’s always going to be a talking point,” he said.
“From my perspective, as one of his teammates in all five, six of the Tests that we’ve had this year, I think he’s been awesome for us. He works extremely hard during the week and he’s one of the most professional guys I’ve trained and played with.
“So I probably see the other side of all the work that he puts into his game each week and the effect that he has on us as a team and all of his teammates.”
Australia team: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Isaac Henry, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Harry Potter, 10 Carter Gordon, 9 Ryan Lonergan; 8 Rob Valetini, 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Tom Hooper, 5 Jeremy Williams, 4 Josh Canham, 3 Allan Alaalatoa (captain), 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1 Isaac Kailea. Replacements: 16 Billy Pollard, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Massimo de Lutiis, 19 Lachlan Shaw, 20 Charlie Cale, 21Tate McDermott, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii.
