Ben Donaldson will start at flyhalf for Australia in Saturday's second Test against Argentina in Mendoza, marking his first Test start in two years. The Wallabies remain no closer to finding their World Cup No 10, with Carter Gordon relegated to the bench despite being fit to play.
Donaldson, who will partner scrumhalf Ryan Lonergan, last started for the Wallabies in the 67-27 defeat to Argentina in the second Test of the 2024 tour. Since then, Noah Lolesio, Tom Lynagh, James O'Connor, Tane Edmed, Declan Meredith and Gordon have all been given the run-on assignment.
Kiss explains selection
Coach Les Kiss was careful in his language around Gordon's non-selection, who suffered a facial injury during last week's win in Jujuy but is healthy enough to start from the bench. "From the outset, we wanted to make sure we saw the 10s, all of them, in some form," Kiss said. "He's had a great season, Donno [Donaldson], we felt it was just an opportunity to make sure he just feels Test rugby again as we move into the rest of the season."
Kiss said this weekend would be valuable experience for Donaldson, but he was also clear in saying he wanted to find consistency in the position leading into next year. "The three 10s that are here, they've been very good all year, they've been exceptionally good in camp here and they've all had an opportunity to contribute on and off the pitch," he said. "So if we come up to a big game suddenly later down the year and someone hasn't played a Test match for a while, we just felt it was the right time to do something there as well. Thinking forward, we definitely start to narrow down our options for sure."
Gordon's form under scrutiny
Outside Lonergan, who will start his seventh consecutive match, Gordon still looks like the man most likely to be named flyhalf for next year's World Cup. His early return from rugby league was engineered by Rugby Australia and he has produced some promising moments back in gold. Kiss was critical of his play, however, late in last week's first Test which ended in a victory 27-21 without the Wallabies being able to put the game away.
Gordon made a series of questionable decisions late in the match last week, choosing an ineffective midfield grubber and also kicking dead when looking for territory. But he was not the only one at fault. Finishing scrumhalf Tate McDermott – replaced on the bench this week by his Reds teammate Kalani Thomas – had one box kick charged down, and failed to find touch with another that left the Wallabies exposed.
"Sometimes it's a kick execution that's letting us down, as you would have noticed on the weekend a few times," Kiss said. "But just working on that execution in alignment with the decision [making] is something we're working on."
Team changes and new culture
There are more changes elsewhere, with Len Ikitau and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii returning as the midfield pair, and winger Filipo Daugunu preferred to Harry Potter, who was yellow-carded last week. In the back row, captain Harry Wilson returns at No 8, with Tom Hooper rested and Rob Valetini moving to blindside flanker, while Taniela Tupou, Billy Pollard and Angus Bell start in the front row.
Pollard said the environment has changed since Kiss took over as coach from Joe Schmidt, and the players feel trusted to back their instincts. "Not second guess yourself, not hesitating if you see a gap or you see a shot you can put on or whatever it may be, just to not hesitate," he said. "Then away from the field, just to connect with your teammates, go out and do stuff. We're ultimately always here to play footy and to win. But at the same time, if you can, on your day off, maybe enjoy some something, do a bit of sightseeing, he's all for that too. And that just gets that really nice balance that makes you refreshed to go again for the training the next day."
Despite the pressures of travel in the Kiss era – from Osaka, to Townsville, to Jujuy and now Mendoza – the coach believes this has been an important period for the team, as well as the new coaching staff, and has largely gone to plan. "You're away together, you form relationships tighter, so it's been a great chance to bond," Kiss said. "The word I've used is evolution and just resetting the cultural, I guess, direction, and make sure we're all happy with it and create a new 'us' in a way, that's going forward for the rest of this season."
