Why the Wallabies can still ‘rattle some cages’ at Rugby World Cup 2027

Wallabies assistant coach Laurie Fisher believes the team has the potential to “rattle some cages” at Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 on home soil, with the Nations Championship shaping up as an important block of Tests.

Fisher will finish up with the Wallabies after the first three Nations Championship Tests, with the first fixture just over two weeks away. Australia hosts Ireland first up at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium, which has already sold out.

The Wallabies will also take on France in Brisbane and Italy in Perth, which will be the team’s final Tests under coach Joe Schmidt. That will close a chapter on a period of Wallabies history, before a new era under Les Kiss gets underway in August.

Ireland and France were both contenders for the 2026 Men’s Six Nations crown, and Italy have won their last two against the Aussies. But as Fisher explained, the Wallabies will be focusing on themselves as they continue to chase improvement.

“I think the Nations [Championship] is a fantastic opportunity for that. You get to play three Northern Hemisphere sides… it’s great preparation,” Fisher told reporters in Sydney.

“Every Test is a standalone Test and if you get that right then the next Test will take you closer.

“Without looking at the World Cup in 2027, if we get this training week right, next training week right, we get the game right and show progress, then we’ll satisfy ourselves that we can rattle some cages in 2027.

“I don’t think taking too long a term view is important because it’s the building blocks that take you where you need to go in 2027.”

With all four Australian teams out of the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific title race, the Wallabies have already begun to prepare for the international season. It’s been reported that around 40 players are involved in a training camp in Sydney this week.

The Wallabies have a head start ahead of the Nations Championship, with Fisher saying the team will sink their teeth into preparation for the Ireland Test next week. But the Aussies will need to make some team history if they are to get the job done against the Irish.

More than 46,000 fans packed Suncorp Stadium for Australia’s last win over Ireland, which was in June 2018. The Irish have been one of the world’s top teams for the last decade, which includes a run of five consecutive wins over the Wallabies.

The last meeting between the sides was in November, with Australian-born fullback Mack Hansen running in a first-half hat-trick in the 46-19 win. Italy, Ireland and France were the Wallabies’ final three opponents of 2025, and they’ll be the team’s first three rivals to start this season.

“We were disappointed with the backend of last year. I thought after promising performances against the Lions, we really had opportunities to win the second Test and be alive into the third Test,” Fisher said.

“I thought we started The Rugby Championship well. We were probably competitive in all games in The Rugby Championship and then we’re just disappointing on the end of season tour.

“Our last three games of 2025 become our first three games of 2026 and it’s an opportunity to really put a stake in the ground and say, rather than being at the backend of a 15 Test season we’re at the front end of a 14 Test season, fresh coming out of Super Rugby and it’s hugely important that we show what our capacities are.”