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The three selections that reveal how Les Kiss’ Wallabies will play
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The fact that everyone in Australian rugby knew has now been acted upon; Lukhan Salakaia-Loto is an important part of the Wallabies puzzle.
LSL’s selection is a key indicator that Les Kiss, the Wallabies’ new head coach, sees Test rugby differently to his predecessor and former mentor, Joe Schmidt.
The Wallabies don’t have the luxury to ignore their most experienced Test lock, nor should they ever have been stubborn enough to omit one of the form, if not the form lock in Super Rugby Pacific.
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The hulking lock told the ‘What a Lad podcast’ with James Marshall that he played heavier in 2026, and that it was an intentional ploy to be more assertive on the field.
“136kgs-138kgs, I’m still getting up in the air quite fast, I believe… if I can still be heavy and still play bully-ball, but also be a lineout option, then that’s where I want to be,” LSL told the What a Lad Podcast.
“As long as I can still jump in the lineout, I’m happy.”
There is plenty to read into these comments.
First, Lukhan is, in fact, 11 kg heavier than he is listed as on many databases; it’s something that has been suspected this year as he pinballed the likes of All Blacks lock Patrick Tuipulotu during Super Round in April.
Secondly, the repeated insistence that he wants to be a lineout option and can get up in the air “quick”.
LSL’s omission from Schmidt’s final squad in the Nations Championship was to an extent grounded in LSL’s less mobile, ‘slower’ lineout ability.
Although he is the heaviest lock in Australian Super Rugby, he is also one of the best one-hand catchers in a lineout, and that should’ve offset any misgivings about his speed to an extent.
This little deep dive into LSL’s selection woes under Schmidt allows us to understand just how differently Kiss sees the Test match landscape.
Kiss relied on the power and brunt of Lukhan and Seru Uru, alongside Harry Wilson, for much of the Queensland Reds’ campaign in 2026.
It is now clear that Kiss believes in “bully-ball” at the Test level as well, and sees players who can give him gainline, post-contact metres, and dominant hits on either side of the ball on their own as huge assets in his side.
This way of thinking is not new, nor revolutionary, as France, South Africa, and more recently New Zealand have been leaning this way for some time.
It nonetheless deviates from the premium Schmidt placed on work rate and skills, and it also leans into the trend of the modern game, which is that attacking rugby is the way to win.
This is a slight deviation from Schmidt’s philosophy of accuracy, efficiency, and work rate over raw power. The reason for it being a ‘slight’ deviation is that Schmidt obviously turned to the biggest lock Australia has at its disposal, Will Skelton, whenever he was available and injury-free.
The important distinction to note between LSL and Skelton remains game nous, a shrewd understanding about how to best use one’s heft to cause as much havoc for the opposition as possible.
Something which Schmidt appears to have ignored, however, is that the gap in this ability has rapidly narrowed over his tenure, and now LSL is very much capable of causing the same discord as Skelton.
Lukhan is only one of the picks that indicate Kiss’s ambition to bully sides up the middle and to ensure he has plenty of weapons to generate front-foot ball whenever, wherever it is needed.
The retention of massive Waratahs and one-cap Test lock Miles Amatosero is a clear sign that Kiss wants size and presence, as well as enforcers in his front line.
“I am very focused on that… we strengthen our tight-head locks, Miles has had a chance… that looks good. Jeremy (Williams), he can definitely play there. Lukhan, he is a big, powerful figure,” Kiss told reporters at Allianz Stadium in Sydney.
While many people often downplay the difference between the tighthead and loosehead lock and, to a greater extent, the left and right wing, it is telling again that Kiss is so specific about this role.
Kiss likely acknowledges, like many Australians do, that the Wallabies are light on bullies, enforcers, and genuine hardmen.
Kiss is nothing if not feisty, intense, and extremely proud to be Australian.
“We’re a good, innovative-thinking playing team; let’s play with our spirit.
“The other thing that’s important that comes through when we (Australians) are in the backyard, on the beaches, as kids, as we grow up, we are competitive.
“We go very hard at the contact, we fight for every inch, and we just want those qualities to come through. When they are on the tryline, these boys will defend it with their lives.”
These sorts of comments, this sort of mindset, and narrative-building are perhaps what some true-blue supporters, rightly or wrongly, felt was missing in the Wallabies’ DNA under Schmidt.
However, Kiss, having spent years under Schmidt’s tutelage, will be an excellent mixture of fire and ice and his wider selections reflect this.
Isaac Aedo-Kailea is another of these picks, which indicates this preference for power as well as skill, not just skill. The 26-year-old NSW Waratah was playing second fiddle to regular starter Tom Lambert, who has now moved to the Reds.
Kailea was the biggest surprise of the entire squad, not only because he started so few games, but because he had not been sighted in the Test setup for some time.
Nevertheless, his selection is another indicator that Kiss prefers attacking threats, heft, and power above raw fundamentals. At 190cm and 129kg, Kailea is a bit taller and a fair bit heavier than Lambert, and his strongest attributes are his footwork into contact and his ability to whack in defence.
It is also evident that with no James Slipper, the loosehead prop stocks lack a genuine world-class scrummager, with Angus Bell getting folded a few times by the Italians in Perth.
Aidan Ross is the third member of the LHP group, and he is yet to properly convince of his value at Test level, but he will undoubtedly get his shot in the next two Tests.
Finally, the one uncapped player Kiss has chosen is Isaac Henry from the Reds.
The 27-year-old has had more injuries than most, but that has not stopped this extremely powerful centre from finally being selected in a Test squad. Henry can play inside and outside centre and has a working partnership with Hunter Paisami, so do not be surprised to see those two named alongside each other at some point or another.
Where Kiss could’ve turned to Hamish Stewart at the Western Force, who has one of the best defensive games as well as a diverse playmaking skillset, or the ‘Romanian Rumbler’ David Feliuai down at the Brumbies for his power, Kiss has opted for Henry.
This is again another indicator that Kiss evidently places a premium on power and brawn, but it also shows, like his old mentor Schmidt, that he does value multi-dimensional and skilful athletes.
Henry can ball play, cover both centre positions and wing.
Centre is not necessarily where Australia lacks players who can or who have played in the positions, but there has been very little continuity outside Len Ikitau and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii.
Paisami, Izaia Perese, and Samu Kerevi are all similar athletes with varied skillsets; Paisami remains the most well-rounded and was previously the only one who had stayed in Australia, while Kerevi at 50-caps remains the most experienced by some distance.
Now Perese is back at the Reds and Paisami is off to Japan, which is why Henry is needed in the fold, and his development will be exciting to watch.
While Kiss has retained a bulk of Schmidt’s squad from the Nations Championship that has just gone by, these slight deviations have made his intentions for the team clear.
The conservatism in his picks also allows him wiggle room at the selection table, as well as what positions he shifts certain players to later in the season.
Kiss will “persist” with Suaalii at No.13 “at this stage” but admits his athletic build can be used at fullback or wing.
In all likelihood, if a shift is to take place, it would be once Ikitau comes back from a small ankle operation, which should keep him out for a few weeks at most.
While the media have not yet been able to ask Kiss and his assistants about their specific game plan or strategy for defence, attack, and kicking, these selections in of themselves reveal a fair bit.
Also, anyone who has watched the Reds under Kiss’s tenure with the club will know that he likes to bash down the front door before giving it to his backs for a swinging backline play.
So while Schmidt wanted to see several rucks set and a set pod structure, Kiss and his men are expected to apply a more free-flowing formula focused on north-south running, brutality in the collision, and speed to finish on the edges.
The naming of Kiss’s first Wallabies squad picks up on the momentum of the Wallabies’ win in Perth against Italy last weekend; now it is Les’ job to keep it growing. Easier said than done, as Schmidt found out.
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