Ben Donaldson will be given a rare chance to stake a claim as Australia’s flyhalf in his first start in two years
The Wallabies are no closer to finding their World Cup No 10 after Carter Gordon was relegated to the bench despite being fit to play against Argentina in Mendoza on Saturday (Sunday AEST). Instead, Ben Donaldson has been given another chance to impress at flyhalf – his first start in two years – outside the now-established run on scrumhalf Ryan Lonergan.
It is clear the No 10 jersey is up for grabs, even if coach Les Kiss was careful in his choice of language around the non-selection of Gordon, 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.”
Donaldson’s elevation marks his first start for the Wallabies since the 67-27 drubbing by Argentina in the second Test of the tour in 2024. Since then, Noah Lolesio, Tom Lynagh, James O’Connor, Tane Edmed, Declan Meredith and Gordon have all been given the run-on assignment. 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.”
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.
In describing how his first three matches have largely gone to plan, the coach said there was improvement required in some areas. “Possibly our game management or kicking game has probably just been a little bit awry at times, but certainly would like that to step up again,” he said.
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.”
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.”
Australia team: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Filipo Daugunu, 10 Ben Donaldson, 9 Ryan Lonergan; 8 Harry Wilson, 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Jeremy Williams, 4 Josh Canham, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Billy Pollard, 1 Angus Bell. Replacements: 16 Josh Nasser, 17 Aidan Ross, 18 Massimo De Lutiis, 19 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 20 Charlie Cale, 21 Kalani Thomas, 22 Carter Gordon, 23 Isaac Henry.
