Lomax still in Wallabies World Cup selection frame
Will Nicholas |
Zac Lomax will remain a crucial Rugby World Cup selection consideration for the Wallabies despite being about to desert the code, Les Kiss has confirmed.
The Wallabies coach was unfazed by news of the code-hopping winger doubling back to NRL to play for the PNG Chiefs in 2028.
Kiss said previously that Lomax at full throttle would put competitive pressure on an already souped-up Australian back line that would invigorate the squad in the months ahead.
And as he prepares for his maiden Test outing against Japan in Osaka next Saturday, the coach confirmed the thinking around the livewire winger had not changed.
“Competitive pressure in the right way makes everyone better,” Kiss told reporters in Sydney on Friday before their departure.
“He’s a pretty good footy player, he’s a pretty good athlete too. He’s hungry to try and do what he can in the game.”
The former St George Illawarra, Parramatta and NSW Origin talent is sidelined with a groin injury, but Kiss hoped to get some mileage out of him during the Super Rugby AUS tournament starting in September.
“He’s in the system,” Kiss said.
“He’s closer to being ready, and unleash him in Super AUS to get a few games and see where he is.
“I think he wants to find out where he is as well, and he’s going to go gung-ho for it.”
Lomax was still professing his dream to play for the Wallabies while in PNG this week to lock down his 2028 signing.
He declared his heart and soul was dedicated to rugby union and the task of getting fit in preparation for donning the gold jersey.
A utility back famed for his aerial prowess, Lomax faces stiff competition for a place in the Wallabies rear guard.
He will likely be jostling with starters Harry Potter, Dylan Pietsch, Filipo Daugunu and Max Jorgensen who have earned their stripes on the wing for Australia, while Mark Nawaqanitawase and Jordan Petaia will both push their cases in Japanese club rugby next season.
Angus Crichton, likely to play in the centres, will also cross codes next season which could shift current No.13 Joseph Aukuso-Suaalii into the backline and create a bigger log-jam for spots.
Kiss affirmed the abundance of talent was not a setback.
“It makes it hard to make selections there, which I need, I need it to be tough,” Kiss said on Friday.
“We’ve got a lot of good men in the back three, and if he gets better and better and puts pressure on those guys to be better, then I’m all for it.”
Kiss takes over a Wallabies team currently ranked eighth in the world that’s won just two of its last 11 Tests ahead of next year’s World Cup on home soil.
But skipper Harry Wilson, who played under Kiss at the Queensland Reds, insisted the men in gold were with the new coach all the way.
“We’re all buying in,” Wilson said.
“He’s had such good energy coming in, and you can see his excitement and passion for coaching his country.
“All the boys have loved that and they’ve really jumped on that passion.”
Kiss said flyhalf Carter Gordon, back in the squad after missing the last two Tests with a leg injury, had trained fully and would be available to face Japan.
AAP