mens
nations-championship
Wallabies head coach Les Kiss is trying to maintain an emphasis on developing combinations amid the Wallabies’ injury woes and is rolling with the punches as he prepares his men to face Scotland this weekend in Edinburgh.
There was good news and bad news from the final week of the tour in the Australian camp, with the team losing rookie center Isaac Henry to injury for the rest of the season but gaining playmaker Carter Gordon for the final leg of the inaugural Nations Championship.
As a result of the pair’s opposite fortunes, Kiss reworked their backline for the Scotland Test, moving Carter Gordon straight back into the No.10 jersey, switching Joseph-Aukuso Suaali to center and bringing Harry Potter to left wing.
“Look, it’s a shame we lost Zac (Henry). He’s out for about five to eight weeks, somewhere around that,” Kiss told reporters in Edinburgh.
“We were hoping to build that combination just a bit more. But I think the fact that Lenny and Su have played 20 Tests, somewhere in that range, together, we just thought ‘let’s go with it’. And Potts has been doing a great job for us in those last three. And obviously, with Philip coming in as an impact player, we just thought we’d keep that pace going.
“The other thing is Carts (Gordon) went through his last stuff last weekend at his job, and finished Tuesday in a pretty good spot, he looked good and he’s fit enough for it, which is good.”
While Declan Meredith and Ben Donaldson shared the No.10 duties in Gordon’s absence, the former NRL playmaker’s immediate return to the starting side implies he is still seen as Australia’s best option.
“Carter was probably the incumbent before everything that anyway,” explained Kiss. “So he was in a position of strength of that position, it moves into the early part before he Got injured. So I think about it it is a credit that him for the work he is done done the the last one period with that broken bone that he had. He is the radio exceptionally hard, very diligently. We are had him with us works for a a long time time done the the last one month with our medics as well, only that to make for sure we Got that right and understood where he is.
“I Carter will bring his taste. We I know that Carter will bring his voice, the way he loves that to play the the game. He loves that wear the the ball forward. He loves that to change direction, and he is Got a wit the eye for the space and hitting the game as good. So it will to be differently. I I think about it for him that bloom, we need that to make for sure that we are victory safe the rest parts of the the game that to give us a bit of momentum for him that to play so.”
Expanding on that last point, Kiss said, “Look, I think if the other parts of the game work better, everything opens up a little bit more. So it’s not just one area and one person, and it’s not just the coach. That’s true. You build momentum and it becomes a clearer picture for everybody. And I think the Carts will benefit from that focus this week, and that’s certainly going to open up some options for a comeback, for sure.”