Wallabies coach-in-waiting Les Kiss has thrown down the gauntlet to Zac Lomax, insisting the incoming cross-code flyer will not have a safe passage to a Test jumper, given the logjam of wingers battling in Australian rugby.
Lomax’s high-profile exit from the NRL, after being unable to secure a release from his Parramatta Eels contract through court, was sealed this week when he inked a two-year deal with the Western Force, thrusting him into contention for the 2027 Rugby World Cup on home soil.
His Australian ascent will be obstructed by the talent congestion on the wing, should the Force deem to put him there, with Max Jorgensen, Andrew Kellaway, Dylan Pietsch, Harry Potter, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Filipo Daugunu and Tim Ryan just some of the options.
Wallabies coach-in-waiting Les Kiss (right) insists Zac Lomax (left) will have to prove his worth amid a logjam of outside back options in Australian rugby. Credit: Nine/Getty
But Kiss, who will take the Wallabies’ reins after the Super Rugby Pacific campaign, believes the 26-year-old will need to prove himself through performance, rather than be immediately ushered into the international fold, in the same way Sydney Rooster-turned-Waratah Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii did.
The Queensland Reds honcho established his own career as a winger in rugby league, playing 100 games for the North Sydney Bears and four caps for the Maroons and Kangaroos, and said Lomax would need to pick up rugby union’s intricacies quickly if he were to unseat the outside backs vying for Test contention.
“Anyone who wants to come into our game, they’re going to have to earn their corn. Zac’s already said he’s willing to work hard for it,” Kiss said.
“If they make the decision, they’ve got to work hard for whatever they get out of this game. It’s the same for anything – you have to work hard and be diligent, and you get what you deserve out of any venture you go on.
“We’ve got good talent, and it’s coming through – not just in the Super Rugby at the moment, but there are a lot of good young boys coming through. It’s a different skill set and different bodies, there are whole variations of differences in the game, that’s why I back these young guys in our game.”
Two of those blossoming prospects will go head-to-head on Saturday night when the Reds clash with the Waratahs at Suncorp Stadium, with Queensland speedster Tim Ryan eager to stand out above Wallabies sensation Max Jorgensen.
It was Jorgensen who masterminded New South Wales’ 36-12 triumph of the Reds in round one – scoring twice and running for 99 metres, in what has been an eye-catching launch to his campaign.
The 21-year-old boasts six tries this season (second in the competition), and has made more clean breaks than any Australian rugby player in 2026.
Kiss stressed the kicking game of Reds five-eighth Carter Gordon would be a key to limiting Jorgensen’s influence, suggesting it would take a combination of kicking away from him and pinning him deep into his own corner.
“We’re going to have to make sure we keep space at a minimum for him. You give him space, and he’s dangerous, so we’re going to have to be strong in our defence around the edges, and if our kicking game is loose, he’ll use that space very well,” Kiss said.
“He’s a dangerous proposition for sure, so we need to be very accurate with what we do with our kicking game, our chase needs to be strong, our one-on-one tackles in the middle of the field need to be strong so we can load our defence and not offer him the space he does revel in.”
But Kiss also backed Ryan, who was rested from last week’s 34-31 defeat of the Brumbies in Canberra, to rise to the occasion of matching it with Australia’s leading winger.
After the 22-year-old burst out of the blocks in his 2024 debut season, scoring two hat-tricks, he was brought back to earth last year, but produced one of his most complete performances against the Highlanders two weeks ago – scoring a try, setting up another, and laying the foundation for a third through a scything run.
“Timmy’s in a good space for sure. Every session I see something grow out of him … I think he’s just going to come out of the ground even further over the next few weeks,” Kiss said.
The Reds will still be without Wallabies duo Hunter Paisami (lower limb) and Tom Lynagh (hamstring), while 11-Test Wallaby Josh Nasser will also start at hooker, fresh from announcing a two-year contract extension with Queensland and declaring he never entertained other offers.
“I’m a Queenslander through and through, with the lads we’ve got here, we’re brewing something pretty special,” Nasser said.
“There was no real other option for me.”
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