Australia’s newly appointed men’s national rugby union head coach Les Kiss has revealed his first 34-player squad ahead of the Wallabies’ upcoming two-test home-and-away series against Japan, making only minimal changes to the team’s recent roster after the side finished the inaugural Nations Championship with one win and two losses. The announcement, made publicly on Thursday, only includes one uncapped rookie — center Isaac Henry — and notably omits veteran prop James Slipper, Australia’s most-capped men’s international rugby player, who just made his return to top-tier international play in the Nations Championship just weeks ago. Taking Slipper’s place as an option at the loosehead prop position is newcomer Isaac Kailea, one of just two fresh faces to earn a call-up alongside lock/back row Lukhan Salakaia-Loto. In a statement following the squad announcement, Kiss framed selection as a consistently difficult process, noting that the coaching group built this roster around three core pillars: current on-field form, team cohesion, and alignment with the new coaching staff’s strategic playing style. The two tests against Japan will kick off in Osaka on August 8, with the second fixture scheduled one week later in Townsville, Queensland. Two regular squad members — center Len Ikitau and back row Tom Hooper — were ruled out of selection due to lingering ankle and shoulder injuries respectively. No. 8 Harry Wilson has been tapped to lead the squad as captain for the series. The roster is split between 19 forward players and 15 backs, who are set to gather for a pre-series training camp in Sydney next week before departing for Japan on August 1. The Japan series comes just after the Wallabies wrapped up their Nations Championship campaign over the past three weekends. Australia opened the tournament with back-to-back home losses: falling to Ireland in Sydney, then dropping a match to France in Brisbane, before closing out with a victory over Italy in Perth, Western Australia. That Perth test marked the final match in charge for former head coach Joe Schmidt, who had originally planned to step down from his role last October. Schmidt agreed to extend his tenure to allow Kiss to finish out his contract as head coach of the Brisbane-based Queensland Reds in the Super Rugby competition before taking over the Wallabies post. Kiss’s contract will run through the 2027 Rugby World Cup, which Australia is set to host. The full 34-player squad called up for the Japan series is as follows: Forwards: Allan Ala’alatoa, Miles Amatosero, Angus Bell, Charlie Cale, Josh Canham, Isaac Kailea, Fraser McReight, Josh Nasser, Zane Nonggorr, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Billy Pollard, Aidan Ross, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Lachlan Shaw, Carlo Tizzano, Taniela Tupou, Rob Valetini, Jeremy Williams, Harry Wilson (captain). Backs: Jock Campbell, Filipo Daugunu, Ben Donaldson, Carter Gordon, Isaac Henry, Max Jorgensen, Ryan Lonergan, Tate McDermott, Declan Meredith, Hunter Paisami, Dylan Pietsch, Harry Potter, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Kalani Thomas, Tom Wright.
New Wallabies coach Les Kiss announces his first squad for rugby test series against Japan
