{"id":835283,"date":"2026-07-31T08:50:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T08:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/835283\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T08:50:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T08:50:38","slug":"zac-lomax-wallabies-coach-les-kiss-supports-wingers-world-cup-ambitions-despite-future-png-chiefs-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/835283\/","title":{"rendered":"Zac Lomax: Wallabies coach Les Kiss supports winger\u2019s World Cup ambitions despite future PNG Chiefs move"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Zac Lomax\u2019s impending return to rugby league with the PNG Chiefs in 2028<\/a> will not hurt his chances of playing for the Wallabies and making the Rugby World Cup squad next year, according to new coach Les Kiss.<\/p>\n

If anyone understands a rugby league winger with ambition to be a success in rugby, it\u2019s Kiss, the former Bears and Kangaroos flyer who last week took over as Wallabies coach.<\/a><\/p>\n

Since moving into rugby coaching in 2001, Kiss says he has now been in the 15-man game longer than he was in league \u2013 but in a nice twist, the Wallabies began training under their new coach this week at North Sydney Oval, where Kiss scored many of his tries over a 100-game career.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a bit surreal,\u201d Kiss said. \u201cIt was nice to be there at the oval and look at the fig tree. Some memories come flooding back, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kiss and the Wallabies will fly to Japan on Saturday ahead a Test match against Eddie Jones\u2019 Japan on August 8 in sweltering Osaka.<\/p>\n

One player who won\u2019t be on the plane is Lomax, who was floated as a potential Wallabies bolter this winter after switching codes in March but is currently sidelined with a groin injury. Lomax signed a deal with the Western Force and Rugby Australia through to the end of 2027, with the goal of becoming a dual international and playing in the World Cup.<\/p>\n

\"WallabiesWallabies Head Coach Les Kiss attends training at the North Sydney Oval.Audrey Richardson<\/p>\n

At the weekend, however, Lomax announced he had signed on to join PNG Chiefs<\/a> from 2028. Rugby Australia were aware of Lomax visiting Port Moresby, and the winger says he will see out his contract in rugby and still dreams of becoming a dual international<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Some pundits responded by arguing Lomax should not be considered for the Wallabies, given he is going back to the NRL. But Kiss doesn\u2019t share that sentiment, and said he will pick the cross-coder if Lomax earns it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve stated before, we need as much competitive pressure for selection as possible,\u201d Kiss said. \u201cCompetitive pressure in the right way makes everyone better.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe [Lomax] is a pretty good footy player, and a pretty good athlete, too. He\u2019s hungry to try and do what he can in the game. He\u2019s in the system, and I\u2019ve spoken to \u2018Crono\u2019 [Force coach Simon Cron], he\u2019s keen to get him back.<\/p>\n

\"StandStand aside, here come the might Bears: (from left) Gary Larson, Paul Conlon, Greg Florimo and Les Kiss, in 1991.Fairfax Media<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s getting closer to being ready, and to unleash him in Super Rugby AU to get a few games to see where he is.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe in the [Wallabies] picture, as they all are. It [wing] is a competitive position, though, and that\u2019s the important thing. If he comes really good, it makes it hard to make some selections there, which I need. I need it to be tough to make those selections. If he gets better and better, and puts pressure on those guys to be better, then I\u2019m all for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kiss said the first week of training had been focused on introducing the framework of a re-jigged defensive system under new coach Scott McLeod<\/a>, the former All Blacks defence coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe boys have already bought into the real key principles he\u2019s brought in. We want to make sure that we\u2019re a connected defence but be able to put pressure on at the right time,\u201d Kiss said.<\/p>\n

\"ZacZac Lomax, in action for the Western Force, will move back to league in 2028 with the PNG Chiefs.Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an obvious place to start. There\u2019s a very methodical way that um that \u2018Stormy\u2019 [McLeod] has approached it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like changing a golf swing a week before a tournament, changing a defensive system in the middle of a Test winter carries risk, with room for error given players\u2019 habits aren\u2019t yet bedded down.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Zac<\/a><\/p>\n

But Wallabies skipper Harry Wilson said change is a must if the Wallabies want to climb up from eighth, and win more than 40 per cent of their games.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very aware where we\u2019re sitting right now currently,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to be winning more test matches consistently, and if this gives us the opportunity to do that, we\u2019re we\u2019re all buying in. Obviously, at the moment, we\u2019re trying to fast-track it so we can be next Saturday be ready for it under lights. But in saying that, it\u2019s not as if it\u2019s ridiculous changes.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo the boys have all been buying in and hopefully under the pressure we\u2019ll stand tall.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"IainIain Payten<\/a> is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":835284,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-835283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=835283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835283\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/835284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=835283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=835283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=835283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}