Watch every second of the Wallabies 2026 season live and on demand via Stan Sport.<\/a><\/p>\nThe cross-code star previously featured at fullback for the NSW Waratahs, as the move allows Hunter Paisami to return to the centres alongside Len Ikitau.<\/p>\n
Paisami and Ikitau will start together in the midfield for the 13th time in Wallaby gold, with the Queenslander impressing during starts against Japan.<\/p>\n
“The opportunity to look at this game came from probably three or four different angles,” Kiss said on moving Suaalii to the wing.<\/p>\n
“The aerial battle, he’s going to be big, he’s probably one of the best in the business. I think Hunter [Paisami] has been playing unbelievable footy and his class is there [to be seen] so it gave us an opportunity to look at that centre partnership as well together again.”<\/p>\n
Front-rowers Brandon Paenga-Amosa and Allan Alaalatoa are the lone changes to the pack after the draw with Argentina in Mendoza, with Billy Pollard and Taniela Tupou moved to finishing roles.<\/p>\n
It comes as Kiss opts for a 6-2 split on the bench in anticipation of the back-to-back world champions.<\/p>\n
Tom Hooper and Carlo Tizzano have been added to the side, with Hooper recovering from a slight shoulder knock.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Tizzano replaces Charlie Cale (shoulder), who is set to miss the rest of the year after a training incident.<\/p>\n
Tate McDermott and Harry Potter will cover the backline, looking to regain the Mandela Challenge Plate.<\/p>\n
“We\u2019ve had a solid preparation window here in Perth ahead of what\u2019s going to be a massive Test against South Africa,” coach Kiss said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlaying against the number one team in the world focuses the mind and we have worked hard on key areas to meet this challenge and continue to grow our game.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Wallabies and Springboks are even in their ten Tests played in Perth, with four wins a piece along with two draws.<\/p>\n
“I’m pleased for the boys that they’ve put some things together. They’ve worked hard for a long time and now they’re putting some wins together,” Kiss added.<\/p>\n
“…We’re now playing the best in the world. We know it’s going to be a tough, hard yakka this weekend. <\/p>\n
“It’s our backyard so let’s go and make sure we show up and see what happens.”<\/p>\n
Wallabies team to play South Africa at Optus Stadium in Perth on Sunday September 27 at 5:30pm AWST<\/p>\n
1. Angus Bell (57 Tests) – #940; Hunters Hill Rugby Club<\/p>\n
2. Brandon Paenga-Amosa (30 Tests) – #918; Southern Districts<\/p>\n
3. Allan Alaalatoa (93 Tests) #896; West Harbour Juniors<\/p>\n
4. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto (47 Tests) – #914; Randwick Rugby<\/p>\n
5. Jeremy Williams (32 Tests) \u2013 #973; Wahroonga Tigers<\/p>\n
6. Rob Valetini (68 Tests) – #929; Harlequin Junior Rugby Club<\/p>\n
7. Fraser McReight (46 Tests) – #937; Albany Creek Brumbies<\/p>\n
8. Harry Wilson (c) (42 Tests) – #933; Gunnedah Red Devils<\/p>\n
9. Ryan Lonergan (12 Tests) – #993; Tuggeranong Vikings<\/p>\n
10. Ben Donaldson (25 Tests) – #962; Clovelly Eagles<\/p>\n
11. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii (24 Tests) – #988; The Kings School<\/p>\n
12. Hunter Paisami (38 Tests) – #932; Harlequin Junior Rugby Club<\/p>\n
13. Len Ikitau (54 Tests) – #944; Tuggeranong Vikings<\/p>\n
14. Max Jorgensen (27 Tests) – #984; Balmain Wolves<\/p>\n
15. Tom Wright (50 Tests) – #939; Clovelly Eagles
<\/p>\n
Substitutes<\/p>\n
16. Billy Pollard (24 Tests) – #958; Lindfield Junior Rugby Club<\/p>\n
17. Aidan Ross (6 Tests) – #994; Bond University<\/p>\n
18. Taniela Tupou (73 Tests – #917; Brothers Rugby<\/p>\n
19. Lachlan Shaw (4 Tests) – #998; Uni of Queensland <\/p>\n
20. Tom Hooper (24 Tests) – #964; Bathurst Bulldogs<\/p>\n
21. Carlo Tizzano (16 Tests) – #982; University of Western Australia<\/p>\n
22. Tate McDermott (56 Tests) – #936; Flinders Rugby Club<\/p>\n
23. Harry Potter (15 Tests) – #989; Moorabbin Rams<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"UPDATE: Wallabies lock Josh Canham has been ruled out of Sunday\u2019s Test against South Africa with a mild…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":905729,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85,468472],"class_list":["post-905728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-wallabies-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/905728","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=905728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/905728\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/905729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=905728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=905728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=905728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}