The Wallabies have shown glimpses of physical dominance, attacking brilliance, and defensive pressure in 2026, but are yet to string together an 80-minute performance.<\/p>\n
It is now clear that while coach Les Kiss has been chopping and changing the side in a bid to build genuine competition and depth in the squad, you can\u2019t rush an exercise which takes time: time which the Wallabies don\u2019t have.<\/p>\n
In the wake of the Wallabies walloping in Sydney at the hands of the All Blacks<\/a>, Kiss was asked about the clock ticking until the home Rugby World Cup<\/a> in 2027.<\/p>\n \u201cThe time we have is the time that we have,\u201d Kiss said.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe in these guys deeply about what is possible.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always said we\u2019ll have our ups and downs and today was a bit of a downer again, but there are some good clues from what we\u2019re trying to do in our game.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we do play with a footy in hand, with a positive intent, we\u2019re making a lot of breaks against one of the best teams in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Kiss is right, the Wallabies, despite their shellacking, made 17 linebreaks against the All Blacks, one more than the Kiwis, and beat one less defender with 31.<\/p>\n Had the Wallabies converted just a few of these, the scoreline would\u2019ve looked very different, but they lacked the patience, experience, and execution to nail their many opportunities.<\/p>\n A less impressive stat is the post-contact meterage from both sides.<\/p>\n The Wallabies only managed 0.9m on average per carry, and the All Blacks only 0.7m on average per carry.<\/p>\n This stat evidently doesn\u2019t correlate with the amount of linebreaks or defenders beaten, but it shows the Wallabies lacked punch in their carriers.<\/p>\n This is where Kiss and the Wallabies have genuinely world-leading options to call on in the months ahead, all the way up until the World Cup.<\/p>\n Samu Kerevi and Langi Gleeson are two players who not only dominate contact but are players who get you over the gainline.<\/p>\n The Wallaby way currently is an attacking game built on short bursts of intense power.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the type of players Kiss has at his disposal; that\u2019s the type of players Kiss has selected, and so he should pick players to further that blueprint.<\/p>\n Long passages of play is not what this Wallabies side thrives off, no matter what people say is the \u201cWallaby way\u201d.<\/p>\n The current Wallabies DNA is built on Pasifika power, set piece grunt, and X-factor strike abilities that can score in an instant from anywhere.<\/p>\n Kerevi and Gleeson give you all of the above in spades.<\/p>\n So far this year, the Wallabies have averaged around 2.3m post contact per carry, well short of South Africa<\/a> at 3.2m and the All Blacks\u2019 2.8m during the Greatest Rivalry tour.<\/p>\n The gold international standard for this stat is in that 3m-4m range, and only South Africa attains that regularly at present.<\/p>\n Kiss knows this, his motto of \u201cgo forward\u201d has been echoed by his assistant Jonathan Fisher on several occasions, and it\u2019s evident in the way the Wallabies play their games.<\/p>\n Gleeson is firmly in Kiss\u2019s sights, he has named him on the \u2018unavailable list\u2019 under each of his four squad announcements, this is not a mistake, this is a clear statement of intent regarding selections.<\/p>\n Kiss knows Gleeson\u2019s numbers, and they are very impressive.\u00a0<\/p>\n Let\u2019s compare Gleeson\u2019s numbers with those of the current Wallabies squad.<\/p>\n Only two Wallabies players got over 66% gainline on average in Super Rugby Pacific<\/a> in 2026, and that\u2019s Rob Valetini and Josh Canham, who got 67% and 66% respectively.<\/p>\n After this, locks Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and Jeremy Williams secured 62% and 63%, respectively.<\/p>\n Fraser McReight managed a hefty 66%, but he carried a lot wider than the others, and finally captain Harry Wilson and Tom Hooper managed 58% and 47%, respectively.<\/p>\n In Super Rugby Pacific 2025, the last time Gleeson had a full season, Gleeson outplayed the Wallabies most deadly carry, Valetini, at almost every turn.<\/p>\n Gleeson made 2.4 post-contact metres per carry, two linebreaks, and scored seven tries. He beat 33 defenders, making seven dominant tackles at 90 per cent, making more carries per minute and more tackles per minute than Valetini, as well as winning more turnovers.<\/p>\n Valetini\u2019s numbers weren\u2019t anywhere near Gleeson at: 1.9 post-contact metres per carry, 0 linebreaks, and 1 try.\u00a0<\/p>\n He beat 27 defenders and made 4 dominant tackles at an 85 per cent success rate.<\/p>\n Even if you go back and compare Gleeson\u2019s 2025 figures with Valetini\u2019s 2024 figures, the pair are almost identical; this is why he is on that list.<\/p>\n Kiss wants his men to go forward, and Gleeson will help that once fit from a knee injury suffered earlier this year.<\/p>\n The good news on that front is that Montpellier<\/a> released a rehab update on Gleeson on 10 September, saying that \u201che is expected to return in about two months.\u201d<\/p>\n Although this may be too late for him to be chosen in the November Nations Championship<\/a> squad, it will nonetheless mean he will be playing rugby again and be fit by the time the April Bledisloe arrives.<\/p>\n Rugby Australia<\/a> and Kiss should do all they can to secure Gleeson\u2019s services for that one off Test as it would speed up his integration timeline, and at the very least, Gleeson should come over to the UK to spend some time in camp in November.<\/p>\n Another player who hasn\u2019t made the list, but who offers a world class ball running threat, is Japan-based Kerevi.<\/p>\n If the Wallabies want to go forward, then Kerevi is the guy they should recall from Japan.<\/p>\n Kerevi makes a whopping 4.8 post-contact metres per carry on average.<\/p>\n None of the players in the current squad who play centre make more than 3.4m per carry on average.<\/p>\n That extra 1.4m per carry could be the difference between milking a penalty out of a defensive line, setting up a try-scoring opportunity, or generating a linebreak.<\/p>\n And before anyone says that it doesn\u2019t matter because it\u2019s in Japan<\/a> League One, the current best centre pairing in the world, the Springboks\u2019 most capped centre pairing of all time, Damien De Allende and Jesse Kriel, made 3.8m and 3.6m post-contact per carry, respectively, in the same competition.<\/p>\n Kerevi is elite in his ability to get through contact.<\/p>\n