{"id":788332,"date":"2026-10-01T08:08:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T08:08:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/788332\/"},"modified":"2026-10-01T08:08:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T08:08:13","slug":"wallabies-dare-to-dream-of-rugby-world-cup-glory-as-momentum-builds-under-kiss-australia-rugby-union-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/788332\/","title":{"rendered":"Wallabies dare to dream of Rugby World Cup glory as momentum builds under Kiss | Australia rugby union team"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Wallabies have emerged as contenders for next year\u2019s Rugby World Cup<\/a> as they look to extend a six-match unbeaten run when they face the All Blacks, with lock Jeremy Williams declaring Australia can end a 27-year wait and win the Webb Ellis Cup at home.<\/p>\n

The final tickets for next year\u2019s global tournament<\/a> went on sale on Thursday, marking one year until the opening match between the Wallabies and Hong Kong in Perth. More than half of the 2.5m tickets have already been sold, including 43% to overseas purchasers.<\/p>\n

Australia are now sixth in the world rankings, three years after they dropped to their lowest of 10th<\/a> after their elimination from the 2023 World Cup at the pool stage. Williams was instrumental in helping the Wallabies defeat world champions South Africa<\/a> \u2013 albeit an experimental XV \u2013 in Perth on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe team we\u2019ve got, the players, coaching staff, and the drive, the care that we have for each other and playing for that Wallaby jersey \u2026 I\u2019d back us in every day of the week,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n

Former Wallaby Tim Horan, who won the World Cup in both 1991 and 1999, said the tournament was wide open, with any of the top 10 sides in the world a chance to win.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Wallabies, the way that they\u2019ve got some momentum with Les [Kiss]. I think what Les is doing, the style and the brand of the Wallabies are tracking pretty well for the World Cup in a year\u2019s time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

World Rugby rankings<\/a><\/p>\n

Kiss himself said he and the players are remaining focused on the short term, though he recognised the team\u2019s positive trajectory, which has included a first series win in Argentina<\/a> and Sunday\u2019s dramatic 42-38 victory<\/a> over the Springboks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way that they\u2019ve gone about their business is very impressive,\u201d he said. \u201cEven after the game on the weekend, there was a sense of dissatisfaction, you know, some of the things they let go with the game, getting to down to 11 men, but some great qualities came through with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kiss\u2019s side faces an imposing task against the All Blacks in two weeks at Eden Park, where New Zealand have not lost since 1994 \u2013 a run of 53 Tests. Following their series against the Springboks, the All Blacks are looking to avoid four consecutive losses for the first time since 1998.<\/p>\n

skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n

Sign up to The Breakdown<\/p>\n

The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week’s action reviewed<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Wallabies have not defeated their trans-Tasman rivals in six years however, and are missing the suspended centre Hunter Paisami. Lock Josh Canham and centre Len Ikitau are in doubt with injuries.<\/p>\n

Prop Taniela Tupou and flanker Tom Hooper will also be absent, having returned to their clubs in Europe. Uncapped Toby Macpherson, 22, has been called into the squad as cover for both lock and back row.<\/p>\n

Ahead of the NRL grand final \u2013 the rugby league farewell match<\/a> for Roosters\u2019 duo Mark Nawaqanitawase and Angus Crichton<\/a> before their moves to union \u2013 Kiss said nobody has been promised a place in the Wallabies lineup.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven the players that everyone says they\u2019re nailed on, I know that they\u2019re driven now just to make sure they don\u2019t drop their guard in any way,\u201d he said. \u201cFor guys like Angus and Marky Mark, they\u2019ve got to come in and they\u2019ve got to do the work.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Wallabies have emerged as contenders for next year\u2019s Rugby World Cup as they look to extend a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":788333,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-788332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=788332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788332\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/788333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=788332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=788332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=788332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}