Kiss opens door to Suaalii at wing or fullback after 42-38 thriller over Springboks

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii delivered an immediate impact on his first Test start at wing as Australia defeated world champion South Africa 42-38, with coach Les Kiss afterwards declaring the 23-year-old can now be deployed across multiple backline positions.

Suaalii had started almost exclusively at outside centre for the Wallabies before last weekend’s Test, with only two appearances off the bench — including a 15-minute cameo in a six-point win over Argentina on 30 August — breaking that pattern. Kiss made the bold call to shift him to No. 11 for the clash with the Springboks, a position Suaalii had not previously started in for club or country.

The dual international justified the selection quickly. He rose to claim the ball off the opening kick-off and went on to set up two tries in the first half, including one after winning another aerial duel to release outside centre Len Ikitau.

“The back three were pretty good tonight but we can use him at 13 and wing quite readily now,” Kiss said. “I think tonight he found some good spaces; we could have got him into better spaces at times but it suited their plan with the aerial battle.”

Kiss also left the door open to using Suaalii at fullback. “It’s there for us. I can play him at 15, too,” he added, though he stopped short of committing to a permanent positional switch.

The coach was equally effusive about the wider back three. Tom Wright claimed Player of the Match honours with what Kiss described as his best performance in four or five games, running for more than 45 metres and contributing an effective kicking game — a significant milestone coming more than a year after a season-ending injury against the same opponents in South Africa.

NSW Waratahs teammate Max Jorgensen, starting alongside Suaalii and Wright, scored a try and led the match in carries and total running metres. “Jorgo is Jorgo. That boy just knows one way to set his mindset. Nothing seems to faze the boy,” Kiss said.

The result does carry some selection uncertainty heading forward. Ikitau left the field injured during the match, while Hunter Paisami was cited for an incident in the final five minutes, potentially thinning Australia’s options at centre and adding further weight to Kiss’s desire to keep Suaalii flexible across the backline.