Kiss urges Wallabies to cross a threshold on four-Test Spring Tour after Bledisloe setbacks

Les Kiss has challenged the Wallabies to find a breakthrough on their upcoming four-Test Spring Tour, insisting the squad’s work ethic deserves a tangible reward after back-to-back Bledisloe Cup defeats to New Zealand.

Kiss took charge of Australia ahead of a two-Test series against Japan following Joe Schmidt’s departure after the July Nations Championship fixtures. The Wallabies had built a six-match unbeaten run before running into the All Blacks at Eden Park, where New Zealand retained the Bledisloe Cup with a comprehensive victory on home soil and then backed it up with another clinical performance away from home.

“I hope they get a return on the absolute work they’re doing,” Kiss said. “If you think about what we could possibly be, we’ve pushed it and I just hope they can break a little bit of a threshold. Just one big dose of luck would be good — just a big dose of luck sometimes and it just fires up and they go for it. For them, I think that’d be quite cool, just to realise that what they’re doing makes sense and it’s worthwhile.”

The Spring Tour opens against England at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium, followed by fixtures against Scotland and Wales, with a fourth match against a yet-to-be-confirmed opponent during the Nations Championship Finals Weekend. The last meeting between Australia and England at Twickenham ended in a 25-7 England victory, reversing the five-point Wallabies win two years earlier — a match best remembered for Max Jorgensen’s run down the left sideline and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s debut in Wallaby gold.

Kiss is under no illusions about the scale of the challenge awaiting his side in England, where head coach Steve Borthwick has named a 36-man squad for a training camp that includes British and Irish Lions captain Maro Itoje alongside Fin Baxter, Ben Curry, Wil Stuart and Joe Merchant.

“The talent in that country is unbelievable. There’s going to be a pretty imposing squad they bring together,” Kiss said. “It’s going to be a tough one but that’s the type of game you want, isn’t it? That’s where you want to be and it’s going to be interesting.”

With the Spring Tour beginning in just over a week, Kiss will be hoping the Wallabies can carry their training-ground momentum into results that begin to rebuild confidence ahead of a Rugby World Cup on home soil.