Petaia ends two-year Wallabies exile as Kiss reshuffles squad to face Springboks

Jordan Petaia has been recalled to the Wallabies squad for the first time since the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, as head coach Les Kiss names three new players for Australia’s Rugby Championship fixture against South Africa in Perth on Sunday, 27 September.

Petaia, 26, spent the 2026 season at French Top 14 club Perpignan following a move to Japanese side Urayasu D-Rocks, leaving him outside the Australian system for the best part of two years. He is joined in the reshuffled squad by Western Force fly-half Harry McLaughlin-Phillips and Queensland Reds prop Zane Nonggorr.

The changes were forced in part by circumstance. Reds outside-back Filipo Daugunu and prop Massimo De Lutiis have been left out for workload management reasons, while wing Dylan Pietsch misses out through injury. McLaughlin-Phillips earns his call-up as cover after Reds playmaker Carter Gordon was ruled out injured, with Tom Lynagh and James O’Connor both overlooked.

Kiss was measured in his assessment of Petaia’s return, framing the recall as an opportunity to reacquaint the back-three utility with the new coaching environment rather than a guarantee of selection.

“We’ve got a lot of good back three players here in the country. We make sure we look at all of them. It was just the ideal opportunity to see Jordan; he’s been out of the system for a couple of years now,” Kiss told reporters. “He has played in two World Cups; we just wanted to have a touch base with him, have him come and work out with us, see how he’s going.”

Kiss confirmed Petaia’s versatility — he has previously covered wing, fullback and centre — would be assessed once he integrates with the group. “Positionally, we know he’s covered wing, 15 and 13 in the past, so once he hits the ground with us, we’ll have a good look at it, but it’ll definitely be in one of those positions, likely a back three position, I’d say, at this stage.”

The Wallabies head coach acknowledged the step up in class that awaits his side against the world champions. “We’ve had some good, intense matches, but we’re certainly stepping up another level when we come up against Springboks in a fortnight,” Kiss said. “We’re aware of that, we know we have to be better in certain areas, and we’re working hard to make sure we can improve on that. They’ll be in our backyard so we’ll be up for the fight.”