Wallabies coach Les Kiss has recalled utility back Jordan Petaia after a three-year absence from Test rugby as part of a new-look squad to take on South Africa at Optus Stadium in Perth on Sunday.
Petaia left the Queensland Reds in 2024 to pursue a career in the NFL, eventually signing for the Los Angeles Chargers before being waived last August. He subsequently spent a season in France with Perpignan, before signing a long-term deal in Japan with Urayasu D-Rocks.
Kiss said the training camp ahead of the Springboks Test was the perfect opportunity to integrate Petaia back into the Wallabies squad. The 26-year-old last represented his country in the 2023 World Cup defeat to Wales, starting as centre.
“It was just the ideal opportunity to see Jordan; he’s been out of the system for a couple of years now,” Kiss said. “He has played in two World Cups. We just wanted to touch base with him and have him come and work out with us to see how he’s going.
“So it was just a good opportunity to see Jordan back in the environment and him to have a good look at us with the new coaching structure and all those sorts of things.”
Petaia played most of his rugby for Perpignan on the wing, with Kiss believing that the former Reds player will likely be trialled in the back three.
“Positionally, we know he’s covered wing, 15 and 13 in the past. Once he hits the ground with us, we’ll have a good look at it, but it’ll be definitely in one of those positions – likely a back-three position.”
Force playmaker Harry McLaughlin-Phillips has been named in the squad after Carter Gordon suffered a fractured fibula in Mendoza against Argentina.
Kiss could have picked Japan-based Noah Lolesio or the returning Reds five-eighth Tom Lynagh, but opted for the experience of the “battle-hardened” McLaughlin-Phillips.
“It finally landed on the fact that Harry had been recently in [the Wallabies training squad] in the Nations Cup and he impressed immensely in there,” Kiss said. “He’s the most battle-hardened ten of all the options.
“I’ve thought about tens outside [Australia] … there’s a number that were mentioned, including Noah [Lolesio], and we went through the footage that we have available. We did our due diligence, that’s for sure, and it landed that Harry had earned this right.”
There is no room in the squad for Brumbies veteran prop James Slipper, with Kiss saying that while the most capped Wallaby in history remains in the picture, he has tried to increase the depth at loosehead by including Aidan Ross and Isaac Kailea to cover Angus Bell.
“We’re keeping in touch with Slips about what his progress is,” Kiss said. “He’s doing a good conditioning block and he’s doing some scrum coaching with the Brumbies, he’s doing everything he can for Australian rugby at this stage where he is.
“We’ve certainly got a close eye on Slips and we know that experience can just come straight back in for us whenever we need it.”
South Africa underlined their status as the best team in the world by sealing a 3-1 series victory over New Zealand in Baltimore last Saturday. The Springboks will play at Optus Stadium for just the second time, after an 18-point victory over the Wallabies at the venue two years ago.
In that Test, the Wallabies lost four front-rowers, forcing them to deploy captain and No.8 Harry Wilson as a makeshift loosehead prop.
Historically, the Wallabies boast a relatively strong record against South Africa in Western Australia: across eight Tests in Perth in the professional era, Australia have won four, drawn one and lost three.
The Springboks are due to arrive in Sydney early on Wednesday after flying directly from the United States. South Africa will initially be based on the Central Coast at their training base for next year’s World Cup, before travelling on to Perth.
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