Wallabies' World Cup confidence grows under Les Kiss before All Blacks tests

The Wallabies are being discussed as contenders for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia after a six-match unbeaten start under coach Les Kiss, with lock Jeremy Williams backing the hosts to win the tournament. Australia, ranked sixth in the world, face the All Blacks in Auckland on 10 October and Sydney on 17 October, giving the team two immediate tests of its progress.

Williams told the Guardian he would back the current players and coaching staff to win at home. His confidence follows Australia's 42-38 victory over world champions South Africa in Perth on 27 September, a result that extended the unbeaten run. The assessment remains a view of the team's prospects a year before the tournament, rather than a prediction established by the results so far.

Why Australia’s recent results have raised expectations

The Guardian reported that Australia had climbed to sixth in the world rankings after falling to 10th following its pool-stage exit from the 2023 World Cup. The run under Kiss also includes Australia's first series win in Argentina. Together, those results explain why a team that endured an early exit at the last tournament is again being discussed as a possible winner on home soil.

Former Wallaby Tim Horan, a winner of the World Cup in 1991 and 1999, told the Guardian that any of the world's top 10 sides could win in 2027. He said Australia had gained momentum under Kiss and that its style of play was developing well with a year to go. His assessment leaves room for other contenders while identifying why Australia's recent form has changed expectations.

ABC reported that the victory brought Australia the Mandela Challenge Plate for the first time since 2022, which had also been its previous home win over South Africa. Its account said the Springboks had made 13 changes to the starting side that beat New Zealand earlier in September. That selection context matters when judging the result, even as a win over the reigning world champions remains a substantial part of Australia's recent run.

Kiss told the Guardian that the players' work had been impressive, while pointing to dissatisfaction after the match about mistakes and the late reduction to 11 men. Captain Harry Wilson told the Nine Network, in remarks reported by ABC, that Australia had carried out its plan in the first 70 minutes and had stepped up physically. Both accounts capture the tension in the result: Australia built a commanding lead, then had to survive a chaotic finish.

All Blacks tests will offer the next measure

Australia's next fixture is at Eden Park on 10 October, followed by the return Bledisloe Cup test in Sydney on 17 October, according to ABC. The Guardian reported that New Zealand had not lost at Eden Park since 1994, a stretch of 53 tests, and that Australia had not beaten its trans-Tasman rival for six years. Those records make the Auckland match a demanding next step for a side seeking to turn an unbeaten run into sustained progress.

The Guardian also reported that New Zealand would be trying to avoid a fourth consecutive defeat for the first time since 1998 after its series against South Africa. Australia's own selection has complications: centre Hunter Paisami is suspended, while lock Josh Canham and centre Len Ikitau are injury doubts. Prop Taniela Tupou and flanker Tom Hooper have returned to their European clubs, and uncapped 22-year-old Toby Macpherson has been called up as cover at lock and in the back row.

Kiss has said places in the Wallabies side are not guaranteed, including for Mark Nawaqanitawase and Angus Crichton, who are due to move from rugby league. That stance puts the focus on selection and performances in the coming tests rather than on reputations or an assumed World Cup lineup. The New Zealand matches have yet to be played, so they cannot settle where Australia will stand by the time the tournament begins.

A home World Cup is one year away

The Guardian reported that final tickets for the 2027 Rugby World Cup went on sale on 1 October, one year before Australia are due to meet Hong Kong in the opening match in Perth. It reported that more than half of the tournament's 2.5 million tickets had been sold, with 43% going to overseas purchasers. The approaching home tournament gives Williams's ambition an immediate setting, while the All Blacks tests will provide the next evidence of how far Kiss's team has come.