The Wallabies were due to fly out of Sydney on Saturday 31 October for their last Test window before the home Rugby World Cup, and coach Les Kiss wants it to tell him the truth. Speaking at the team’s Coogee hotel on Friday, Kiss said England, Scotland and Wales would give Australia a clear read on where it stands.

“The beauty of this is we play above us and below us, and that should be able to challenge us in the right way, and assess ourselves in the right way, and be really honest and real about where this takes us,” he said, as reported by Reuters.

England’s new edge

Kiss said he had seen England’s game develop under attack coach Lee Blackett. “We’ve got England coming up, an extremely experienced team,” he said. “The game that they’re playing, it certainly has the tenets of set piece and kicking as central, but you can see that they’re trying to use ... a few other concepts and building that into their game. Lee Blackett ... is a very savvy operator and I know him well. They’re going to have an attacking edge to them as well.”

“So there are real challenges that we know they’re ahead of us but that’s what we need. We need that now. This is the last window before we close out into what will become a massive year for every country.”

Kiss knows the venue well, having coached London Irish from 2018 to 2023. England won the most recent meeting between the sides at Twickenham 25–7 last year, RugbyPass noted, and England coach Steve Borthwick has named a 36-man training squad including British & Irish Lions captain Maro Itoje.

Beale is there to play

Kurtley Beale, 37, was recalled on Wednesday after Hunter Paisami withdrew for personal reasons, and has not played a Test since 2021. Nine reported that Isaac Henry, who started at inside centre in the last Test against the All Blacks, is favoured to hold the No. 12 jersey against England, but Kiss said Beale was not making up the numbers.

“No-one comes in just to fill a void,” Kiss said. “He’s in there to perform, and I have spoken to him on this. I like the fact that we’ve given the younger guys a chance to grow, without the experience sitting on their shoulder.” He said Beale could also cover full-back and fly-half, and that the veteran had told him: “I just want the team to be better.”

The tour

  • England v Australia: Sunday 8 November, Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, 3.10pm GMT (2.10am AEDT Monday 9 November).
  • Scotland v Australia: Sunday 15 November, Murrayfield, Edinburgh, 3.10pm GMT (2.10am AEDT Monday 16 November).
  • Wales v Australia: Saturday 21 November, Principality Stadium, Cardiff, 8.10pm GMT (7.10am AEDT Sunday 22 November).
  • Nations Championship finals weekend: from Friday 27 November at Twickenham, opponent to be decided by the final pool table.

Where Australia stands

Australia has won five, drawn one and lost four of its 10 Tests this year, finishing with two Bledisloe Cup defeats, and the All Blacks have now beaten the Wallabies 13 times in a row. Reuters reported Australia sits seventh in the world rankings, with England fifth, Scotland sixth and Wales tenth, so the tour offers Kiss exactly the spread of opposition he asked for.

Sources: Reuters, via CNA (30 October 2026); Nine (31 October 2026); RugbyPass; Sportstralia Wallabies fixtures guide (19 October 2026).