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Ian Chadband, AAP •  November 10th, 2026 2:25 pm
Australia coach Les Kiss believes the Wallabies can bounce back against Scotland | Photo: Dean Lewins/AAP
Wallabies coach Les Kiss insists he's not discouraged and won't "catastrophise" as the first potential crisis-point of his tenure looms in Scotland.
The 61-year-old says he retains belief in a team that's now lost three Tests on the bounce by 20-plus points and have conceded more points, 176, in a four-match sequence than any Wallabies outfit before them.
The Queenslander, though, had to admit there's a gap between his side and the game's best, with the World Cup on home soil less than a year away.
Coach Les Kiss knows the Wallabies have to show huge improvement ahead of next year's World Cup | Photo: Bianca De Marchi/AAP
And he's still searching for solutions to the side's dismal spell as he again signalled the prospect of changes for the Nations Championship encounter against Scotland on Monday (NZ Time).
Asked how he felt after the initial five-match unbeaten start to his reign, culminating in a magnificent backs-to-the-wall defeat of an admittedly largely second-string South African team, had given way to the trio of alarming losses, Kiss remained positive.
"I've got a lot of belief in this group," he said, as Sunday's 45-22 trouncing by England at Twickenham followed two heavy Bledisloe Cup losses to New Zealand.
"It does show probably the gap of the teams above us and where we are, that's for sure. We know that's the reality when you look at the results.
Les Kiss remains confident in the Wallabies, despite their recent string of losses | Photo: Dean Lewins/AAP
"So every team that's above us, except for the Springboks at this stage, we're just not getting the right gravy on it.
"We know we've got work to do, that's for sure.
"But I'm not discouraged. If anything, I'm really focused on making sure that we find the solutions that we need together. It's not far away.
"The last thing I want to do is catastrophise everything. We just need to be very, very succinct about what we need to get right. You change one or two things, and the game can flourish again - but we need to be more us."
"More us'' is, presumably, the free-flowing, fluid, traditional Wallabies style of attacking rugby that was ruthlessly cut off at the source by England's intense physicality at Twickenham and led to countless handling errors under pressure.
But the need to start imposing themselves on good sides will necessitate a confident playmaker at the helm, and Kiss again hinted the Wallabies will consider yet another change in the merry-go-round No.10 position, with fit-again Carter Gordon seeming odds-on to replace Declan Meredith.
Wallabies coach Les Kiss says Carter Gordon is in the picture for a recall | Photo: Dave Hunt/AAP
"Carter's back in the picture, we'll definitely have to look at that," Kiss said of the 25-year-old who broke his leg in the draw against Argentina in Mendoza in September.
He added the coaching team would be looking at potentially different combinations for the Scotland match.
'"We just have to find solutions over the next three matches to put ourselves in a position next year that we go forward productively and usefully into the World Cup,'' Kiss said.
"We've got to find solutions, for sure."
