14 October 2025
Good morning team, and welcome to another Tuesday’s Rugby News from warm sunny Brisvegas. We still have 6 weeks or so until summer officially arrives, but we had a fantastic weekend with 30 degree sunny days, and a Sunday evening thunderstorm. But, it’s still spring, which means we aren’t far away from the (northern) Autumn Tour with some mouth watering matches against the northern hemisphere sides and a super important ranking for our chances at the 2027 World Cup. We’ll have a look at the Wallabies squad for the Autumn Tour, check in on the Australia A team to play Japan this weekend, and look at some news from Reds as they build into 2026.
Rugby Australia commits to funding for women’s rugby
Before we get to the Wallabies and Reds, let’s reflect on the commitment to women’s rugby that RA has announced in the last week. It hasn’t been covered above the line here, so here we go. There were articles last week that reported RA was cutting funding and roles in the high performance area of women’s rugby in Australia, which we at G&GR were quick to point out was daft.
That reminds me of a question I heard this week. Why don’t the Tahs have a head of high performance? I’ll let you contemplate on that…..
Anyway, some great news out of RA on the weekend by Nick Wasiliev, reports that RA has outlined plans to implement a world class rugby program for the Wallaroos, and has appointed a new interim head coach and staff.
Quoting Nick here: Following reports of changes to the financial set up of the program, the governing body has reaffirmed its commitment to deliver a fully-resourced program in 2026, aiming to capitalise on the generational opportunity presented by the upcoming Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2029.
What’s really important is that RA has committed to the Wallaroos playing a minimum of 10 test matches per year, starting in 2026. That’s a significant improvement on years gone by and credit to RA for this. Our Tasmanian correspondent, KB, did ask in the craparazzi chat how that was going to improve grassroots participation, and it’s a good question, but I also think that having a more professional program and opportunities for international competition, and international starts, will help to generate interest. There’s still a fantastic opportunity to for rugby to retain more of its talent rather than seeing players lost to league, AFL and soccer.
RA has appointed interim coaching staff who will take the team through until the end of the 2026 Pacific Four series. Former assistant coach, Sam Needs, will take over as head coach with Gill Bourke joining as assistant coach and Andy Friend as technical advisor.
To continue to borrow from the RA article: Friend has led the ACT Brumbies women’s squad since 2024, bringing over two decades of experience in men’s and women’s rugby programs, having held roles in Australia, England, Ireland and Japan. Needs and Bourke previously worked under Yapp, with Bourke previously playing at two World Cups and earning 51 caps for Ireland. A full-time Wallaroos coaching panel and program will be confirmed following the completion of a comprehensive and consultative process.
Finally, Rugby Australia has confirmed player contracting for the forthcoming 2026 season, these contracts serving as additional commitments to the 21 athletes already contracted through the Aussie Sevens program.
There’s plenty more information and quotes from CEO Phil Waugh here:
Japan XV v Australia A
Australia A are heading to Japan this weekend to take on the Japan XV side as a warm up to the Wallabies preparing to play Japan a week later.
As reported on G&GR last week, Australia A have named a strong squad for this match and it should be entertaining, hopefully with the Aussie side securing a strong victory against Japan. Thinking about that some more, hopefully Japan get to field a XXIII match day side, as it would seem very generous to take the field with no reserves.
The Aussie A squad was reported earlier, but here again for comment in the match week.
In all, there are 10 capped Wallabies in the squad. Congrats to Teddy Wilson, Ollie Sapsford, Mac Grealy, Rhys van Nek, and Lington Ieli, among others for making the squad. Of course congratulations to all of the players involved, and go well this weekend.
Wallabies squad for end of year tour
The Wallabies have announced the squad to fly out for the end of season tour. Notably, key overseas based players from this season including Will Skelton, Len Ikitau, and James O’Connor have note been named in the squad, but will all be close by if they are needed.
The squad looks strong, with only Aidan Ross, and Kalani Thomas being uncapped for the Wallabies, though Ross did play for the All Blacks and has 100 caps for the Chiefs, so is not exactly a novice.
The squad is:
Congrats to Kalani Thomas for getting selected, and good luck to the team as they take on the best of Europe, and England as well. The Wallabies will play 5 games on tour, and all of the games will be important to secure rankings points ahead of the World Cup draw in early December.
2025 Autumn Nations Series Fixtures:
Wallabies v Japan at 4:50pm AEDT on Saturday, 25 October at National Stadium, Tokyo
Wallabies v England, at 2:10am AEDT on Sunday, 2 November at Allianz Stadium, London
Wallabies v Italy at 4:40am AEDT on Sunday, 9 November at Bluenergy Stadium, Udine
Wallabies v Ireland at 7:10am AEDT on Sunday, 16 November at Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Wallabies v France at 7:10am on Sunday, 23 November at Stade de France, Paris.
Pass mark
Let me know what you think a good result is. I think it’s four wins, Japan, Italy and 2 of France, England and Ireland.
Reds Rugby 2026
It’s official, Carter Gordon has signed with Australian rugby and will playing for the Reds in 2026. Carter has been chosen to tour with the Wallabies on the Autumn Tour. It’s good news for Australian rugby to have Gordon returning, and it’s great news for Gordon himself as he was sidelined for a fair bit of time this year with a spinal injury. Go well CG, and we look forward to having you in the Reds and Wallabies teams.
Team thoughts.
If you’ve been paying attention, Keith has been posting a series of articles on the current and emerging players in each position (or group of positions) ahead of the Autumn Tour. It highlights that there’s depth coming through in Australian rugby, though there might be some positions that need more development than others.
If you haven’t had the chance to catch up with KB’s musings, I can recommend it:
That’s a wrap
That’s a wrap for me this week, as always, thanks for making it this far, and look forward to the chat and comments section.
