Everyone has a take on Suaalii’s best role, but only Les Kiss’ view matters. And he has shared it

It’s the debate that won’t go away but Wallabies coach Les Kiss says he will persist with Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii at outside centre.

Whether the cross-code star regains his place in the team to meet Argentina on Sunday, however, could be a different question altogether.

“That competition we have in those centres now is cool,” Kiss said. “Some good people miss out because it’s going well. But we want that. I want that.”

Kiss and the Wallabies arrived in Buenos Aires on Monday, ahead of the first Test against the Pumas on Sunday morning in Jujuy; a mountainous province at Argentina’s north-west tip.

After starting his coaching tenure with two wins over Japan, the job only gets harder for Kiss, both externally and internally.

The Pumas are ranked No.7, one spot above the Wallabies, but the Argentinian side has the capacity to overturn top five sides: they beat the British and Irish Lions and New Zealand last year, and in their most recent Test in early August, they lost narrowly to the Springboks 17-10.

The Wallabies have a mixed record against the Pumas in recent years, at home and away, including a record 67-27 defeat, in their last game in Argentina in 2024.

The difficulty will start for Kiss and his staff, however, when they sit down to select the team.

After making several changes for the second Japan Test – due to injury and tactical rotation – the side duly thumped the Brave Blossoms.

A handful of those “new” players staked strong claims to stay in the side, even with some top talent due to return in Jujuy.

Some can potentially be squeezed into the match day 23, with Kiss flagging the combination of openside flankers Carlo Tizzano and Fraser McReight may again be deployed.

But other spots will require a hard decision, and the midfield is the toughest. The starting duo for the last two years, Len Ikitau and Suaalii, have returned from injury that kept them out of the Townsville Test.

But Hunter Paisami and Isaac Henry were strong in the win, and the possibility of Kiss opting for a new combination is a live one.

“It’s cool, isn’t it? I like it that there’s competition. These guys are good mates, and they’re connected,” Kiss said.

“It’s not easy to tell someone they’re not in the team when you’ve got so many good options, but I know the boys wouldn’t want it any other way. They want to be able to get better.”

Debate continues over whether Suaalii should be used in the midfield or the back three, with expert commentators, coaching pundits and fans divided.

In a Herald reader poll this week gauging opinion on who should be the Wallabies midfield, 15 per cent had opted for Suaalii as a starting centre by Tuesday.

Kiss made room for Ikitau and Suaalii in his squad by dropping a centre and a fullback, and he said Suaalii’s versatility meant he could cover other positions. But he is sticking firm that Suaalii is a centre. For now.

“I’ve said from the start we’d stay at 13. With variations of what we’re trying to do in both sides of the ball, it’s right to just keep persisting in that space for now,” he said.

“At this stage, I’m probably keen to keep Su there, but I know he can move to the back if we need to, and that flexibility is enormous for us.”

McReight is one of the best No.7s in the game, but Tizzano’s outstanding form against Japan, and at openside flanker against Italy, gives Kiss two world-class options.

The days of starting two short opensides are probably over, given the impact on the lineout. But given the equal importance of defensive turnovers in Test rugby, using both players in the second half is “enticing”, Kiss said.

“We’ve explored it. It’s there and I don’t feel that we would fear doing it again,” he said.

“Will it be something we throw at all the time? No, but it has to be something we do think about for sure. But there are other combinations that we look at with our power in our back row as well.”

Kiss said Argentina are a “dangerous proposition”, noting they beat the Lions last year in Dublin.

The Wallabies boss also welcomed the appointment of Michael Cheika as Waratahs coach for next year, both in lifting the Tahs and also as a sounding board for him.

“We’ve been good mates and he’s a bloody good coach. I have no doubt that he’s going to have a positive impact, that’s for sure,” he said.

“He’ll put a team around him that he’ll help grow as well, and they’ll be good for that decision. I’m looking forward to working with him. He knows what that jersey means to this country. He’s had that experience, he’s headed up that role just like I am now. So I’ll tap into some of his experiences.”