Gordon poised for recall as No.10 as Beale enters Wallabies selection frame

November 10, 2026 — 12:00pm

Wallabies coach Les Kiss has flagged the return of Carter Gordon in the No.10 hot seat as one of several possible changes for a season-defining clash with Scotland at Murrayfield.

And a tour-ending hamstring injury to centre Isaac Henry will bring more change to the midfield as well, putting veteran Kurtley Beale into the frame for a first Test appearance in five years.

The selection news emerged as Kiss conceded there was a gap between the Wallabies and the top sides, but he didn’t want to “catastrophise” the team’s situation despite three heavy losses in row.

A wounded Australia squad travelled to Edinburgh on Monday after a humbling 45-22 loss to England at Twickenham.

Cameras caught Kiss swearing to himself after one England try, but the coach said he wasn’t discouraged by the sharp turn in fortunes of the Wallabies.

“I’ve got a lot of belief in this group,” Kiss said. “It does show probably the gap of the teams above us, and where we are. We know that that’s the reality when we look at the results. Every team that’s above us, we’re just not getting the right gravy on it, except for the Springboks at this stage. We know we’ve got work to do.

“I’m not discouraged, no. 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. We need to be more us.”

In 13 games against sides ranked above them over the last two years, the Wallabies have won two - both times against world No.1 South Africa. Scotland are ranked No.6, one spot above Australia.

Asked if there would be changes, Kiss said the coaching staff will consider their options, but stressed changes were always part of the tour plan. Kiss confirmed Tom Hooper and Gordon would both likely be available after narrowly missing the Twickenham clash.

Declan Meredith had an unhappy afternoon in the Wallabies No.10, and Ben Donaldson looked good coming on late, but the game was also well lost by that point.

“If Carter’s back in the picture, we’ll definitely have to look at that,” Kiss said.

A serious hamstring injury to Henry ended his tour. Kiss could elect to reunite Len Ikitau with Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii to help shore up a poor midfield defence. But Kiss has also spoken about wanting to keep the back three steady, meaning Beale could be in line for a return at inside centre, with Ikitau shifting out. The 37-year-old hasn’t started in a Test since 2021.

Filipo Daugunu is the other midfield option. Kiss won’t call in anyone this week to replace Henry.

Elsewhere, the Wallabies’ changes will likely come in the pack, highlighted by the return of Rob Valetini. The Wallabies were bullied by England, in attack and defence, and missed Valetini’s muscle.

England crossed the gainline with 56 per cent of their carries and carried almost five metres with each carry. Australia’s passive defensive line, which concedes ground but aims to stay connected, ultimately gave up tries by being caught short wide several times.

In attack, the Wallabies couldn’t get across the gainline and made one line break in the opening half. The slow ruck ball then didn’t allow Australia to exit their half, let alone build momentum and play on top of England, as they’d done in July and against the Boks.

“The fact is we have to accept that the work we do in training can’t stop there. It’s got to transfer. We can train well to make ourselves feel better, but everything’s got to go back to the 80 minutes, and we’ve got to make sure that that is our key focus,” Kiss said.

The Scots believed they were a shot to claim their first win over the All Blacks in 121 years at the weekend, and while they fell short in a 43-21 loss, they showed they have a game that will also test the Wallabies, with a mix of attacking ambition and power in the contact zones. Australia has lost four of six games against Scotland in the last decade.

“They’re gonna want to come back in and hit this game pretty hard so that’s a challenge for us, and I think that’s something, being realistic, that is pretty exciting. That’s how I look at it,” flanker Fraser McReight said.

Prop Allan Alaalatoa said the players were gutted in the Twickenham sheds, and the pain needed to fuel their response this week.

“Scotland at Murrayfield, it’s always a massive game. The boys will be keen for it for sure. They showed they have a quality ball [retention]. They are a high ball-in-play team as well,” he said.

“I think more for us, our focus is understanding how we can exert our own game on the opposition. Because once we get that going, we’re a really, really good side.”

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