SYDNEY, March 25 (Reuters) - Australia flyhalf Tom Lynagh is in line to make his 2026 Super Rugby Pacific debut off the bench when the Queensland Reds take on the table-topping Wellington Hurricanes in the New Zealand capital on Saturday.
The 22-year-old started all three tests against the British & Irish Lions last year but has been sidelined since suffering a concussion in the 33rd minute of the final match of the tour in early August.
Carter Gordon, who has started three matches for the Reds this season, is unavailable this weekend because of a minor injury, so 21-year-old Harry McLaughlin-Phillips will start in the number 10 shirt for the second successive week.
"It's great news to see Tommy Lynagh coming back for sure, and Harry McLaughlin had a great game last week and led us around the park," Reds coach Les Kiss told reporters in Brisbane after naming his team on Wednesday.
"Carter has a sort of slight lower limb injury, so we're just going to make sure he doesn't come back too early from that. And we're looking forward to seeing Harry and Tommy work together."
Kiss, who will take over from Joe Schmidt as Wallabies coach after the July tests this year, has been at pains to ease Lynagh back into action after concussion issues and a hamstring injury disrupted the second half of his 2025 season.
"We just wanted to get through some full weeks of training, and this week's probably the right week for him to go away," Kiss added.
"He can come off the bench and see how he goes. And if everything's going right, we should probably see more of him going forward."
McLaughlin-Phillips put in a fine display as the Reds beat the Drua last weekend to taste victory in Fiji for the first time and extend their winning streak to four matches.
Skipper Fraser McReight also returns at openside flanker after being rested for the trip to Fiji but Kiss conceded that the Reds would have to be on top form to continue their winning run against the red-hot Hurricanes.
"We're just going to back our fitness and back our plan, and hopefully that's good enough. But it's going to have to be very good to beat them over in Wellington," he said.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
