After a tough two decades, Australian rugby’s luck is suddenly on the up. The defection of NRL flyer Zac Lomax gives the Wallabies a powerful new weapon in the moonshot quest to win a home World Cup in 2027. The 26-year-old NSW State of Origin and Kangaroos star on Monday signed a two-year deal with Rugby Australia (RA) to join the Perth-based Western Force and could debut in Super Rugby Pacific later in March.
“Zac is a superb athlete with a proven record at representative level in rugby league and we believe he has the talent and drive to make a successful transition to rugby,” RA chief executive Phil Waugh said on Monday, as he welcomed the 133-game international winger back to rugby union. “He brings a unique set of experiences and skills to our environment and is motivated by the challenge of competing on the global stage.”
Lomax becomes the latest schoolboy prodigy lured back to rugby from the NRL after a trio of Sydney Roosters have made the jump. A record $1.8m-a-year contract brought Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii back to his junior code in 2024 while 11-Test Wallaby Mark Nawaqanitawase is returning in 2027 after wowing the NRL as 2025 winger of the year. In January, Angus Crichton announced he would join the New South Wales Waratahs next year.
None of them have taken the chaotic and controversial road back to the code that Lomax has. Although he grew up playing rugby in the Riverina township of Temora and even represented NSW as a 12-year-old before switching to league, Lomax’s lure back to the 15-man game came last year when rebel rugby competition R360 dangled untold riches to defect. Despite being one year into a $700,000-per-season deal with Parramatta, Lomax backed out in November … only for R360 to delay its launch by two years.
It left Lomax in limbo. The angry Eels last week blocked Lomax’s proposed transfer to the Melbourne Storm in the NSW supreme court and banned him from joining any of their NRL rivals until 2028. Lomax was seen loitering with intent at RA headquarters in Moore Park the very next day, having secretly visited the Western Force facilities over summer. Now, after 15 years away from the code, it is believed Loma will debut for the Force against the Hurricanes in Perth on 28 March.
“I’m incredibly excited and thankful to be joining the Western Force after reaching an agreement with Rugby Australia to make the switch to rugby union,” Lomax said in a statement on Monday. “The chance to be part of what the Western Force are building and to test myself at the highest level of rugby union is something that really excites me.”
The fiercely competitive and highly athletic Lomax said he won’t be content with a holiday in Super Rugby before defecting back to the NRL. “The dream of one day representing the Wallabies on an international stage and potentially competing at a Rugby World Cup is a powerful motivation,” he said. “This is a huge opportunity and a challenge I’m really looking forward to embracing. Stepping into a new code will push me as a player and that’s something that genuinely motivates me.”
Still raw after their first winless tour of Europe in 67 years last season, the Wallabies suddenly have a host of stars aligning to spark their World Cup quest. If Lomax plays as a winger, he will vie for a starting spot with try-scoring phenomenon Max Jorgensen, Nawaqanitawase and Dylan Pietsch. If he returns to centre, Suaalii and 2025 player of the year Len Ikitau stand in his way, not to mention the hard-charging Crichton. Returning to fullback would mean usurping the brilliant Tom Wright, another ex-NRL player whose ACL injury mid-season robbed Joe Schmidt’s national side of their most electric counterattacking threat.
Yet Lomax has the skills and strength to not only crack the Wallabies squad but transform it. He is 26, in his prime as an athlete and at 190cm and 105kg, arrives back in rugby as a renowned tryscorer and proven match-winner. He also pursues kicks like a dog chasing a butcher’s wagon. And given the Wallabies costly fumbles last year under the high ball, Lomax’s aggression and aerial mastery could be vital, especially if Reds flyhalf Carter Gordon can put his year training with the Gold Coast Titans to good use by matching Nathan Cleary’s precision kicking game.
Then there’s Lomax’s own boot. In his debut NRL season for St George, his accuracy off the tee was 84% and he maintains a 78% average. Australia last year ranked a lowly ninth among tier one nations for try conversions in 2025 with 72.9% (way behind Scotland’s Finn Russell who boasted a 95.7% success rate). In their last five internationals, with no sharp-shooter in the side, the Wallabies spurned every penalty goal opportunity but one in a crazy-brave quest for tries and lost every Test.
If the Wallabies want to defy their current No 8 world ranking and win the World Cup in two years they’ll need every one-percenter they can get.