The making of top Australian rugby prospect Kingsley Uys after New Zealand domination

16-year-old Kingsley Uys is shaping as one of the Wallabies brightest prospects after a scintillating tour of NZ. Inside his rise and the positional switch he never wanted.

Kingsley Uys of Australia U18 runs in for a try during the match between Australia U18s and New Zealand Barbarians at St Paul's Collegiate School. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images for Rugby Australia)

A pair of scintillating showings from Kingsley Uys for the Australia under-18 rugby union side in New Zealand has set tongues wagging across the country.

He’s only 16 years of age, but Uys is shaping as one Australia’s top up and coming prospects at a time when Australian rugby is in need of promise.

The Southport School’s director of rugby Mike Wallace has revealed a change of position has propelled the Year 11 student towards stardom.

Until two years ago, Uys had been a back-rower, but the TSS staff knew they had something special on their hands, and that a simple switch could unleash the potential that was lying in wake.

“People don’t appreciate that he only changed position two years ago to prop, he’s still relatively new,” Wallace said.

“Originally it took some coaxing for him to make that decision, I think he now realises it’s the right one,” Wallace said.

“From our perspective at TSS we could see the potential of him in the front-row, and he could still continue to do the things he was doing really well as a back-rower, but he had much greater scope in terms of having the opportunity to have one-on-one battles with an opponent … that you don’t often get in the back-row.”

Kingsley Uys of Australia U18 celebrates his try. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images for Rugby Australia)

Now, Uys is at his damaging best when he’s charging at the defensive line with his exceptional power, shrugging off helpless defenders with ease.

Uys is following in the footsteps of TSS alumni and now the most-capped Wallaby of all-time James Slipper, who played as a prop for the school’s First XV in 2006 and 2007 after switching from No. 8.

Uys is signed to the Queensland Reds and captained their under-16 side last season. Despite only being in Year 11, he also took out the honour of best and fairest for the TSS First XV this season.

“That’s a pretty significant achievement. We had a pretty good team this year, so for him to be named best and fairest in our team was probably a good portent for where he could potentially get to,” Wallace said.

“He’s a kid who’s got a lot of attention to detail around his football, he’s eager to learn … we’re probably only on the surface of what he’s potentially capable of if he’s prepared to do the work to get there.

Kingsley Uys of Australia U18 scores a try. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images for Rugby Australia)

“The challenge, of course, for Kingsley is the schoolboys games has to be the base for him to move forward from, not the peak.”

The Australian under-18s downed a New Zealand Barbarians side 57-47 to kick off their tour across the ditch, and followed it up with a historic 39-31 triumph over New Zealand Schools in Waikato.

Uys, who has drawn comparison to Wallaby Angus Bell, was at the fore of both victories, scoring three tries across both games and turning heads with his powerful running game and last passes, so much so that the Kiwi commentators were in awe, to the point where Graeme Mead from Waikato’s All Sports Breakfast Show grabbed a picture with him post-game.

Got a photo with a 16 year old prop in the @wallabies under 18 team.
Totally impressed me with his skill in the 2 games we got to commentate in the international secondary schools tournament in Hamilton.
Remember the name #KingsleyUys on heck of a prop.
Great kid..#Rugbypic.twitter.com/GCDs6hk9eJ

— Graeme Mead on Waikato's All Sports Breakfast Show (@mintie38) October 6, 2024

“Kingsley did what Kingsley always does well,” Wallace said of Uys’ performances.

“The primary job of a prop is to ensure that your set piece is on point, everyone talks about his running game, his ability to throw a last pass and those things he did really well in the game, but the reality was and the thing that impressed me the most was that his set piece work was really good.

“His scrummaging, his lineout lifting, his detail around kick off, all those things were the critical things that he needed to get right for his team to be successful and he got those right.

“Everything else is a bonus.”

Kingsley Uys of Australia U18 is tackled. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images for Rugby Australia)

While Wallace said it was clear that Uys had a “high ceiling”, he added that it was important to note there’s still a long way to go.

“He’s by no means the finished product, I think that’s really important,” Wallace said.

“People can get carried away with an under-18 game, but the reality is it’s an under-18 game. It’s not Super Rugby, it’s not Test rugby, it’s under-18s.

“When he comes back to school we’ll be saying ‘mate, awesome, we’re so proud of you and you’ve done a great job, but let’s use it as the base to move forward, lets continue to grow in the areas you need to get better at, lets maintain your attention to detail, lets work really hard on your off-field leadership.’

“All those key fundamentals that are the difference between being a good player and a great player.

“There’s a lot of players who have achieved success at this level who have never gone on, that’s the question, what’s going to set you apart?

“That’s where we at TSS we will continue to work really hard for him.”

Originally published as The making of top Australian rugby prospect Kingsley Uys after New Zealand domination