The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

Australia & New Zealand Bledisloe Cup teams 2023

Advertisement
Jordan Petaia of the Wallabies passes during the The Rugby Championship & Bledisloe Cup match between the Australia Wallabies and the New Zealand All Blacks at Melbourne Cricket Ground on July 29, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

The 2023 Bledisloe Cup series has finished. Here are the teams that played in the two Tests.

Bledisloe 2 2023 teams

New Zealand Number Australia
Tamaiti Williams 1 Angus Bell
Samisoni Taukei’aho 2 Dave Porecki
Nepo Laulala 3 Pone Fa’amausili
Brodie Retallick 4 Nick Frost
Sam Whitelock 5 Richie Arnold
Samipeni Finau 6 Tom Hooper
Sam Cane (c) 7 Fraser McReight
Ardie Savea 8 Rob Valetini
Finlay Christie 9 Tate McDermott (c)
Damian McKenzie 10 Carter Gordon
Leicester Fainga’anuku 11 Marika Koroibete
Anton Lienert-Brown 12 Samu Kerevi
Braydon Ennor 13 Jordan Petaia
Shaun Stevenson 14 Mark Nawaqanitawase
Will Jordan 15 Andrew Kellaway
Reserves
Dane Coles 16 Matt Faessler
Ofa Tu’ungafasi 17 James Slipper
Fletcher Newell 18 Zane Nonggorr
Tupou Vaa’i 19 Will Skelton
Luke Jacobson 20 Rob Leota
Aaron Smith 21 Nic White
Richie Mo’unga 22 Quade Cooper
Dallas McLeod 23 Izaia Perese

Wallabies
With James Slipper again starting on the bench and Game 1 captain Allan Alaalatoa out injured, Tate McDermott was named as Wallabies skipper for Game 2.

Kerevi got the gig at inside centre, but Dave Rennie elected to stick with Noah Lolesio at fly-half. Izack Rodda was the other big inclusion, making his Wallabies return via the bench.

All Blacks
Having secured the Bledisloe Cup, the All Blacks made a whopping 12 changes for Game 2, with only Brodie Retallick, Ardie Savea and Will Jordan remaining from the starting 15 for Game 1.

Bledisloe 1 2023 teams

Australia Number New Zealand
Angus Bell 1 Ethan de Groot
Dave Porecki 2 Codie Taylor
Allan Alaalatoa (c) 3 Tyrel Lomax
Nick Frost 4 Brodie Retallick
Will Skelton 5 Scott Barrett
Jed Holloway 6 Shannon Frizell
Tom Hooper 7 Dalton Papali’i
Rob Valetini 8 Ardie Savea (c)
Tate McDermott 9 Aaron Smith
Carter Gordon 10 Richie Mo’unga
Marika Koroibete 11 Mark Telea
Samu Kerevi 12 Jordie Barrett
Jordan Petaia 13 Rieko Ioane
Mark Nawaqanitawase 14 Will Jordan
Andrew Kellaway 15 Beauden Barrett
Reserves
Jordan Uelese 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho
James Slipper 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi
Taniela Tupou 18 Nepo Laulala
Richie Arnold 19 Sam Whitelock
Rob Leota 20 Luke Jacobson
Nic White 21 Cam Roigard
Quade Cooper 22 Anton Lienert-Brown
Izaia Perese 23 Caleb Clarke
Advertisement

Wallabies

Tom Wright, Reece Hodge and Pete Samu paid the price for the Wallabies’ underwhelming start in 2023, with Eddie Jones leaving out the trio for Game 1. Taniela Tupou returned for his first Wallabies game since a major Achilles injury.

All Blacks

Ardie Savea led the side for the fifth time in his career, with Sam Cane withdrawn due to a neck strain sustained in the win over South Africa in Auckland.

His absence meant Dalton Papali’i wore the No.7 jersey for the 14th time in his Test career, with Luke Jacobson coming into the match-day 23 as loose forward cover.

Bledisloe 2 2022 teams

New Zealand Number Australia
Ethan de Groot 1 James Slipper (c)
Codie Taylor 2 Dave Porecki
Tyrel Lomax 3 Allan Alaalatoa
Brodie Retallick 4 Jed Holloway
Sam Whitelock 5 Cadeyrn Neville
Akira Ioane 6 Rob Valetni
Dalton Papalii 7 Pete Samu
Ardie Savea (c) 8 Harry Wilson
Aaron Smith 9 Jake Gordon
Richie Mo’unga 10 Bernard Foley
Caleb Clarke 11 Marika Koroibete
Jordie Barrett 12 Lalakai Foketi
Rieko Ioane 13 Len Ikitau
Will Jordan 14 Tom Wright
Beauden Barrett 15 Andrew Kellaway
Reserves
Samisoni Taukei’aho 16 Folau Fainga’a
Ofa Tu’ungafasi 17 Angus Bell
Nepo Laulala 18 Pone Fa’amausili
Tupou Vaa’i 19 Nick Frost
Hoskins Sotutu 20 Fraser McReight
Finlay Christie 21 Nic White
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 22 Reece Hodge
Sevu Reece 23 Jordan Petaia
Advertisement

Bledisloe 1 2022 teams

Australia Number New Zealand
James Slipper (c) 1 Ethan de Groot
Dave Porecki 2 Samisoni Taukei’aho
Allan Alaalatoa 3 Tyrel Lomax
Jed Holloway 4 Brodie Retallick
Matt Philip 5 Sam Whitelock
Rob Leota 6 Scott Barrett
Pete Samu 7 Sam Cane (c)
Rob Valetini 8 Hoskins Sotutu
Jake Gordon 9 Aaron Smith
Bernard Foley 10 Richie Mo’unga
Marika Koroibete 11 Caleb Clarke
Lalakai Foketi 12 David Havili
Len Ikitau 13 Rieko Ioane
Tom Wright 14 Will Jordan
Andrew Kellaway 15 Jordie Barrett
Reserves
Folau Fainga’a 16 Dane Coles
Scott Sio 17 George Bower
Pone Fa’amausili 18 Fletcher Newell
Darcy Swain 19 Akira Ioane
Fraser McReight 20 Dalton Papali’i
Nic White 21 Finlay Christie
Reece Hodge 22 Beauden Barrett
Jordan Petaia 23 Quinn Tupaea

Bledisloe 3 2021 teams

Australia Number New Zealand
James Slipper 1 George Bower
Folau Fainga’a 2 Codie Taylor
Allan Alaalatoa 3 Nepo Laulala
Darcy Swain 4 Brodie Retallick
Matt Philip 5 Scott Barrett
Lachlan Swinton 6 Akira Ioane
Michael Hooper (c) 7 Dalton Papalii
Rob Valetini 8 Ardie Savea (c)
Tate McDermott 9 Brad Weber
Noah Lolesio 10 Beauden Barrett
Marika Koroibete 11 Rieko Ioane
Samu Kerevi 12 David Havili
Len Ikitau 13 Anton Lienert-Brown
Andrew Kellaway 14 Will Jordan
Tom Banks 15 Jordie Barrett
Reserves
Lachlan Lonergan 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho
Angus Bell 17 Karl Tu’inukuafe
Taniela Tupou 18 Angus Ta’avao
Izack Rodda 19 Tupou Vaa’i
Pete Samu 20 Ethan Blackadder
Nic White 21 TJ Perenara
Reece Hodge 22 Damian McKenzie
Jordan Petaia 23 George Bridge

Wallabies
The big questions on Wallabies fans’ lips were whether Samu Kerevi and Quade Cooper would make their returns to the international side.

Kerevi got the gig at inside centre, but Dave Rennie elected to stick with Noah Lolesio at fly-half. Izack Rodda was the other big inclusion, making his Wallabies return via the bench.

All Blacks
Having wrapped the Bledisloe once again, the All Blacks made a few changes for Game 3.

Advertisement

Brad Weber and Beauden Barrett replaced Aaron Smith and Richie Mo’unga as the halves, while there were also plenty of changes to the backline.

Bledisloe 2 2021 teams

New Zealand Number Australia
George Bower 1 James Slipper
Codie Taylor 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa
Nepo Laulala 3 Allan Alaalatoa
Brodie Retallick 4 Darcy Swain
Sam Whitelock (c) 5 Matt Philip
Akira Ioane 6 Lachie Swinton
Dalton Papalii 7 Michael Hooper (c)
Ardie Savea 8 Rob Valetini
Aaron Smith 9 Tate McDermott
Richie Mo’unga 10 Noah Lolesio
Sevu Reece 11 Marika Koroibete
David Havili 12 Matt To’omua
Rieko Ioane 13 Hunter Paisami
Will Jordan 14 Andrew Kellaway
Damian McKenzie 15 Tom Banks
Reserves
Samisoni Taukei’aho 16 Jordan Uelese
Karl Tu’inukuafe 17 Scott Sio
Angus Ta’avao 18 Taniela Tupou
Scott Barrett 19 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto
Luke Jacobson 20 Harry Wilson
TJ Perenara 21 Nic White
Beauden Barrett 22 Len Ikitau
Jordie Barrett 23 Reece Hodge

Wallabies
Dave Rennie made four changes to his lineup for the second Test.

Into the side came Marika Koroibete and Lachie Swinton, while Matt Philip and Matt To’omua were promoted off the bench.

Koroibete’s inclusion saw Andrew Kellaway swapped to the opposite wing and Jordan Petaia left out altogether. To’omua’s promotion also saw Hunter Paisami swap centre positions and relegated Len Ikitau to the reserves.

In the forward pack, Philip joined Darcy Swain for their first Test together as the front row, while Swinton’s inclusion moved Rob Valetini to number eight and saw Harry Wilson drop down to the bench.

Advertisement

All Blacks
New Zealand made a few changes to their backline after finishing the first Test fairly poorly against the Wallabies.

Will Jordan came onto the right wing, pushing Sevu Reece to the other wing and moving Rieko Ioane into the centres. Anton Lienert-Brown dropped out as a result.

On the bench, Scott Barrett – who withdrew from the first Test with illness – reclaimed his spot from Patrick Tuipulotu, while TJ Perenara was also added to the pine in place of Brad Weber.

Bledisloe 1 2021 teams

New Zealand Number Australia
George Bower 1 James Slipper
Codie Taylor 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa
Nepo Laulala 3 Allan Alaalatoa
Brodie Retallick 4 Darcy Swain
Sam Whitelock (c) 5 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto
Akira Ioane 6 Rob Valetini
Dalton Papalii 7 Michael Hooper (c)
Ardie Savea 8 Harry Wilson
Aaron Smith 9 Tate McDermott
Richie Mo’unga 10 Noah Lolesio
Rieko Ioane 11 Andrew Kellaway
David Havili 12 Hunter Paisami
Anton Lienert-Brown 13 Len Ikitau
Sevu Reece 14 Jordan Petaia
Damian McKenzie 15 Tom Banks
Reserves
Samisoni Taukei’aho 16 Jordan Uelese
Karl Tu’inukuafe 17 Angus Bell
Angus Ta’avao 18 Taniela Tupou
Patrick Tuipulotu 19 Matt Philip
Luke Jacobson 20 Fraser McReight
Brad Weber 21 Jake Gordon
Beauden Barrett 22 Matt To’omua
Jordie Barrett 23 Reece Hodge

Wallabies
The Wallabies were rocked before even announcing their team, after Marika Koroibete, Pone Fa’amausili and Isi Naisarani were all stood down for a drinking sessions that breached team curfew.

While the trio were cleared of any legal wrongdoing, their violation of team protocol saw them stood down for the first Test.

Advertisement

Jordan Petaia was the big beneficiary, starting on the right wing in his first Wallabies appearance of the season.

All Blacks
Richie Mo’unga claimed the starting flyhalf gig ahead of Beauden Barrett for Bledisloe 1. The two number 10s had regularly swapped starting gigs over previous Tests, but it was Mo’unga getting the gig first up.

Barrett was to be joined by brothers Jordie and Scott on the bench, but Scott withdrew from the the first Test with illness and was replaced by Patrick Tuipulotu.

That was one of two late changes swung by the All Blacks, with Dane Coles succumbing to a calf injury and being replaced by Samisoni Taukei’aho.

More Rugby content

close