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The Wallabies are to use Matt Toomua as flyhalf in a reshaped side from the Lions Tour, with the Brumbies playmaker making his debut for Australia as one of five rookies taking it up against the might of the All Blacks.
Toomua is the only starting debutant, but the five uncapped players, including Scott Sio, Scott Fardy, Nic White and Tevita Kuridrani, indicates a new era under new coach Ewen McKenzie – rewarding the Brumbies players for their performance in Super Rugby.
From the final game of the Lions Tour, the team has Ben Mowen shifting to No.8, with James O’Connor to the wing. Prop James Slipper, lock Rob Simmons, flankers Hugh McMeniman and Michael Hooper, fullback Jesse Mogg and Toomua are all inclusions to the starting side.
McKenzie spoke ahead of his first Test as coach, indicating he was confident the new group could achieve immediate success as they begin their pursuit of winning the Bledisloe Cup for the first time since 2002.
“When we picked the team we didn’t spend one minute looking at how many Test caps a player had or the number of debutants. It was picked on performance over a sustained period of time and on how we want to play the game,” said McKenzie.
“The fact that five guys haven’t played a Test before isn’t a concern. Everyone has to start from somewhere and we definitely haven’t picked them on one game. Rather, they are starting their Test careers off the back of consistently strong performances at a provincial level.
“The reality is that whether it’s in Super Rugby or the Test arena, all our guys have a lot of familiarity with who we are playing against. I see that as a positive as we aren’t playing anyone we don’t already know a lot about.
“If you keep the contest in that space you will find that we’ve had success in all the head-to-head individual battles at some point and under different circumstances.
“So, if our guys do well against their individual opponent, than I think we’ve got a gameplan and a game style where we will be able to express ourselves and put the team in a good position to win.”
“We could have gone many different ways at flyhalf as we have a lot of good options there, but in the end we see some great tactical opportunities starting the game with Matt,” McKenzie said.
“It’s obvious that each of our playmaking options have different styles so it’s important that we’re looking to get the best out of their individual strengths at different stages of the game.
“To his credit, Matt has had a really good season and he has been playing up until last week in a team that made the Super Rugby Final. He’s done a lot of good things and there isn’t any reason he doesn’t deserve a go.”
The Wallabies side to play New Zealand in the opening Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship match at ANZ Stadium on Saturday 17 August is:
1. James Slipper (Queensland Reds)
2. Stephen Moore (ACT Brumbies)
3. Ben Alexander (ACT Brumbies)
4. Rob Simmons (Queensland Reds)
5. James Horwill (c) (Queensland Reds)
6. Hugh McMeniman (Western Force)
7. Michael Hooper (NSW Waratahs)
8. Ben Mowen (ACT Brumbies)
9. Will Genia (vc – Queensland Reds)
10. Matt Toomua (ACT Brumbies)*
11. James O’Connor (Melbourne Rebels)
12. Christian Leali’ifano (ACT Brumbies)
13. Adam Ashley-Cooper (NSW Waratahs)
14. Israel Folau (NSW Waratahs)
15. Jesse Mogg (ACT Brumbies)
Bench
16. Saia Fainga’a (Queensland Reds)
17. Scott Sio (ACT Brumbies)*
18. Sekope Kepu (NSW Waratahs)
19. Scott Fardy (ACT Brumbies)*
20. Liam Gill (Queensland Reds)
21. Nic White (ACT Brumbies)*
22. Quade Cooper (Queensland Reds)
23. Tevita Kuridrani (ACT Brumbies)*
*uncapped
– Tickets are still available for the clash.
More to follow.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.