Forgotten man Christian Leali’ifano will jump into the jersey Kurtley Beale coveted when he plays his first Test of the year against the All Blacks on Saturday night.
Without a minute of Wallabies action this season, Leali’ifano is set to start at inside centre at Suncorp Stadium as a replacement for the injured Matt Toomua.
Toomua has started all nine Tests at No.12 – keeping Beale on the bench for all but the two he started at five-eighth against New Zealand – but is being rested due to concussion concerns.
Beale would have been the automatic replacement before revelations of the texting scandal which has seen him suspended indefinitely and fighting to save his Test career.
Goalkicking sharpshooter Leali’ifano had been a mainstay of the backline last year before injuring his ankle and losing his place to Toomua.
But this year he lost his kicking radar in Super Rugby following continued ankle problems and failed to shine as brightly for the Brumbies.
Leali’ifano is set to be one of two changes to the starting 15 which lost 21-17 to Argentina nine days ago in Mendoza, an inglorious defeat that has seen Australia drop to No.4 on the world rankings.
The second is expected to be in the second-row where a gigantic challenge against the smarting All Blacks may see the Wallabies settle on a giant of a solution in Will Skelton.
The 140kg Skelton would be a shock starter with lineout general Rob Simmons due to return from a head knock.
But the NSW Waratahs’ cult figure ran with the main team – beside fellow lock James Horwill – at an open Wallabies training session in front of a few hundred fans at Ballymore on Monday afternoon.
Coach Ewen McKenzie may be considering playing his two biggest locks together – instead of the more mobile Carter and Simmons – to add muscle and attacking impetus to his pack.
Although the Wallabies appear rank underdogs following a week of turmoil, vice-captain Adam Ashley-Cooper is still adamant they can beat their arch-rivals to split the Bledisloe series.
Ashley-Cooper said his 100-Test milestone had also been made more special due to the opposition on Saturday night.
“I wouldn’t ask for anyone different,” he said.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has been coy about whether Aaron Cruden would return from suspension at No.10 in place of Beauden Barrett.
But veteran centre Conrad Smith, rated by Ashley-Cooper as his most respected opponent, has been cleared of a head knock in a major boost.
Meng
Guest
Christian is one of my favourite players, and a really great bloke whose recent public support of Ms Patston speaks volumes for the common sense and maturity he obviously possesses (contrast this with Hooper's indefensible support of his mate's abusive behaviour). Sure he's not in the best of form, but his record over the past three seasons, his cool head, and his dedication to the common good make him the obvious choice to start at 12 this weekend. We can all be quite sure that, if the Wallabies had 15 Christian Leali'ifano's there would be no scandals and the Wallabies could never be accused of doing less than their best.
Hertryk
Guest
Where's Matty Hodgson in all this..time he got off the bench.. Link are you listening !!!
Demark
Guest
Big call Christian form has been way off even in NRC saw him play once and was awful prefer to try Godwin to be honest
DJW
Guest
Agreed with Dmac. He has had a poor season including his kicking radar going. I be tempted to blood Godwih. Its a baptism of fire but so be it.
dmac
Guest
He really should have been, his form this year has been very poor. Hopefully he can step up on Saturday.
Garry Edwards
Guest
He should never have been dropped/replaced in the first place. I can think of a whole lot of others that should be dropped and should have been dropped starting at the very top. Maybe this selection is another act of deflection away from the real issues of the snotty nose schoolboy club.