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Wallaby coach Michael Cheika saw fit to sack only Samu Kerevi. Curtis Rona, and Rory Arnold after the abysmal performance against the All Blacks at ANZ Stadium last Saturday night.
Kerevi was the only one of the three to miss out altogether, Cheika leaving Rona and Arnold on the bench.
Tevita Kuridrani takes over Kerevi’s outside centre sppt, Dane Haylett-Petty returns from a bicep injury to replace Rona on the wing, while Arnold gives way to a revitalised Rob Simmons as Adam Coleman’s lock partner.
The latter was a big decision as Simmons is eight centimeters shorter than Arnold, and that’s a lot of tall timber missing.
But Simmons’ 72 caps is a wealth of experience, and if he fires as well as he did for the Reds in the last few Super Rugby games, the Wallaby pack will lift.
But there are at least four other Wallabies who can count themselves damn lucky to be in the starting lineup.
Hooker Stephen Moore is the most capped in the squad, but he was lacking in both attack and defence last week.
The only plus was his ability to confer with referee Wayne Barnes, something where the current captain Michael Hooper has no idea how to communicate.
Prop Allan Alaalatoa was also fortunate as were flanker Ned Hanigan, and number eight Sean McMahon.
(AAP Image/David Moir)
Cheika will be looking to halfback Will Genia to return to his lively best – for some unknown reason he was well below par last week, which put flyhalf Bernard Foley under intense pressure, and that gave Kurtley Beale precious little room to use his attacking talent to advantage.
It doesn’t matter who has been picked, if the Wallaby defence is as frail as last week, the All Blacks will rattle up another cricket score, especially as they will play for 80 minutes and not declare at 53 minutes when they were leading 54-6.
It must be said it was dead-set unlucky that the Wallabies play the first two games of the Rugby Championship against the world champion All Backs.
We’ll never know, but the men in gold might have been more competitive against the Boks and Pumas had they been the first two games.
But fact are facts, and unless the Wallabies are competitive at Dunedin, and chalk up far less than 48 missed tackles, watching the Wallabies will be another hellish experience.
If that’s the case, Cheika has no option but to wield the big axe for the next two games against the Boks and Pumas.
Or the coach may well be facing the axe himself.
I’ll remind Roarers what The Guardian newspaper wrote four days before last weeks 54-34 debacle.
The headline told how the Wallabies can beat the All Blacks.
Tackle, tackle, and tackle again, then tackle some more.
If only.
Wallabies team for Bledisloe 2
1. Scott Sio (33 Tests)
2. Stephen Moore (121 Tests)
3. Allan Alaalatoa (13 Tests)
4. Rob Simmons (72 Tests)
5. Rory Arnold (13 Tests)
6. Ned Hanigan (4 Tests)
7. Michael Hooper (c) (69 Tests)
8. Sean McMahon (16 Tests)
9. Will Genia (79 Tests)
10. Bernard Foley (46 Tests)
11. Henry Speight (13 Tests)
12. Kurtley Beale (61 Tests)
13. Tevita Kuridrani (48 Tests)
14. Dane Haylett-Petty (17 Tests)
15. Israel Folau (56 Tests)
Reserves
16. Tatafu Polota-Nau (72 Tests)
17. Tom Robertson (10 Tests)
18. Sekope Kepu (81 Tests)
19. Izack Rodda (13 Tests)
20. Lopeti Timani (8 Tests)/Jack Dempsey (1 Test)
21. Nick Phipps (53 Tests)
22. Reece Hodge (14 Tests)
23. Curtis Rona (1 Test)