The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

WALLABIES TEAM: Rennie makes ten changes, including a surprise at 15, leaves kryptonite on the bench

17th November, 2022
Advertisement
Autoplay in... 6 (Cancel)
Up Next No more videos! Playlist is empty -
Replay
Cancel
Next
Editor
17th November, 2022
424
8075 Reads

DUBLIN – Dave Rennie is hoping a second half blitz from Taniela Tupou and Will Skelton can lead to the Wallabies running over the top of Ireland on Sunday (7am AEDT).

The giant duo were named on the bench as Rennie made wholesale changes to the side that suffered an embarrassing defeat in Florence last weekend.

In total there are 10 changes to the starting side, with seven changes to the pack, the return of experienced halves duo Nic White and Bernard Foley and a back three switch which has seen Andrew Kellaway return at fullback.

While Mark Nawaqanitawase has earned selection after a promising showing on debut last weekend and will likely line-up against Canberra-born Irish winger Mack Hansen in an exciting match up.

“We picked a shadow team a couple of weeks ago that would play against Ireland and we were hoping that the performance against Italy would potentially promote some individuals,” Rennie said.

“Mark Nawaqanitawase obviously had a pretty solid debut. We’re keen to give him another crack.
“And then obviously a number of guys that were rested or injured are back in.”

Advertisement

Changes were always going to come thick and fast.

Rennie had taken one eye off the match against Italy by resting a number of his first-choice players as he prepared for the challenge a week later against Ireland.

It bit him on the backside, with the Wallabies losing to a nation outside the top 10 on the World Rugby rankings for the first time since Robbie Deans’ side lost to Samoa ahead of the 2011 World Cup.

Rennie said the Wallabies were hurting but needed to move on quickly. “The only way to do that is a response against the Irish,” he said.


“They’re an excellent side. They’re very well coached and very well drilled, they’ve got a lot of experience. A lot of players who (have) 30-Test caps and probably played 150 plus club games.

“But that’s exciting. We get to test ourselves against the top ranked side in the world.”

Reds fullback Jock Campbell, who made his debut off the bench against Scotland before being promoted to the No.15 jersey for the defeats against France and Italy, is the biggest casualty from the defeat.

Advertisement
Andrew Kellaway. (Photo by Getty Images)

(Photo by Getty Images)

While Kellaway’s selection at fullback is curious given Rennie recently said the Wallabies saw the outside back “more as a winger”, his selection also hints at the way the Wallabies want to play moving forward.

Nawaqanitawase’s aerial prowess offers the Wallabies a real point of difference and Foley spent much of the week kicking across the field at training for the gifted jumper.

“We think Mark’s pushed his way into the reckoning and we want to explore that further,” said Rennie after being probed about Campbell’s axing.

“Jock was nowhere near his best on the weekend, and he was crook late in the week and he was probably a bit flat on game day. We still rate him, he’s certainly still in the reckoning for Wales.”

The Wallabies’ forward pack is better balanced with the availability of all their big men.

James Slipper returns from a well-earned week off and captains the side and he joins an experienced front-row trio alongside hooker Dave Porecki and Allan Alaalatoa.

Advertisement

Nick Frost has recovered from illness and a minor injury to partner his Brumbies teammate Cadeyrn Neville while it is the same back-row from the trio that took the field in Paris, with Jed Holloway, Michael Hooper and Rob Valetini recalled after missing the Florence disaster.

But it is the finish that Rennie is targeting.

As the Irish press wrote about on Thursday, Skelton has been Leinster’s kryptonite during his time in Europe.

He smashed Ireland’s provincial juggernaut, first at Saracens and more recently with La Rochelle.

If the Wallabies are in the contest, Tupou and Skelton can burst the dam wall with their explosive and destructive running games. Pete Samu’s pace can complement the mammoth tight-five forwards.

“Obviously with Nev and Frosty starting, it gives us a lot of lineout options,” Rennie said on the decision to bring Skelton off the bench.

“Will off the bench, hopefully giving us plenty of impact. It’s a strong bench with him and Taniela and Pete Samu and the like to come on. It gives us a really good finish.”

Advertisement

Unsurprisingly Rennie’s men are long odds against the world No.1 nation, with the Wallabies $6 outsiders earlier in the week.

They are ridiculous odds for a nation that has made a habit of surprising the rugby world for better or for worse.

For now though Rennie doesn’t care about favourites. Instead, he just wants his side to deliver a performance Australia can be proud of.

“We won’t talk about being underdogs,” he said. “There’s no doubt we’re playing the top side in the world.

“We’ve talked a lot about us and what we need to put on the pack to get a result and we know that’s important. We let ourselves down last week, we let our country down and we’re keen for a response.”

Wallabies team
1. James Slipper (c) (125 Tests)
2. David Porecki (9 Tests)
3. Allan Alaalatoa (62 Tests)
4. Nick Frost (7 Tests)
5. Cadeyrn Neville (6 Tests)
6. Jed Holloway (8 Tests)
7. Michael Hooper (123 Tests)
8. Rob Valetini (29 Tests)
9. Nic White (58 Tests)
10. Bernard Foley (75 Tests)
11. Tom Wright (21 Tests)
12. Hunter Paisami (23 Tests)
13. Len Ikitau (24 Tests)
14. Mark Nawaqanitawase (1 Test)
15. Andrew Kellaway (20 Tests)
Replacements
16. Folau Fainga’a (36 Tests)
17. Tom Robertson (29 Tests)
18. Taniela Tupou (46 Tests)
19. Will Skelton (23 Tests)
20. Pete Samu (31 Tests)
21. Jake Gordon (18 Tests)
22. Noah Lolesio (16 Tests)
23. Jordan Petaia (23 Tests)

close