Wallabies rookies set for trial by fire in Tri-Nations opener
MELBOURNE: Wallabies coach Dave Rennie said a youth-led insurrection could rise up to topple the All Blacks in the Tri-Nations opener tomorrow after naming four uncapped players in his matchday squad.
ACT Brumbies backs Noah Lolesio and Irae Simone will make their Test debuts in the starting 15 at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium, with Queensland Reds pair Fraser McReight and Tate McDermott also a chance to debut off the bench.
Flyhalf Lolesio, 20, and inside centre Simone are injury-enforced changes with the experienced duo of James O’Connor and Matt Toomua ruled out for tomorrow’s match, which doubles as the third Bledisloe Cup Test.
The Wallabies backline will be one of the rawest seen in years but Rennie said the rookies could help Australia hit back after the 27-7 reverse in Auckland two weeks ago.
“We’ve certainly got an eye for the future but it’s also about winning on Saturday,” Rennie told reporters.
“It’s exciting for us. We’ve got some young men who have been tested and are learning lots. But there’s no reason why if we go out and play at our best on the weekend, we can’t get a win.”
The All Blacks, who have retained the Bledisloe Cup since 2003, hold a 1-0 lead in the fourTest series after the victory at Eden Park and a 16-16 draw in the first Test in Wellington.
Simone, 25, is joined by 20-yearold livewire Jordan Petaia, who replaces centre Hunter Paisami at midfield after coming off the bench for an eye-catching cameo in Auckland.
The more experienced Dane Haylett-Petty has been recalled at fullback in place of Tom Banks, who drops out of the matchday squad for the first Test on Australian soil in 2020.