Bledisloe Cup: Wallabies team for match three, Noah Lolesio to play at five-eighth
The Wallabies have named four debutants for the Third Bledisloe Cup Test with coach Dave Rennie forced to turn to a rookie playmaker.
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Noah Lolesio will make his Wallabies test debut on Saturday – starting at five-eighth – after James O’Connor was sensationally ruled out of the third Bledisloe Cup clash against New Zealand with a knee injury.
Coach Dave Rennie has thrown the 20-year-old rookie into the proverbial lion’s den after being forced to reshuffle his backline after losing his two most experienced inside backs - O’Connor and Matt Toomua to injury.
Lolesio, who steered the Brumbies to the Super Rugby AU title, will take over the playmaking role while his ACT teammate Irae Simone will earn his first test cap as the replacement for Toomua at inside centre.
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Rennie also named another two uncapped players on the bench - Queensland halfback Tate McDermott and his Reds teammate, loose forward Fraser McReight - in a host of changes to the Wallabies side that lost the second test 27-7 in Auckland.
Seven of the 15 starters have played less than five tests - making this one of the most inexperienced Australian sides ever to face the All Blacks in a match the Wallabies need to win to keep the series alive.
“It’s really exciting to be able to name four more debutants in the squad this week,” Rennie said.
“Noah and Irae have played a lot of footy together and we have no doubt they’re ready to take the step up to test rugby. Tate and Fraser have had big Super Rugby seasons and have impressed in training over the past month.”
Rennie also recalled Queensland whizkid Jordan Petaia at outside centre after he came off the bench in the second test. He replaces Hunter Paisami, who remains in the 23 man squad as a reserve.
Dane Haylett-Petty will start at fullback after Tom Banks was dropped, marking his first test appearance since last year’s World Cup, while there was another big surprise in the front row.
Allan Alaalatoa was picked to start at tighthead prop ahead of the one-man wrecking ball Taniela Tupou, who was relegated to the replacements bench at ANZ Stadium.
“It’s an especially significant night for us with the chance to represent and celebrate our First Nations people by wearing the Indigenous jersey on home soil in front of our Wallabies family,” Rennie said.
“We know New Zealand will pose another tough challenge but we’ve prepared well and will be ready to go on Saturday night.”
The All Blacks have made three changes to their starting forward pack but kept the same backline.
Hoskins Sotutu will play at number eight, replacing Ardie Savea, who stayed in New Zealand after the recent birth of his son.
“He’s had plenty of minutes already in the Bledisloe Cup series and he’s ready to go,” New Zealand coach Ian Foster said.
“He’s excited. It’s a chance to start his first test so it’s pretty special for him.”
Karl Tu’inukuafe comes in at loosehead prop for Joe Moody, who was ruled out with concussion, while Sam Whitelock returns at lock.
Tyrel Lomax replaces Nepo Laulala - who is also on paternity leave - on the bench while loose forward Dalton Papalii and midfielder Ngani Laumape were added as fresh replacements.
“It’s the third test of a four test series and the Bledisloe Cup is on the line,” Foster said.
“It’s a real chance for us to come into their home patch, a place which they take a lot of pride in playing and for a trophy which means a lot to them, and we need to show them how much it means to us. The chance to go and win a trophy that’s precious to us is exciting.
“None of our players, even our experienced ones, have had to win the trophy in Australia. In the past the deciding game has always been in New Zealand, so I think it’s a great challenge for us.
“It’s been a two-pronged learning approach for us. Firstly, we’ve been learning about how we can get better ourselves and we’ve been delighted with the way the new players especially have made progress there.
“Now we just need to cement the growth in our game. Secondly, clearly, we’ve also been learning about the Australians.”
WALLABIES TEAM
15-Dane Haylett-Petty, 14-Filipo Daugunu, 13-Jordan Petaia, 12-Irae Simone, 11-Marika Koroibete, 10-Noah Lolesio, 9-Nic White, 8-Harry Wilson, 7-Michael Hooper (captain), 6-Ned Hanigan, 5-Matt Philip, 4-Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 3-Allan Alaalatoa, 2-Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1-James Slipper
Reserves: 16-Jordan Uelese, 17-Scott Sio, 18-Taniela Tupou, 19-Rob Simmons, 20-Fraser McReight, 21-Tate McDermott, 22-Reece Hodge , 23-Hunter Paisami
ALL BLACKS TEAM
15-Beauden Barrett, 14-Jordie Barrett, 13-Anton Lienert-Brown, 12-Jack Goodhue, 11-Caleb Clarke, 10-Richie Mo’unga, 9-Aaron Smith, 8-Hoskins Sotutu, 7-Sam Cane (captain), 6-Shannon Frizell, 5-Sam Whitelock, 4-Patrick Tuipulotu, 3-Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 2-Dane Coles, 1-Karl Tu’inukuafe
Reserves: 16-Codie Taylor, 17-Alex Hodgman, 18-Tyrel Lomax, 19-Scott Barrett , 20-Dalton Papalii, 21-TJ Perenara, 22-Ngani Laumape, 23-Rieko Ioane
Shock Bledisloe Cup return for unwanted Wallaby
Dane Haylett-Petty will be rushed straight back into the Wallabies team for Saturday’s must win Bledisloe Cup match at ANZ Stadium more than a year after he was dumped from the World Cup side.
Haylett-Petty hasn’t played for the Wallabies since last year’s final pool D game against Georgia in Japan after he was surprisingly left out of the team that lost in the quarterfinals to England but has been given a reprieve by new coach Dave Rennie.
Unavailable for the first two Bledisloe Cup tests because of a groin injury, the Melbourne Rebels’ captain will start at fullback against the All Blacks, replacing Tom Banks after he struggled in the second test defeat in Auckland.
“The way we’ve approached it is jerseys are up for grabs, so they have to prove at training they are worthy of the shirt,” assistant coach Scott Wisemantel said.
“Obviously now that Super Rugby has finished and they’re not playing games regularly, it has to be training. Shirts have been given out on the basis of training performances. On that basis, it means that everyone is a chance.”
The Wallabies will have to make one enforced change to the backline with inside centre Matt Toomua on the casualty list, with Irae Simone and Reece Hodge vying for the spot, and are also likely to bring in whiz-kid Jordan Petaia at outside centre.
Wallaby World Cup winner Tim Horan said Petaia’s return from injury left Rennie with some ‘brave calls’ to make but former All Black Andrew Mehrtens said it was no-brainer to pick him at outside centre.
“For me, Petaia has got to be at 13, he’s just got so much ability,” Mehrtens said.
“He’s such a threat on so many levels that you want the ball in his hands as often as possible and he’ll get those chances more at 13 than on the wing.
“The interesting thing in the midfield, with potentially a couple of inexperienced players in there, I’d almost be tempted to throw Reece Hodge in the mix to provide a bit more of that vision and communication alongside (James) O’Connor.”
Wisemantel said the Wallabies hadn’t lost any self-belief after their 27-7 loss in the second test, rejecting suggestions the All Blacks had overpowered Australia after the drawn first test.
Instead, Wisemantel said the Wallabies brought about their own downfall by missing 40 tackles and turning the ball over 20 times.
“Did they take it up a notch or were we inaccurate?” Wisemantel said.
“(We) Just need to be far more accurate. Defence, attack, our whole all-round game, we’ve got to be more accurate.”
Meanwhile, Wallaby prop Scott Sio and New Zealand lock Patrick Tuipulotu have put their rivalry to the side by calling on Australia and New Zealand to end the “broken promises” and finally to do more for Pacific Island players and teams.
Appointed as ambassadors for the Samoa Tourism Authority with the country’s economy hard hit by the pandemic, both men said the need for a Pasifika team in Super Rugby had moved past the lip service stage.
“This is something that we want but then again there are a lot of hoops to go through and a lot of cogs to move before we get anywhere,” Tuipulotu said.
“It‘s almost like there has been a lot of broken promises over the years and it’s hard to really start something.”
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Sio, whose father represented Samoa at test level, said there was overwhelming support among all players for matches in the Pacific.
“It’s not that players don’t want to travel there,” he said.
“There are a lot of boxes needing to be ticked and we don’t have a lot of influence on a lot of that. But we can use our platform to keep raising that awareness that we think it’s a great opportunity for both countries to expand and grow the game of rugby.”
Wallabies vs All Blacks Bledisloe III is Live on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo from 7.00pm Saturday (Available in 4k on Foxtel)
Originally published as Bledisloe Cup: Wallabies team for match three, Noah Lolesio to play at five-eighth