Joe Schmidt has selected his Wallabies side to face Ireland on Saturday, as the men in gold look to bounce back after a demoralising defeat to Italy last weekend.
Australian fans will be pleased, once again, to see James O’Connor regain his place at 10, as he’s been given the nod to unleash the centre partnership of Len Ikitau and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii.
Jake Gordon is once again selected at scrum-half, while Max Jorgensen, Filipo Daugunu and Harry Potter make up the back three.
Rob Valetini starts
Allan Alaalatoa is another who returns to the starting XV, where he will combine with hooker Matt Faessler and Angus Bell in the front-row. Tom Hooper partners with Jeremy Williams in the second-row, while Rob Valetini returns to start at blindside flanker alongside Fraser McReight at openside and skipper Harry Wilson at the back of the scrum.
Tom Robertson, Billy Pollard and Zane Nonggorr are the replacement front-rowers, while lock Nick Frost shifts to an impact role off the bench, with Perth’s Carlo Tizzano selected as the cover for the back-row.
There’s no space for Carter Gordon, as Ryan Lonergan and Tane Edmed back up as replacement playmakers, while the versatile Andrew Kellaway will wear the number 23 jersey and cover multiple positions across the backline.
Wallabies head coach Schmidt said: “It’s been a tough schedule but we’ve tried to embrace that this week and tried to freshen up at the same time.”
“It’s another opportunity this Saturday to really challenge ourselves against one of the top teams in the world.”
Wallabies squad to face Ireland
Starting XV: 15 Max Jorgensen, 14 Filipo Daugunu, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Harry Potter, 10 James O’Connor, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Harry Wilson (c), 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Tom Hooper, 4 Jeremy Williams, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Matt Faessler, 1 Angus Bell
Replacements: 16 Billy Pollard, 17 Tom Robertson, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Nick Frost, 20 Carlo Tizzano, 21 Ryan Lonergan, 22 Tane Edmed, 23 Andrew Kellaway
Date: Saturday, November 15
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 20:10 GMT (07:10 AEDT, 22:10 SAST)
Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Brace (IRFU), Craig Evans (WRU)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU)
FPRO: Mike Adamson (SRU)