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THE Wallabies' backline will be more green than gold as Australia fields one of its most inexperienced combinations in the backs-to-the-wall Rugby Championship Test against Argentina in Rosario on Sunday morning (AEDT).
The loss of outside centre Adam Ashley-Cooper (concussion) and Berrick Barnes (punctured lung) has taken out 118 Test caps from the Wallabies' backline.
The starting backline has been left with just 87 caps, which is an average of 12.4 per player.
Of the seven backs, five-eighth Kurtley Beale (30) and winger Digby Ioane (30) have more than two-thirds of the caps between them, leaving the other five - fullback Mike Harris, winger Nick Cummins, outside centre Ben Tapuai, inside centre Pat McCabe and halfback Nick Phipps with an average of 5.4 caps.
If you take out McCabe's 16 caps, more than half the backline has an average of 2.7 caps.
Yet Cummins is the only member of the backline making his Test debut, while Tapuai will line up for his second Test after making his debut against Wales in Cardiff last December. Cummins is the Wallabies' 11th new cap this year and the 38th player to be used in the 10 Tests so far, underlining the severity of the injury crisis that has hit the team.
If Australia was at full strength, only two of the backs - Beale and McCabe - would be in the starting line-up and Beale would be at fullback and not five-eighth.
Harris, normally a five-eighth or inside centre, becomes the Wallabies' fifth fullback in 10 Tests.
The Wallabies' attack revolves largely around McCabe getting across the advantage line from the set-pieces, but it would not surprise to see him interchange with Harris in phase play.
Overall, there are five changes to the side that started in the Wallabies' 31-8 loss to the Springboks in Pretoria last Sunday.
Along with the injured, winger Dom Shipperley, blindside flanker Dave Dennis and loosehead prop Benn Robinson have been relegated to the bench.
As expected, the Wallabies will start with a monster forward pack. Second rower Sitaleki Timani returns from injury to replace Dennis at number six.
The presence of three second rowers in the back five will strengthen the scrum and add height to the lineout.
Timani, who has had the odd game at blindside flanker with the NSW Waratahs, will also provide the Wallabies with the physicality that was missing against the Springboks.
The starting of Slipper ahead of Robinson is also designed to give the forward pack more grunt.
Deans has stuck with a five-two split betwen forwards and backs on the reserves bench in anticipation of a battle royale up front.
With the omission of Rob Simmons from the 22-man squad, there is no specialist second rower on the bench so Dennis will have to cover that position.
The only backs on the bench are halfback Brett Sheehan and Shipperley. Midfielder Anthony Faingaa is out of the 22-man squad.
Reserve backrower Scott Higginbotham will undergo a fitness test on his injured back before taking his place on the bench.
Meanwhile, the IRB has confirmed referee Alain Rolland incorrectly prevented the Wallabies making a substitition in Pretoria, which meant they played the last 14 minutes with 14 men.
Rolland ruled the Wallabies had already used their seven substitutions when hooker Saia Faingaa attempted to replace Tatafu Polota-Nau, after the Wallabies doctor told the referee Polota-Nau was unfit to continue.
The IRB said Faingaa should have been permitted to replace Polota-Nau as Robinson, who had already been substituted, replaced Ben Alexander, who was injured.
Wallabies team: 15: Mike Harris, 14: Nick Cummins, 13: Ben Tapuai, 12: Pat McCabe, 11: Digby Ioane, 10: Kurtley Beale, 9: Nick Phipps, 8: Radike Samo, 7: Michael Hooper, 6: Sitaleki Timani, 5: Nathan Sharpe (c), Kane Douglas, 3: Ben Alexander, 2: Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1: James Slipper. Reserves: 16: Saia Faingaa, 17: Benn Robinson, 18: Dave Dennis, 19: Scott Higginbotham, 20: Liam Gill, 21: Brett Sheehan, 22: Dom Shipperley.
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