Qantas Wallabies named for second Bledisloe test

[GAFFA]

Queensland Reds halfback Will Genia will captain Australia for the second time after the Qantas Wallabies team for the second Test of The Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship against the All Blacks was named today.

The elevation of Genia, and the inclusion of the promising Brumbies flanker Michael Hooper in the starting line-up, are both a consequence of the knee cartilage injury which has ruled out the previous Wallabies stand in skipper, David Pocock.

Genia, who led the Qantas Wallabies for the first time against the United States at last year’s Rugby World Cup, becomes Australia’s third skipper for the year, after the initial incumbent James Horwill was injured on the eve of the June Test window.

He will team for the first time this Test season with flyhalf Quade Cooper, who makes his long-awaited return following a serious knee injury at last year’s Rugby World Cup.

Cooper last featured for the Wallabies in the Bronze Final which was played at Saturday night’s Test venue: Auckland’s Eden Park.

The return of Cooper shifts Berrick Barnes out one place in the backline to inside centre. Barnes retains the goal-kicking duties after an impressive run of form which has seen him kick 19 of 23 attempts in Test matches this year, including five from five in the year’s first clash with the All Blacks.

Another backline change sees the versatile Adam Ashley-Cooper switch from wing to fullback. The experienced NSW Waratahs winger Drew Mitchell takes up the position vacated by his former house-mate, Ashley-Cooper, on the right wing.

Mitchell, who last appeared for Australia against Russia at the Rugby World Cup, was an un-used substitute on the bench last week.

The selectors have opted to hold off finalising the bench due to an injury concern and will finalise the make-up of the run on reserves once the side arrives in Auckland tonight. 25 players will travel in the Qantas Wallabies party which leaves Sydney this afternoon.

The two changes to the starting forward pack from last week’s opening Bledisloe Cup Test have both been forced by injury, with Brumbies front-ranker Ben Alexander slotting in at tighthead for Sekope Kepu, while Hooper runs from Pocock’s spot on the openside flank.

Hooper will oppose All Black skipper Richard McCaw for the first time as the Brumbies didn’t face the Crusaders during Fx Pro Super Rugby this year. It will also be the first time at Eden Park for last year’s Australian Under-20 Player of the Year, who will be figuring in his fourth Test after making his debut at Newcastle earlier in June.

This weekend’s assignment represents his first starting role in Tests.

After coming off the bench last weekend, Stephen Moore, who will be on the bench again, is poised to achieve a notable milestone in Auckland, where he will make his 72nd Test appearance if he is again required to enter the game as a substitute.

Moore’s next appearance would tie Jeremy Paul as the most capped hooker in the history of Australian Rugby. He made his 100th appearance in Fx Pro Super Rugby earlier in the year during the final qualifying round of that competition.

The Qantas Wallabies team to play New Zealand in the second Test of The Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday (kick-off: 7.35pm NZ time, 5.35pm AEST) is:

Starting XV
15. Adam Ashley-Cooper (NSW Waratahs)
14. Drew Mitchell (NSW Waratahs)
13. Rob Horne (NSW Waratahs)
12. Berrick Barnes (NSW Waratahs)
11. Digby Ioane (Queensland Reds)
10. Quade Cooper (Queensland Reds)
9. Will Genia (Queensland Reds, captain)
8. Scott Higginbotham (Queensland Reds)
7. Michael Hooper (Brumbies)
6. Dave Dennis (NSW Waratahs)
5. Nathan Sharpe (Western Force)
4. Sitaleki Timani (NSW Waratahs)
3. Ben Alexander (Brumbies)
2. Tatafu Polota Nau (NSW Waratahs)
1. Benn Robinson (NSW Waratahs)

Replacements
(To be advised)

http://www.rugby.com.au/wallabies/Ne...4/Default.aspx

[Happy]

right .. time to put some vBucks on the 50+ margin then

[jono]

2 dads at fullback I like. But again we're going to get smashed in offence with suck a small centre combo
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[Naggs]

Too many tahs

[Ecky]

From news.com.au's rugby gold service:

"Eight of the starting 15 are Waratahs, who lost their final eight games of the Super Rugby season."

That should have the ABs quaking in their boots

[jargan83]

That should have the ABs quaking in their boots

Lulling the AB's into a false sense of security


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[Invictus]

Alexander at THP! Game over.

[Happy]

Lulling the AB's into a false sense of security

don't mean to pick on a type-o you made Jargs but i know you meant to post

Lulling the AB's into a sense of security

[sittingbison]

What gets me is the two forwards changed are forced by injury. The changes in the backs is Cooper for Beale, and Mitchell for Faingaa

So this means selectors believe the only problem with the performance last week was Beale, and playing Barmes not Cooper at 10.

WTF? Did they watch the same game I did? FFS what a fiasco, we are a laughingstock

Can someone please explain what preciely Mitchell and Cooper have done since last week when they were not fit enough to (respectively) play or be selected?

[GAFFA]

What gets me is the two forwards changed are forced by injury. The only change in the backs is Cooper for Beale.

So this means selectors believe the only problem with the performance last week was Beale, and playing Barmes not Cooper at 10.

WTF? Did they watch the same game I did? FFS what a fiasco, we are a laughingstock

well we did lose by 8 with beale giving the blicks 14 points on a plater so maybe not far off the mark

[NTT]

I just don't understand why we reward so many Waratahrds for they're mediocre season. We should by all accounts play better than last week, but the All Blecks will improve too and it's at they're spiritual home. Still can't see much mongrel in our pack, Robinson, Alexander, Dennis and Hooper don't exactly scare you do they? Hope we can also hold up through the 10/12 channel with no Pocock making the cover tackles, All Blecks will test us there no doubt. Shoul've stuck with Beale at fullback, he would have redeemed himself. We need Ioane at 13 to provide some go forward in the backs, Horne gives us nothing at 13.
9- Genia 10- Quade 11- Mitchell 12- Faingaa/Horne (they're identical in what they do) 13- Ioane 14- Shipperley 15- Beale would have been my combo.

All Blecks by 25.

[The InnFORCEr]

TPN out after training run and Stephen Moore is in. A tah for a Brumbie!

[Buddha Handy]

I am happy with the backline. Beale needed a wake up call, the two playmakers is good, we know what Mitchell can do, assusming he is fit.

the forward pack is a different story.

[Hansie]

Time we had some mongrel. Watching our Wallabies in the last few tests just convinces me they are concerned about their boyish good looks.

Time they went out and Bashed their opponents - don't care who it is..Get Owen Finegan back to teach them what to do, Justin harrison maybe...I mean stop running scared.

It is a collision sport - whoever wins the collision wins...end of story - That is exactly what Mr. Deans says.

C'mon Wallabies get out there and collide, smash them, get off the defensive line at pace, run over them... there are very good plastic surgeons in Australia who will return your boyish good looks after your career.

[sittingbison]

well we did lose by 8 with beale giving the blicks 14 points on a plater so maybe not far off the mark

lies, damn lies and statistics!!

The scoreboard said we lost by 8, 3 were a dubious penalty after the siren so we really lost by 5.

However the truth is the Blicks thrashed Wobblies, we were given a hiding. One of the worst performances in memory, and thats saying a lot since I can remember Samoa, Ireland and Scotland very well.