Kurtley Beale replaces Israel Folau at 15 for Waratahs

Waratahs head coach Daryl Gibson has made four alterations to his run-on side that will take on the Melbourne Rebels in Sydney on Saturday.

In the back-line, Kurtley Beale comes into the starting line-up at full-back for Israel Folau, who has been stood down by the Waratahs following his controversial social media posts.

The only other change in the backs sees Jake Gordon replacing Nick Phipps at scrum-half.

In the forwards, captain and openside flanker Michael Hooper will run out for his 100th Waratahs match. Hooper sat out the Waratahs previous match against the Blues in Round Eight and returns to action in place of Will Miller.

The final change is in the second-row where Jed Holloway takes over from Ned Hanigan.

Both sides will come out firing with the Waratahs coming off a bye and the Rebels coming into the match off a recent loss. The Rebels currently sit on top of the conference ladder with the Waratahs in second place.

Teams will be playing for the Weary Dunlop Shield on the night, named in honour of Sir Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop, who represented Australia and Victoria in rugby union and served as a medical officer in World War II.

Saturday’s game will also pay tribute to the current and former service men and women with a special ANZAC ceremony.

Waratahs: 15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Cam Clark, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Karmichael Hunt, 11 Alex Newsome, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Michael Wells, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Jack Dempsey, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Jed Holloway, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Damien Fitzpatrick, 1 Harry Johnson-Holmes
Replacements: 16 Andrew Tuala, 17 Rory O’Connor, 18 Chris Talakai, 19 Tom Staniforth, 20 Will Miller, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Lalakai Foketi, 23 Curtis Rona

Date: Saturday, April 20
Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground
Kick-off: 19:45 local (10:45 BST, 09:45 GMT)
Referee: Damon Murphy (Australia)
Assistant referees: Nic Berry (Australia), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO: James Leckie (Australia)