David Porecki skippers Wallabies again as rookie dropped for crunch Wales clash

Dylan Coetzee
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Eddie Jones looks on as the Wallabies warm-up.

Eddie Jones looks on as the Wallabies warm-up.

Hooker David Porecki will lead the Wallabies, as he did against Fiji after late changes, against Wales in a must-win Pool C clash on Sunday.

Joining Porecki in the front-row is veteran James Slipper, who is playing on the less familiar tighthead side due to a string of injuries, whilst Angus Bell retains his place as loosehead for this one.

There is still no Will Skelton in the second-row as Richie Arnold and Nick Frost continue their partnership. The back-row sees some tweaks with Tom Hooper switching flanks, allowing Rob Leota to start at blindside, whilst the hard-running Rob Valetini continues at number eight.

New half-backs

In the backline, scrum-half Tate McDermott returns from his concussion to start alongside Ben Donaldson, who shifts from full-back to replace rookie playmaker Carter Gordon at fly-half.

The centres remain unchanged with head coach Eddie Jones backing Samu Kerevi and Jordan Petaia to cause issues in the Welsh midfield. Andrew Kellaway gets a start at 15 whilst lethal wingers Mark Nawaqanitawase and Marika Koroibete continue their work in the back three.

On the pine, Matt Faessler, Blake Schoupp and Pone Fa’amausili are the front-row options with Matt Philip and Fraser McReight the other replacements in a 5-3 split.

Scrum-half Nic White offers some experience off the bench and is joined by Gordon and Suliasi Vunivalu as backline cover.

Jones believes his team are prepared to fight for their survival in the World Cup.

“Every team has matches like this during a Rugby World Cup and for this young team it is this week,” he said.

“We’ve prepared well, are focused on what we need to do, and we’ll be ready to fight on Sunday night.”

The team

Australia: 15 Andrew Kellaway, 14 Mark Nawaqanitawase, 13 Jordan Petaia, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Ben Donaldson, 9 Tate McDermott, 8 Rob Valetini, 7 Tom Hooper, 6 Rob Leota, 5 Richie Arnold, 4 Nick Frost, 3 James Slipper, 2 David Porecki (c), 1 Angus Bell
Replacements: 16 Matt Faessler, 17 Blake Schoupp, 18 Pone Fa’amausili, 19 Matt Philip, 20 Fraser McReight, 21 Nic White, 22 Carter Gordon, 23 Suliasi Vunivalu

Date: September 24
Venue: Parc OL, Lyon
Kick-off: 21:00 local (20:00 BST, 19:00 GMT)
Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU)
Assistant Referees: Luke Pearce (RFU), Christophe Ridley (RFU)
TMO: Tom Foley (RFU)

READ MORE: David Campese exclusive: ‘Crisis will turn into unmitigated disaster’ if Wallabies lose to Wales

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