Wallabies: Bernard Foley retained in largely unchanged lineup for Bledisloe II Test at Eden Park

Dylan Coetzee
Wallabies fly-half Bernard Foley is tackled by All Black Rieko Ioane in Bledisloe I in Melbourne 2022.

Bernard Foley of Australia in action during the Rugby Championship match between Australia and New Zealand at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Thursday, September 15, 2022. (AAP Image/James Ross) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY ** STRICTLY EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO COMMERCIAL USE, NO BOOKS **

Veteran fly-half Bernard Foley will get another crack at the All Blacks this week after being named in the starting lineup for Bledisloe II.

Reds scrum-half Jake Gordon starts alongside Foley in the half-back pairing, with the powerful midfield partnership of Lalakai Foketi and Len Ikitau continuing their work in the centres.

The back three remains unchanged, with red-hot Andrew Kellaway at full-back and Tom Wright and the robust Marika Koroibete on the wings.

Back-row shuffle

A ruptured Achilles for Rob Leota has forced a shuffle in the back-row as Harry Wilson starts at number eight alongside Pete Samu and Rob Valetini on the sides of the scrum.

Cadeyrn Neville comes into the side to pair up with Jed Holloway in the second-row while James Slipper captains the team from the front-row alongside Dave Porecki and Allan Alaalatoa.

Folau Fainga’a is joined on the bench by Angus Bell and Pone Fa’amausili as front-row replacements, while Nick Frost and Fraser McReight are the other forward substitutions.

Veteran Nic White is on the bench again this week alongside Reece Hodge and Jordan Petaia as the remaining backline options.

Coach Dave Rennie is pleased to see Neville and Wilson back in Wallaby gold and looks forward to taking on the All Blacks at their “spiritual” home.

“It’s great to have Cadeyrn available and Harry’s been working really hard to earn another opportunity in the gold jersey, so we’re excited for both of them,” Rennie said in a statement.

“The side parked the disappointment of the last test early in the week and we have plenty to play for in Auckland on Saturday night.

“New Zealand supporters have an expectation that the All Blacks win at Eden Park and we’re excited to get another crack at them at their spiritual home.”

The team

Australia: 15 Andrew Kellaway, 14 Tom Wright, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Lalakai Foketi, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Harry Wilson, 7 Pete Samu, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Cadeyrn Neville, 4 Jed Holloway, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Dave Porecki, 1 James Slipper (c)
Reserves: 16 Folau Fainga’a, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Pone Fa’amausili, 19 Nick Frost, 20 Fraser McReight, 21 Nic White, 22 Reece Hodge, 23 Jordan Petaia

Date: Saturday, September 24
Venue: Eden Park, Auckland
Kick-off: 19:05 local (08:05 BST, 07:05 GMT)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Mathieu Raynal (France), Pierre Brousset (France)
TMO: TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

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