Dave Rennie made three changes to his Start XV. Both props were replaced with Scott Sio, who came in for the injured James Slipper at Loosehead, and Taniela Tupou (who squats 300 pounds and has the largest thigh-to-body mass ratio I’ve ever seen) pinned Allan Alaalatoa on the bench. In the back row, Ned Hanigan starts on the blindside flanker instead of the suspended Lachie Swinton.
Like Argentina, the Wallabies got a morally positive win over the All Blacks, but Rennie was keen to point out during the week that a swallow doesn’t make summer. “As a group we know that respect is earned every day and we know how important it is to back up our last performance on Saturday night with another quality measure,” he said.
New Zealand’s consecutive defeats have ripped the Tri-Nations streak wide, and today’s competition winner has put the All Blacks at the top of the ladder. “The tournament is even and our fate is in our own hands,” said Rennie. “We saw the passion Argentina showed in their performance last weekend and we are delighted with the challenge at Newcastle.”
Wallabies: 15-Tom Banks, 14-Tom Wright, 13-Jordan Petaia, 12-Hunter Paisami, 11-Marika Koroibete, 10-Reece Hodge, 9-Nic White, 8-Harry Wilson, 7-Michael Hooper (c), 6 -Ned Hanigan, 5-Matt Philip, 4-Rob Simmons, 3-Taniela Tupou, 2-Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1-Scott Sio.
replacement: 16-sail sails, 17-Angus bell, 18-Allan Alaalatoa, 19-Rob Valetini, 20-Liam Wright, 21-Jake Gordon, 22-Noah Lolesio, 23-Filipo Daugunu.
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