Taniela Tupou yesterday was recalled at tighthead prop and Nic White is to return for his final international appearance in a reworked Wallabies lineup trying to prevent the British and Irish Lions completing a 3-0 series sweep.
Australia coach Joe Schmidt unveiled three injury-enforced and one tactical change to his starting lineup, and another two on the bench after the contentious, last-gasp 29-26 loss in the second Test in Melbourne last weekend.
Lions coach Andy Farrell later made two changes to his starting lineup for the third Test — Blair Kinghorn replacing James Lowe on the left wing and James Ryan replacing Ollie Chessum to join skipper Maro Itoje in the second row — and minor adjustments to the bench.
Photo: AFP
The Lions are 8-0 in Australia, including the victory in the first Test in Brisbane, the second Test in Melbourne, wins over Super Rugby franchises the Western Force, the Queensland Reds, the NSW Waratahs and the ACT Brumbies and two invitational teams.
Farrell’s players are aiming to be the first Lions squad to record an unbeaten tour since 1974 — although they lost a rare home game ahead of the tour, beaten 28-24 by Argentina at Aviva Stadium in Dublin on June 21.
“We have put ourselves in position to finish this tour with our best performance to date and create our own piece of history,” Farrell said. “Last weekend’s Test match was an incredible spectacle. We are expecting another epic battle this weekend.”
The match is tomorrow.
For Australia, Tupou replaces the injured Allan Ala’alatoa and is to combine with hooker David Porecki and 146-Test veteran James Slipper in the front row.
Tom Hooper moved into the starting lineup on the side of the scrum to replace Rob Valetini and join a backrow containing No. 8 and captain Harry Wilson, and openside flanker Fraser McReight.
White missed selection in the first two Tests, but has won a starting spot over Jake Gordon at No. 9 and is to form another new partnership with flyhalf Tom Lynagh in one of two changes to the backline. It will be the 72-Test veteran’s last Test before retirement.
Dylan Pietsch replaced Harry Potter on the left wing.
“The squad was certainly deflated after the gut-wrenching end to last week’s Test in Melbourne, but they have started to gather momentum in the back half of the week and will be ready to go again on Saturday,” Schmidt said.
Hugo Keenan’s last-gasp try in Melbourne capped an extraordinary comeback win for the Lions in the second Test, played in front of 90,000 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The Lions rallied from 23-5 down in the first half to win the match and seal an unassailable 2-0 lead.
Wallabies captain Wilson remonstrated with the match officials, asserting that replacement flanker Carlo Tizzano had illegally been taken out of play as he stood over the ball.
However, Keenan’s try stood.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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