The Wallabies have named Waratahs prop Sekope Kepu and lock Kane Douglas to make their starting debuts for Australia’s Test match against France on Saturday.
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Kepu and Douglas both came off the bench in last month’s Bledisloe Cup draw against the All Blacks in Brisbane and have been rewarded for their efforts.
The only changes from the match night squad that halted the All Blacks’ 16-Test winning charge see Rob Simmons join the bench in place of the injured Sitaleki Timani, while Berrick Barnes returns from injury to take over from Drew Mitchell as one of two backline replacements.
An IRB trial for the Autumn Internationals allow teams to name a 23 man match day squad in order to cater for the inclusion of two prop forwards on the bench.
This will allow both James Slipper and Paddy Ryan to participate at the Stade de France, with Ryan poised to become the 13th newly capped Wallaby for the year from 12 Test matches, should he be required to take the field.
“There was a lot of good stuff to come out of our last outing, but there were also plenty of things that we could have done better. We’ve talked about that in the time since,” said Wallabies coach Robbie Deans.
“Obviously you adjust things a little bit to cater for a particular opposition but we have had the benefit of some continuity leading into this match, which hasn’t always been the case for us this year,” Wallabies coach Robbie Deans says.
“While the effort of the players couldn’t be faulted (on that occasion), the accuracy of our execution failed us at times, and will need to be better for the challenges ahead if we are to achieve the consistency of performance we are seeking.”
The Wallabies hope to have winger Digby Ioane (knee), flanker David Pocock (knee), prop Ben Alexander (wrist) and lock Timani (lower back) all back from injury for next week’s clash against England at Twickenham.
“Certainly we have more competition for places now than we have had at times previously, and that’s only going to help drive standards and performance,” Deans says.
“The playing group are excited and they are looking forward to the game this weekend. The atmosphere at the Stade de France is always fantastic and the crowd vociferous: it’s a great place to play the game, and a magnificent experience that none of the players who are fortunate enough to put on a jersey on the weekend will ever forget.”
Australia: 15 Mike Harris, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Ben Tapuai, 12 Pat McCabe, 11 Nick Cummins, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Dave Dennis, 5 Nathan Sharpe (Captain), 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Stephen Moore, 17 James Slipper, 18 Paddy Ryan, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Radike Samo, 21 Liam Gill, 22 Brett Sheehan, 23 Berrick Barnes.