Australia coach Michael Cheika has named rugby league convert Curtis Rona on the wing and handed Kurtley Beale his first start at second-five in his Wallabies team to play the All Blacks in Sydney on Saturday.
Rona, who has impressed at Western Force in his first full season of Super Rugby, will line up on the left wing after his provincial team mate Dane Haylett-Petty succumbed to a bicep injury.
Beale returns to the test side after a two-year injury-enforced absence with Cheika banking on his ability to link with fullback Israel Folau and flyhalf Bernard Foley, and present a genuine attacking threat to the world champions.
Australia have lost their last five matches against their trans-Tasman rivals going back to the 2015 World Cup final, which was Beale's last test for the Wallabies.
After a stint with English club Wasps, Kurtley Beale is back in the Wallabies. Photo: Photosport
Sean McMahon will take the number eight shirt from Lopeti Timani alongside blindside flanker Ned Hanigan and captain Michael Hooper in the team named for Sydney on Thursday.
The towering second row combination of Rory Arnold and Adam Coleman is reunited, while former skipper Stephen Moore takes back the starting hooker role from Tatafu Polota-Nau.
Hard-running outside centre Samu Kerevi also returns after missing the mid-year internationals and back end of the Super Rugby season with ankle and pectoral injuries.
-Reuters
