MELBOURNE :Australia coach Joe Schmidt has added a considerable heft to his pack with the inclusion of Rob Valetini, Will Skelton and Dave Porecki in his starting line-up for Saturday’s second test against the British & Irish Lions.
The Wallabies were outmuscled by the tourists at the collision in the first hour of last week’s loss in the series opener in Brisbane and the return of flanker Valetini and lock Skelton from calf injuries should help in that area.
Hooker Porecki missed the first-test defeat because of a concussion sustained in Australia’s warm-up match against Fiji and his recall in place of Matt Faessler should help in the lineout, where the Wallabies struggled at Lang Park.
Schmidt resisted making any further changes to his starting side and 22-year-old Tom Lynagh will lead an unchanged backline from flyhalf at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in his second test start.
Flanker Nick Champion de Crespigny and Faessler have been dropped to allow the return of Valetini and Porecki, while lock Jeremy Williams remains in the matchday squad among the replacements after making way for Skelton.
Schmidt has opted for a 6-2 split in favour of the forwards on the bench with the powerful Langi Gleeson also returning from injury to join flanker Carlo Tizzano as back-up for the loose forwards.
“The squad has recovered well after a very physical first test and the week’s preparation here in Melbourne has allowed us a bit more time together,” Schmidt said in a news release.
“We took some confidence from the second half last week, but we know we’ll need to improve further against a Lions team that will bring plenty of fire to the contest on Saturday night.”
The third and final test takes place at Sydney’s Stadium Australia on Aug. 2.
Team: 15–Tom Wright, 14–Max Jorgensen, 13–Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12–Len Ikitau, 11–Harry Potter, 10–Tom Lynagh, 9–Jake Gordon, 8–Harry Wilson, 7–Fraser McReight, 6–Rob Valetini, 5–Will Skelton, 4–Nick Frost, 3–Allan Alaalatoa, 2–David Porecki, 1–James Slipper
Replacements: 16–Billy Pollard, 17–Angus Bell, 18–Tom Robertson, 19–Jeremy Williams, 20–Langi Gleeson, 21–Carlo Tizzano, 22–Tate McDermott, 23–Ben Donaldson
