All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie has named his team to face Australia at Accor Stadium in Sydney on Saturday 17 October in the second Bledisloe Cup Test. Kick-off is at 4:00PM local time (6:00PM Saturday 17 October NZT), and the match is live on Sky Sport.
Injury absences
Six players are unavailable through injury: Leroy Carter (ankle), Anton Segner (concussion), Asafo Aumua (concussion), Ethan Blackadder (calf), Richie Mo’unga (calf) and Fehi Fineanganofo (hamstring).
Eight changes to the match-day 23
Rennie has made eight changes to the match-day 23 that played Australia at Eden Park last weekend, three of them in the starting side. George Bower moves from the bench to start at loosehead prop, and Fabian Holland joins Scott Barrett in the second row. Josh Moorby, who came off the bench at Eden Park, starts on the left wing.
Five players come into the 23 as reserves: hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho, prop Xavier Numia, loose forward Du’Plessis Kirifi, halfback Cortez Ratima and midfielder Timoci Tavatavanawai. They join prop Pasilio Tosi, loose forward Shannon Frizell and outside back Rieko Ioane on the bench.
Rennie’s comments
Rennie said the previous match carried significant weight. “Last week was a big week, with it being our first game back on New Zealand soil after a long tour away and the Bledisloe Cup on the line. We put in a performance befitting the occasion,” he said. “Now we need to back that performance up.”
He also looked ahead to the challenge in Sydney. “The Wallabies are a proud side and they’ll be hurting after last week. It’s a great challenge for us to now face them in front of their home crowd in Sydney.”