Scrum-half Tate McDermott will skipper the Wallabies for the first time in the second Bledisloe Cup Test against New Zealand in what coach Eddie Jones Thursday called “a new era” for Australian rugby.
The Queensland Reds back was handed the armband for the Dunedin clash on Saturday with James Skipper starting from the bench and fellow co-captain Michael Hooper still out injured.
Allan Alaalatoa assumed the duties in their 38-7 thrashing by the All Blacks in Melbourne last weekend, but ruptured his Achilles and will be sidelined for months.
“Tate’s got all the attributes to be a great captain of his country and there’s no doubt it will be a proud moment for him and his family when he leads the team on Saturday night,” Jones said.
“We started a regeneration as a team last week and now it’s about building on that with a new captain and a new era in Australian rugby.
“On Saturday night in Dunedin we get an opportunity to continue our growth as a team.”
McDermott’s appointment means Nic White is again on the bench alongside experienced halves partner Quade Cooper to finish the game, with Jones keeping faith in rookie flyhalf Carter Gordon despite a nervy performance last weekend.
The former England boss has chopped and changed his starting XV since taking over this year as he looks to lock down his best team for the September-October World Cup in France.
But it has not gone to plan so far with three straight defeats and the pressure on after what he called a “terrible” defeat in Melbourne, which came on the back of losses to South Africa and Argentina.
Jones made three changes to the run-on side for Dunedin with Pone Fa’amausili at tighthead prop in place of Alaalatoa to combine with David Porecki and Angus Bell in the front-row.
He freshened up the back-row, recalling Fraser McReight at openside flanker, pushing Tom Hooper to blindside flanker and Rob Valetini at No. 8.
Richie Arnold returns to partner Nick Frost in the second row, with Will Skelton dropped to the bench.
The backline is unchanged with Samu Kerevi and Jordan Petaia at inside and outside centre respectively, Marikia Koroibete and Mark Nawaqanitawase on the wings and Andrew Kellaway at fullback.
It is the seventh-lowest capped starting XV in Wallabies history, with 277 caps across the 15 players named.
Australia (15-1):
Andrew Kellaway; Mark Nawaqanitawase, Jordan Petaia, Samu Kerevi; Marika Koroibete, Carter Gordon, Tate McDermott (capt); Rob Valetini, Tom Hooper, Fraser McReight; Richie Arnold, Nick Frost; Pone Fa’amausili, David Porecki, Angus Bell
