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Eddie Jones names his first Wallabies side

Quade Cooper /Getty

Four players are in line to make Test debuts while Wallabies co-captain James Slipper has overcome a knee injury to be named for Australia’s Rugby Championship opener against South Africa.

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The Wallabies are looking for a first-ever win in Pretoria on Sunday morning (AEST) with Eddie Jones in charge for his first Test since returning as coach.

Tom Hooper, 22, will earn his first cap after being named as blindside flanker while there are three possible debutants on the bench in five-eighth Carter Gordon, lock Richie Arnold and 21-year-old prop Zane Nonggorr, with Taniela Tupou requiring more training minutes after his Achilles injury.

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Brumbies utility forward Hooper will line up alongside co-captain Michael Hooper (no relation) with No.8 Rob Valetini rounding out the back row.

Slipper was in doubt after a training mishap but will make his 128th Test appearance alongside Waratahs hooker David Porecki with Brumbies skipper Allan Alaalatoa at tigh thead prop.

Nick Frost and France-based Will Skelton are the starting locks.

Nic White will reunite with Quade Cooper in the halves while star inside centre Samu Kerevi will return from a hamstring issue via the bench, leaving Reece Hodge to combine in the midfield with Len Ikitau.

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Former NRL star Suliasi Vunivalu will make his first Test start on the right wing, with Marika Koroibete on the left edge and Tom Wright at fullback.

Jones said the Wallabies’ preparation for the Loftus Versfeld clash had been first rate.

“As a squad, the players have worked extremely hard since coming together as a group and we’ve prepared well this week,” he said.

“The 23 players selected have an opportunity to be part of history with a win over South Africa in Pretoria on Saturday night.”

Wallabies: James Slipper (co-capt), David Porecki, Allan Alaalatoa, Nick Frost, Will Skelton, Tom Hooper, Michael Hooper (co- capt), Rob Valetini, Nic White, Quade Cooper, Marika Koroibete, Reece Hodge, Len Ikitau, Suliasi Vunivalu, Tom Wright. Res: Jordan Uelese, Matt Gibbon, Zane Nonggorr, Richie Arnold, Pete Samu, Tate McDermott, Samu Kerevi, Carter Gordon.

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Tom 5 hours ago
Will Bristol's daredevil 'Bears-ball' deliver the trophy they crave?

Also a Bristol fan and echo your sentiments.


I love watching Bristol but their approach will only get them so far I think. Exeter played like this when they first got promoted to the prem and had intermittent success, it wasn't until they wised up and played a more balanced game that they became a consistently top side.


I really want Bristol to continue playing this brand of rugby and I don't mind them running it from under their posts but I don't think they need to do it every single time. They need to be just a little bit more selective about when and where on the pitch they play. Every game they put themselves under so much needless pressure by turning the ball over under their posts trying to do kamikaze moves when it's not required. By all means run it from your goal line if there is a chance for a counter attack, we all want to see Bristol running in 100m tries from under their posts but I think until they learn when to do it and when to be pragmatic, they are unlikely to win the premiership.


Defense has been a real positive from Bristol, they've shown a lot of improvement there... And I will say that I think this kamikaze strategy they employ is a very good one for a struggling side and could be employed by Newcastle. It's seems to have turned around Gloucester's fortunes. The big advantage is even if you don't have the biggest and best players, what you have is cohesion. This is why Scotland keep battering England. England have better individuals but they look muddled as a team, trying to play a mixed strategy under coaches who lack charisma, the team has no identity. Scotland come out and give it full throttle from 1-15 even if they struggle against the top sides, sides like England and Wales who lack that identity drown under the relentless will and synergy of the Scots. If Newcastle did the same they could really surprise some people, I know the weather is bad up there but it hasn't bothered the Scots. Bristol can learn from Scotland too, Pat is on to something when he says the following but Scotland don't play test matches like headless chickens. They still play with the same level of clarity and ambition Bristol do but they are much better at picking their moments. They needed to go back to this mad game to get their cohesion back after a couple of seasons struggling but I hope they get a bit wiser from matches like Leinster and La Rochelle.


“If there’s clarity on what you’re trying to do as a team you can win anything.”

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