Rugby Championship: Ben McCalman, Peter Betham and Tatafu Polota-Nau start for Australia
Tuesday 9 September 2014 11:51, UK
Australia have opted to hand Ben McCalman the No 8 jersey for Saturday's Rugby Championship clash with Argentina on the Gold Coast.
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McCalman replaces Wycliff Palu, who has been ruled out due to concussion protocols, as one of three changes to the side that beat South Africa.
Scott Higginbotham had been tipped to start after impressing off the bench in the win over the Springboks, as well as in the heavy loss to New Zealand, however he remains among the replacements as McCalman comes straight into the side.
Injury to Adam Ashley-Cooper means Peter Betham starts on the win, while fit-again Tatafu Polota-Nau comes in at hooker to win his 50th cap.
“It’s always hard to replace the experience guys such as Wycliff and Adam bring to the game, but their injuries now open the door for Ben and Peter to get an opportunity on Saturday night,” said Wallabies head coach Ewen McKenzie.
Work-rate
“Ben is no stranger to the international arena and we feel he has certain characteristics which will suit the team for the beginning of the match. He’ll set the tone early with his high work-rate and provide a good balance for what we’ll be looking for from our back-row as a group.
“We’ll also then have the benefit of being able to call on Scott and Matt [Hodgson] from the bench late in the game. We have strong thoughts on how we want our ‘finishers’ to play and they all have defined roles in how we want to close out the match.
“We saw that with both guys making a significant difference to the outcome of the match against South Africa. That’s exactly what we want, and we will be hoping for more of the same against Argentina.
“We had a few options on the wings with Joe Tomane returning and Tom English also available, but ultimately we feel Peter has done everything right to earn another chance.
“We’ve all been extremely impressed with his attitude and approach to the Wallaby environment on and off the field this year. We look forward to seeing what he will bring to the match.”
Australia: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Peter Betham, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 1 James Slipper, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 3 Sekope Kepu, 4 Sam Carter, 5 Rob Simmons, 6 Scott Fardy, 7 Michael Hooper (capt), 8 Ben McCalman.
Replacements: 16 James Hanson, 17 Pek Cowan, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 James Horwill, 20 Scott Higginbotham, 21 Matt Hodgson, 22 Nic White, 23 Kurtley Beale
Watch Australia v Argentina live on Sky Sports 2 at 11.05am on Saturday.
