Wallabies

20-year-old Harry Wilson will make his debut in the number six jersey and is joined by fellow Queenslanders Hunter Paisami who will make his debut at outside centre and Filipo Daugunu also earning his first cap on the wing.

Captain Michael Hooper will play his 100th Test, becoming just the 12th Wallaby to reach the milestone.

The front row sees the 96-Test capped James Slipper at loosehead prop alongside hooker Folau Fainga'a, with Taniela Tupou at tighthead.

Just what Super Rugby will look like in the post-COVID world remains to be seen, but the push for the involvement of a team from the Pacific Islands is growing stronger.

The chances of a team representing Fiji, Samoa and Tonga in Super Rugby Aotearoa 2021 took a hit last week, though, when New Zealand Rugby chairman Brent Impey confirmed the Kiwi competition will stay at five teams next year.

Not this time.

A new coach, new staff and 16 uncapped players in Dave Rennie's 44 man squad has left only the bravest of Wallabies fans giving the Australians a hope when the first Bledisloe Cup Test kicks off in Wellington on Sunday.

Some players may take the lack of confidence in the fresh-faced Wallabies personally. Not James Slipper.

He has endured enough defeats at the hands of the All Blacks - 14 in his 96 Tests - to admit the Wallabies "do not have a leg to stand on" when it comes to results when it counts against the Kiwis.

Arnold was at the top of coach Dave Rennie’s hit list after Rugby Australia announced selection revisions earlier this month that opened the door to high-profile players plying their trade overseas.

For 2020 Rennie is allowed to select two players who have not met the 60-test or seven-year service threshold that has been in place since 2015, and with a lack of depth in the second row, Arnold was in the frame.

Standing 208cm, the former Brumby has played 26 tests and was part of Australia’s World Cup campaign last year before leaving for France.

In New Zealand for two Bledisloe Cup matches next month, the Australian side were going through their mandatory 14-day quarantine in a Christchurch hotel.

Pending negative Covid-19 tests on Monday for the entire touring party, they would have the freedom to train as a full squad tomorrow.

The Wallabies arrived in Christchurch on Friday night, and were escorted to their hotel by the New Zealand Defence Force.

While their movements had been heavily limited, Kiwi-born hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa said he had enjoyed the three days.

The Wallabies are bedded down in quarantine in a Christchurch hotel although it’s not as restrictive as in Australia, with the players allowed out at times through the day into a garden area as long as they are masked and practice social distancing.

They eat all their meals in their rooms and apart from their laptops and phones for entertainment, some unlucky players have been given watt bikes while others are making do with exercise bands and pull-up bars.

The draw was released this morning with the All Blacks set to play their last game (against Australia) on December 12th, meaning the players won't be home for christmas once they've undergone a two week quarantine.

New Zealand Rugby says the release of the schedule from Rugby Australia and SANZAAR is a change from original planning.

The All Blacks are scheduled to play Australia in Brisbane on Saturday 7 November and Argentina the following Saturday in Sydney on 14 November.

Rennie yesterday oversaw his first training session since taking over from Michael Cheika last year and has today confirmed Hooper in the position he has held since 2014.

Hooper has played 46 tests as captain, including through two World Cup campaigns.

Twice world champions Australia are a lowly seventh in the test rankings and were well beaten by England in the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Japan last year.

The Chateau on the Park, which overlooks Hagley Park near the central city, will be used as the Wallabies’ base as they prepare for the test against the All Blacks at Sky Stadium on October 11.

A spokesperson for Chateau on the Park confirmed the Wallabies would stay at the picturesque venue. The squad is expected to arrive this week, possibly Friday.

It’s also understood the squad will train at the Linwood club, of which All Blacks first five-eighth Richie Mo’unga is a member, about 8km away from the Chateau on the Park.

Parling played for the Rebels in 2018 and has made successful transition into coaching, engineering the Melbourne lineout over the past two years.

In Super Rugby AU, the Rebels had the best lineout success (88 per cent), ahead of the Brumbies and Waratahs (both 83 per cent).

Brumbies coach McKellar was the first target for the Wallabies, but told Dave Rennie he wanted to remain working in Canberra this year after his assistant Peter Hewat opted to take up a role in Japan.