Wallabies

For some, especially those who have delighted in Cooper experiencing defeat and misery in Auckland over the years, it could possibly blow their minds.

The fact Cooper, who hasn’t represented Australia at Eden Park since 2016, is even being considered by coach Dave Rennie’s for the Bledisloe Cup match on Saturday night is hard enough to comprehend.

So the prospect of him helping the team to a victory over the All Blacks, at a ground where the Wallabies haven’t won since 1986, could be too much for a number of parochial New Zealanders to get their heads around.

Daugunu has missed out on selection as he’s being sidelined due to a broken arm.

The former Labasa football goalkeeper only played for 30 seconds in the final Test against France last weekend and had to leave the field due to his injury.

Wallabies coach Dave Rennie has named a 42 member squad which includes Marika Koroibete, Rob Valetini and Isi Naisarani.

The squad contains eight uncapped players, with four others having made their debuts against France this month.

James O’Connor’s groin injury will prevent the No 10 travelling to New Zealand and with border restrictions set to play havoc with the Wallabies’ upcoming test campaign, Rennie has done the unthinkable by bringing back the 70-test playmaker back into an Australian squad.

Cooper, who recently revealed he has had his application for Australian citizenship turned down four times, will travel to New Zealand with the rest of the team on Friday.

Les Bleus led by 15 points in the first half after two Gabin Villiere tries but Wallabies captain Michael Hooper's late try closed France's lead to one.

France then kicked a penalty to touch but fumbled the resulting line-out and Australia won the decisive penalty.

The sides meet again on Tuesday in the second game of the three-match series.

It was Australia's second Test victory since the 2019 World Cup against a French side that have rested most of their Test starters.

Rennie handed Lolesio his first cap last year but the then 20-year-old endured a torrid debut as the All Blacks hammered the Wallabies 43-5 to claim the Bledisloe Cup for an 18th successive year.

Lolesio will make his second test start at Lang Park with Matt Toomua alongside him after the experienced inside centre recovered from a neck problem that had threatened his participation.

In more good news on the injury front, Jake Gordon will start at halfback after making a quicker than expected recovery from a knee injury.

Halfback Genia, a former Australian captain with 110 tests for the Wallabies in a career that has taken him around the world, now plays club rugby in Japan on the back of a successful stint in France.

He’s no stranger to New Zealand shores with frequent Bledisloe Cup and Super Rugby battles and admits he has a soft spot for Kiwi playing fields.

“I’ve always wanted to maybe come over and play in New Zealand for a year or so. That’d be the dream, when I’ve finished,” Genia, 32, told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.

Michael Hooper has returned from Japan to captain the side, with the first test to be played in Sydney on July 7, followed by Melbourne and Brisbane – the entire series to be completed in just 11 days.

The biggest change has come at hooker, with only Queensland’s Brandon Paenga-Amosa remaining from last year’s Rugby Championship.

Brumbies rake Lachlan Lonergan and Feleti Kaitu’u from the Western Force are the new faces, with regulars Folau Fainga’a and Jordan Uelese axed.

McKellar was asked by Wallabies coach Dave Rennie last year but declined, preferring to focus on the Brumbies.

But after taking his team to their second successive Super Rugby AU final – for a win and a loss – he has opted to sign on for the international season.

He will return to Canberra before the 2022 Super Rugby campaign but is being earmarked for a full-time role with the Wallabies heading into the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Australia return to international action in a three-test campaign against France next month, with game one on July 7 at the SCG.

Rennie will name his players next Sunday for the series, which opens in Sydney on July 7, with three Tests played in 11 days, and says there will be some changes to the 40-man training squad he named in March.

"We've got the spine of a team ... there's certainly positions that we're unsure of and the next couple of weeks are going to be important for those individuals," Rennie told Stan Sport.

After leaving out all three of the hookers he used in 2020, Rennie said the No.2 jersey still remained wide open, as did spots in the second row.

The Tonga Rugby Union announced last month it would only select players based in Europe for the qualifying tournament in Monaco, because of travel difficulties caused by Covid-19.

Tonga men's sevens coach Tevita Tu'ifua said an initial list of 43 names had been trimmed to 23, which includes two ex All Blacks and a former Wallaby.

"We have got a few (high profile) names pop up and we still need to rank our priorities list and then we work from there to finalise our selection," he said.