Wallabies

Defence coach Nathan Grey endorsed Hodge as an inside centre option before the Wallabies flew to Auckland on Thursday.

“His skill set, he's a big body, he carries the ball very well and he's got a good passing game that he uses and he's got good speed, so all those attributes are very positive to have in a 12,” he said.

“He defends there, in at 12 anyway for us, so he's used to being in that environment.”

Quade Cooper has been dropped to the bench to make way for Foley to return to his usual playmaking spot.

Cheika is weighing up the pros and cons of thrusting rookie locks Rory Arnold and Adam Coleman into the Eden Park cauldron or recall the reliable second-row pairing of Kane Douglas and chief lineout caller Rob Simmons.

Anything but a "dead rubber", Australia must stop the All Blacks juggernaut to avoid becoming the first Wallabies outfit in 117 years of international rugby to be whitewashed 3-0 by two nations in the same season.

Cheika has shuffled his second row all year, mixing and matching Coleman and Arnold with Simmons, Douglas, Sam Carter and Will Skelton.

Savea's recall on the left wing in place of Waisake Naholo against the Wallabies in Auckland on Saturday is the only change to the starting team that demoralised the Springboks in Durban, with two further tweaks coming on the bench.

After making regular adjustments on their successful tour of Argentina and South Africa, the All Blacks have largely returned to their best line-up as they chase a world record 18th win in a row over top tier test nations.

The All Blacks haven't lost at Eden Park since 2004 and it's been 30 years since Australia came home with a win in Auckland.

The New Zealanders are also on the verge of breaking the record for most consecutive Test wins by a top-tier nation - a win on Saturday would make 18 in a row.

Wallabies captain Stephen Moore says ending that streak will be a big challenge.

"They've been the best team in the world for a number of years and we're going to play them in their back yard, it's as simple as that, you've got to play well to win."

As Polota-Nau sits out, two uncapped players – Melbourne Rebels' Sefa Naivalu and Waratahs' Tolu Latu – have been named in the 30-man squad.

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika is already lamenting the absence of Polota-Nau for the matches against the Springboks and Argentina in October.

Wing Drew Mitchell is returning to France to continue the Top 14 season with Toulon, while Ben McCalman is also out.

The Wallabies started the 2016 edition of the competition with two heavy defeats at the hands of the All Blacks, piling pressure on Cheika's squad.

However, they have reacted well with wins over South Africa and now Argentina, leaving them second with two games to play - New Zealand having claimed the title thanks to Australia's 36-20 win on Saturday.

A second successive win had plenty of positives for Cheika, his men racing into a 21-0 lead in the first-half before producing a solid defensive display to ensure victory.

Speight, 28, returns to the squad after playing for Australia's rugby sevens side at the Rio Olympics where they reached the quarter-finals, while Arnold has overcome an elbow injury to feature and will look to build on strong showings in his two tests to date.

Fiji-born Sefa Naivalu of Melbourne Rebels is yet to complete his nationality switch, but will train with the squad before becoming eligible on September 18th and is one of four uncapped inclusions alongside Kyle Godwin, Lopeti Timani and Tom Robertson.

The agreement takes the New Zealand-born playmaker through until the end of the 2019 rugby World Cup in Japan.

The 28 year old re-joined the Wallabies ahead of the Rugby Championship and started at first-five in last weekend's second Bledisloe Cup test defeat to the All Blacks in Wellington.

"For me, playing at the highest level for the Wallabies against the best teams in the world, week in, week out is the ultimate, and it will always be the pinnacle of our sport," Cooper said.

Speculation was rife that Cooper would fill the number 12 jersey after the Wallabies lost all three of Matt Giteau, Matt Toomua and Rob Horne to injury last week. But Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has opted to put the former Reds flyhalf straight into the main playmaking role.

Cooper will combine with usual Wallabies 10 Bernard Foley in a dual playmaker structure, with Foley starting at inside centre for the first time in his Test career.

NSW Police are continuing investigations after a listening bug was found in the All Blacks team meeting room in Double Bay in Sydney last week.

The Rose Bay Local Area Command have confirmed gambling links will form part of their investigations.

"Gambling is a terrible thing if you ask me," Cheika said.

"I don't even consider that type of stuff, I don't even know why anyone would be even interested to do something like that.