WOODEN SPOON BATTLE: All Blacks vs Wallabies reveal teams

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The Bledisloe Cup is not the only trophy the All Blacks and Wallabies will be playing for when they clash in Sydney on Saturday.

In a most unusual Rugby Championship log look, the Springboks and Argentina are vying for title honours at the top of the standings, while the All Blacks and Wallabies will engage in the battle of the bottom feeders.

ALL BLACKS TEAM

Head coach Scott Robertson has tweaked his team in pursuit of the ideal line-up, following their twin defeats to the Springboks.

Robertson and his co-selectors Scott Hansen, Jason Holland, Jason Ryan and Tamati Ellison have named an All Blacks team consisting of four changes to the starting lineup and two in the reserves.  

In the forwards, Ethan de Groot has returned from his neck injury to start at loosehead prop, while Pasilio Tosi will prepare to play just his second All Blacks test match, having debuted off the bench against Fiji in San Diego earlier in the season.  

In the backs, it is a return of the back three that helped to create a lot of attacking momentum against the Springboks in Johannesburg and against Argentina in their second test.

Caleb Clarke has recovered from his back injury to take the left wing; Will Jordan will take the other wing and Beauden Barrett will start at fullback for the All Blacks. 

WALLABIES RING THE CHANGES

Prop James Slipper will become the most capped Wallabies player of all-time when he earns his 140th Test cap after earning selection on the bench against the All Blacks by head coach Joe Schmidt.

Among the changes, halfbacks Jake Gordon and Ben Donaldson have been dropped and replaced by veteran Nic White and Noah Lolesio.

Centre Hunter Paisami and fullback Tom Wright return from injury, while flanker Fraser McReight is back after recovering from a broken finger.

McReight is the only change to the run-on forward pack with Angus Bell, Matt Faessler and Taniela Tupou in the front row and Nick Frost and Jeremy Williams continuing their partnership as locks.

Blindside flanker Rob Valetini and skipper Harry Wilson join McReight as the loose trio.

On the bench, Brandon Paenga-Amosa will pull on the gold jersey for the first time since 2021 after returning from a stint in France, joining Slipper and Allan Alaalatoa in an experienced replacement front row.

WHO WILL WIN THE FIRST BLEDISLOE CUP TEST?

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Wallabies v All Blacks Brisbane 2020 Photo: EPA/Michael Bradley.

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