Thursday 30 October 2014 18:56, UK
New Australia coach Michael Cheika has reunited Quade Cooper and Will Genia at half-back for Saturday’s game against the Barbarians at Twickenham.
It will be the first time the Queensland Reds playmakers have been paired together by the Wallabies since last November's 30-26 victory over Wales in Cardiff.
Neither has featured for Australia this year with Cooper rehabilitating shoulder and hip injuries and Genia an ankle problem.
Wallabies captain Michael Hooper is rested by Cheika with a view to having him fresh for the upcoming Tests with Wales, France, Ireland and England.
Matt Hodgson comes in at openside flanker to replace him and Cheika has also selected the 33-year-old Western Force forward to captain the side.
This team contains a mix of players from our last game and also experienced players eager to push their way into the Test team.
Fijian-born Brumbies winger Henry Speight will play his first game for Australia after a four-year eligibility wait and 20-year-old Melbourne Rebels flanker Sean McMahon is in line to make his debut from the bench.
An extended nine-man bench has been named with one player to be omitted after Thursday afternoon's training session.
Cheika is confident he has the mixture of youth and experience right in his first team selection and is optimistic about the Wallabies’ prospects in the November Tests.
"We've worked really hard this week on ensuring our team has a clear understanding of how we want to play, next is to transfer this into the game on Saturday," he said.
"This team contains a mix of players from our last game and also experienced players eager to push their way into the Test team.
"We're all looking forward to playing our first game for Australia on this tour."
Australia: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia; 1 Benn Robinson, 2 Saia Fainga'a, 3 Ben Alexander, 4 Sam Carter, 5 James Horwill, 6 Scott Higginbotham, 7 Matt Hodgson (capt), 8 Ben McCalman.
Replacements: 16 James Hanson, 17 James Slipper, 18 Sekope Kepu, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Sean McMahon, 21 Nic White, 22 Bernard Foley, 23 Christian Leali'ifano, 24 Joe Tomane - one player to be omitted.
Watch Barbarians v Australia is live on Sky Sports 2HD, with coverage beginning at 2.00pm on Saturday.
