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The crunch Pool D match will take place on Sunday in Tokyo. The winner of the battle between the top two seeds of the pool will all but be confirmed in the Quarter Finals of RWC 2019.
Australia Head Coach Michael Cheika has named four different starting backs from the side which defeated Fiji in Sapporo. One of these has been forced by suspension as Reece Hodge was suspended for a dangerous high tackle. The red card offense incorrectly refereed by Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand) and the TMO.
Replacing Hodge will be Adam Ashley-Cooper who is playing in his fourth Rugby World Cup. He joins Dane Haylett-Petty and Marika Koroibete in the back-three with Kurtley Beale dropping to the bench.
Cheika has recalled the RWC 2015 starting pairing of Will Genia, and Bernard Foley. They replace Nic White and Christian Leali’ifano with the later dropping out of the 23. The utility of Beale has been preferred to Leali’ifano.
Up-front it is continuity from the Wallabies. This sees a formidable pack starting with Scott Sio, Tolu Latu, and Allan Alaalatoa in the front-row; Izack Rodda, and Rory Arnold in the second-row; and a back-row of David Pocock, Michael Hooper and Fijian import Isi Naisarani.
Wales Head Coach Warren Gatland has named the same line-up that defeated Georgia on Monday in Toyota. The one alteration to the 23 comes on the bench in the form of Owen Watkin.
The team will be captained by Alun Wyn Jones. In this fourth RWC the Swansea second-rower will earn his 139 overall cap, and 130th for Wales. His 9 Lions caps have come from three tours.
Australia vs Wales is one of rugby’s oldest rivalries. The first test match was played in 1908 and there have been a total of 42 matches. Of them the Wallabies reign supreme with 30 victories.
Wales enter the match in better shape than Australia. Stability in selection further underlines the Western British team as favorites to win. ARN predicts a tight Welsh victory by 2 points.
TEAMS
AUSTRALIA
1 Scott Sio, 2 Tolu Latu, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 4 Izack Rodda, 5 Rory Arnold, 6 David Pocock, 7 Michael Hooper (capt.), 8 Isi Naisarani, 9 Will Genia, 10 Bernard Foley, 11 Marika Koroibete, 12 Samu Kerevi, 13 James O’Connor, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 15 Dane Haylett-Petty
Replacements: 16 Jordan Uelese, 17 James Slipper, 18 Sekope Kepu, 19 Adam Coleman, 20 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 21 Nic White, 22 Matt To’omua, 23 Kurtley Beale
WALES
1 Wyn Jones. 2 Ken Owens, 3 Tom Francis, 4 Jake Ball, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (capt.), 6 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Justin Tipuric, 8 Josh Navidi, 9 Gareth Davies, 10 Dan Biggar, 11 Josh Adams, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 13 Jonathan Davies, 14 George North, 15 Liam Williams
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Aaron Shingler, 20 Ross Moriarty, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Rhys Patchell, 23 Owen Watkin
Date: Sunday, September 29
Kick-Off: 16:45 local (00:45 Pacific, 03:45 Eastern, 04:45 Rio de la Plata)
Venue: Tokyo Stadium, Tokyo
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant Referee: Luke Pearce (England), Karl Dickson (England)
TMO: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)
