Joe Schmidt has made three changes to his starting Australian XV for the second Test against The British & Irish Lions at the MCG.
The Wallabies head coach has made all three alterations to his pack in a bid to match the Lions at the breakdown, where Andy Farrell’s side dominated during their 27-19 win during the first Test in Brisbane.
David Porecki has been handed the hooker berth after being declared fit following a concussion he picked up during Australia’s 21-18 win over Fiji.
The 32-two-year old Waratah replaces Matt Faessler, who has dropped out from the matchday 23.
Lock Will Skelton and flanker Rob Valetini, who have both shaken off calf injuries, have also been returned to the forward line.
The former comes in for bench-bound Jeremy Williams to partner Nick Frost in the second row, while the latter takes the spot at blind-side in the back row in favour of Nick Champion de Crespigny, who joins Faessler in missing out completely.
Australia must win in Melbourne to keep their hopes of winning the Qatar Airways Lions Men’s Series alive, and they will be looking to emulate the classes of 2001 and 2013, who, having both also lost the first Tests, roared back in southeast Australia, winning 35-14 and 16-15 respectively.
And following a much-improved second-half performance at the Suncorp Stadium last Saturday, in which tries from replacements Carlo Tizzano and Tate McDermott showed Australia’s quality and grit, Schmidt has said his team is in a good place ahead of the must-win Melbourne showdown.
“The squad has recovered well after a very physical first Test and the week's preparation here in Melbourne has allowed us a bit more time together," Schmidt said.
“We took some confidence from the second half last week, but we know we’ll need to improve further against a Lions team that will bring plenty of fire to the contest on Saturday night.”
There have been no changes to Australia’s backs which means Tom Lynagh will continue at fly-half after making his debut in the first Test and Langi Gleeson has been named as one of the hosts' eight replacements with Schmidt opting for a 6-2 forwards split on the bench.
The Wallabies v The British & Irish Lions
MCG, Saturday 26th July, 2025, KO: 11:00 BST
Australia: 15. Tom Wright, 14. Max Jorgensen, 13. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12. Len Ikitau, 11. Harry Potter, 10. Tom Lynagh, 9. Jake Gordon, 1. James Slipper, 2. David Porecki, 3. Allan Alaalatoa, 4. Nick Frost, 5. Will Skelton, 6. Rob Valetini, 7. Fraser McReight, 8. Harry Wilson.
Replacements: 16. Billy Pollard, 17. Angus Bell, 18. Tom Robertson, 19. Jeremy Williams, 20. Langi Gleeson, 21. Carlo Tizzano, 22. Tate McDermott, 23. Ben Donaldson
