Unchanged Wallabies fight on
The Wallabies have named an unchanged line-up for Saturday's second Test of the Wales tour in Melbourne.
Despite concerns over the fitness of Sekope Kepu, after he strained a tendon in his forearm during last weekend's 27-19 win over Wales in the first match of the series, the tighthead prop has been named subject to proving his readiness later in the week.
Kepu completed the full 80 minutes of last weekend's match at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane before reporting the injury once he had cooled down following the game.
"We are hopeful that 'Keps' will be good to go, but we do have a contingency plan in place if we need it," Wallabies coach Robbie Deans said.
"There are five props in the group we have with us in Melbourne so we saw no need in bringing anyone extra in."
The Brumbies' Ben Alexander, who replaced loosehead prop Benn Robinson during the first Test of the tour but has played the majority of his 38 previous Test matches as a tighthead, has once again been named on the bench.
Deans says the continuity of the selection reflected the level of last weekend's performance, although he acknowledged that the same would not be good enough for the return bout against the Six Nations champions.
"The Welsh will have seen a lot of opportunity in last weekend's Test," Deans said.
"They showed during their Six Nations campaign that they are resilient – twice winning games in the final moments. That trait was apparent again in a 12-minute period in Brisbane when they closed from 6-20 to 19-20, to put themselves in a position to win the game after we had made the better start."
The Welsh camp, who are this week being joined in Melbourne by their injured head coach Warren Gatland, made it clear prior to undertaking this tour that they believed a series win in Australia was within their capabilities.
"That belief won't have been altered by last Saturday," Deans explained.
"If anything, that game – and more particularly the opportunities that they were able to create within in it – will only have hardened their resolve."
Fittingly a Melbourne Rebels player will be involved in the match on Saturday, as wing Cooper Vuna retains his spot after an encouraging debut last weekend following a late call up in place of the injured Joe Tomane.
"Cooper did well, and he will have learned a lot from that experience," Deans said.
"The pace of the game is faster than at any other level – he acknowledged that afterwards, but Cooper still had some critical involvements in Brisbane, and will be better prepared this week now that he knows what to expect.'
Fellow Rebels player, Kurtley Beale, was not considered for selection, with Deans saying that the 2011 John Eales Medal winner still had some work to do, in his comeback from a shoulder injury, before he would be ready to go again.
Australia: 15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Cooper Vuna, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Pat McCabe, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Berrick Barnes, 9 Will Genia, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 David Pocock (captain), 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: Stephen Moore, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 Dave Dennis, 19 Michael Hooper, 20 Nic White, 21 Anthony Fainga'a, 22 Mike Harris.
Date: Saturday, June 16
Venue: Etihad Stadium, Melbourne
Kick-off: 20.00 (10.00 GMT)
Referee: Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Craig Joubert (South Africa), Garratt Williamson (New Zealand)
TMO: Vinny Munro (New Zealand)
