MELBOURNE, Sept 13 (Askume) – Free forward Fraser McWright and centre Hunter Paisami have returned to the Australian squad for the Rugby Championship match against New Zealand after recovering from injury.
McWright, who missed the South Africa and Argentina games with a hand injury, will be a welcome addition to the Wallabies’ back row after their 67-27 loss in Santa Fe.
Paisami suffered a knee injury against the Springboks in Perth and also missed a shot from midfield against Argentina.
Prop Isaac Calia, who missed the Santa Fe game because of a collision of heads, has been included in the 36-man roster announced Friday.
Kangaroos coach Joe Schmidt has put a lot of faith in a player who has lost three of four games in the Rugby Championship and conceded 50 points in the Santa Fe half.
“After a much-needed win in the first (Argentina) Test and then a good start in the second Test, our last 40 minutes in Argentina were extremely disappointing,” he said in a statement.
“The upcoming Bledisloe Test in Sydney provides an ideal opportunity to reverse a poor result in front of a large home crowd.”
The test against the All Blacks in Sydney on 21 September and the second test in Wellington seven days later also feature in the annual Bledisloe Cup series between the trans-Tasman nations.
New Zealand have hosted the Bledisloe Cup continuously since 2003, and have lost to world champions South Africa in the last two matches.
Like the Wallabies, who have lost three of their four games in the Rugby Championship but are finding their feet under new coach Scott Robertson, they are being tested.
Wallabies wing Liam Wright was surprisingly named captain for the first test of the season against Wales, but was not included in the squad as he is still recovering from injury.
Prop James Slipper retained his place, giving him the opportunity to score a record 140th Test try for Australia.
Australian team:
Forwards – Alan Arrato, Angus Bell, Josh Canham, Matt Fessler, Nick Frost, Rangel Gleeson, Tom Hopper, Isaac Kellia, Fraser McWright, Josh Nasser, Brendan Ponga-Amosa, Tom Robertson, Lujan Salacia-Lotto, James Slipper, Carlo Tizzano,
Tanela Tupou, Rob Valetini, Jeremy Williams, Harry Wilson
Defenders – Ben Donaldson, David Ferrier, Josh Flock,
Jack Gordon, Ryan Iquito, Max Jorgensen, Andrew Kellaway,
Malika Koroibet/Noah Lolesio/Tom Renner/Tate McDermott/Hunter Paisami/Dylan Peach/Hamish Stewart/Co Rituer/Nick White/Tom White
