Gordon and Edmed to start for Wallabies as Skelton returns for Bledisloe clash

Jake Gordon and Tane Edmed will start in the halves for the Wallabies on Saturday against the All Blacks, while coach Joe Schmidt has recalled Will Skelton and dropped Angus Bell for the second Bledisloe Cup fixture in Perth.

Schmidt has made five changes to the starting side that fell to New Zealand last week in Auckland, including Filipo Daugunu replacing Corey Toole on the left wing.

As reported on Wednesday, James O’Connor has been relegated to the replacements so Edmed can start after he sat on the bench for the full 80 minutes last weekend.

Gordon, returning from a hamstring injury, will play his first Test since the second Lions match. The Waratahs captain has a long-standing combination with Edmed at Super Rugby level and will be tasked with steadying the 25-year-old, who had a mixed outing against Argentina in Sydney.

Skelton comes back into the run-on XV after being released by French club La Rochelle, while Rob Valetini has been named on a five-three bench that also features Josh Nasser, Tom Robertson, Taniela Tupou and Jeremy Williams as the replacement forwards.

Bell, who came off the bench at Eden Park, has not been named in the match day 23.

The occasion will be particularly significant for veteran prop James Slipper, who will play his 151st and final Test after announcing his retirement from international rugby earlier this week.

Schmidt said in a statement: “The squad has dusted themselves off from the disappointment in Auckland and they’ve worked away this week in preparation for what’s going to be another torrid Test match against New Zealand on Saturday.

“The support has been fantastic this year, especially when playing in Australia, and we’ll be hoping to put in a performance that is worthy of that support in our final home Test of 2025.”

More to come

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