London: Michael Cheika has named David Pocock at No.8 to face England this weekend but concedes the star back-rower is not fully fit and will decide himself whether he is right to take the field in Australias last match of the year.
Cheika has made five changes to the Wallabies starting XV from the team that beat Italy 26-7 in Padua and pulled a major surprise by axing Kurtley Beale from the matchday 23 altogether in a game where Australia will wear their special Indigenous jersey.
Touch and go: David Pocock suffered a 'stinger' against Italy but has been named to take on England. Credit:AP
Beale could still come onto the bench if Pocock is a late scratching, with Pete Samu understood to be in the frame to fill the void at No.8 if that transpires.
After not training on Monday or Tuesday, Pocock also missed the teams session on Thursday at the Lensbury in Teddington because of neck soreness that was exacerbated by a hit during the second half of the Italy fixture.
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Pocock could be pulled as late as one hour before kick-off (3pm Saturday local time, 2am Sunday AEDT) and will have a run around on Friday morning before attempting to get through a captains run in the afternoon.
“I wouldnt say [he is] fully [fit], Id be rather be fair and square about that otherwise he would have been training today,” Cheika said. “Hes hurting but hes desperate to play.
“I wont take a risk with him physically. Hes telling me that he can get there. Hes done a few things hes felt alright with. I think hell be right.”
Cheika believes opposition players have targeted Pocock this year in particular and hopes officials on the weekend will keep an eye on that if he plays.
“He puts his head into places people go to and hes copped a fair few whacks this year,” Cheika said.
“Hes certainly not scared to keep putting his head there. Hopefully itll get looked after when hes in there.
“The CEO of World Rugby [Brett Gosper] even came out and said hes not being targeted illegally, so they must be looking at it.”
Beales omission, however, came as quite the surprise. Even if his form hasnt been great over the last few matches he has been one of the few Wallabies players who can add spark and variety in attack.
Last weeks starting combination of Matt Toomua at No.10 and Bernard Foley at No.12 will get another chance to show its worth at Twickenham.
No doubt Beale, the squad's only Indigenous player, would be bitterly disappointed to not feature given he was so proud to wear the jersey during the All Blacks Test in Brisbane last year.
“I dont know if weve fired as much this year in the three-quarters and I want to play this game in a certain way and by going in with the thought of that strategy I think I had to make some difficult decisions there,” Cheika said.
“I dont want to be romantic about that type of stuff. It [the jersey] means a lot to all of us and Kurtley has shared a couple of stories this week."
England coach Eddie Jones says he has picked his strongest possible line-up for this match.Credit:AP
The other curious selection is that of Israel Folau at fullback and Dane Haylett-Petty on the wing.
When Folau was injured ahead of the second Bledisloe Test in Auckland, Cheika moved Haylett-Petty to No.15. Many expected him to go back to the wing when Folau was fit but from the Auckland match until the Wales fixture a fortnight ago, Haylett-Petty has been a constant at the back.
Meanwhile, Jack Maddocks has been picked on the other wing for his third start at Test level and first since the Springboks match in Brisbane in early September.
There was no room for Adam Ashley-Cooper or Marika Koroibete, despite the latter scoring two tries in the first half against Italy.
“It feels really good,” Maddocks said. “England at Twickenham is a huge game.”
As expected, halfback Will Genia returns to the starters and will bring up his 100th Wallabies Test in front of friends and family.
Cheika has made some slight adjustments to the front row as well, with tight-head Sekope Kepu earning his first start since the Bledisloe Cup opener.
Tolu Latu has been given the nod at hooker, while the second-rowers of Izack Rodda and Coleman have been retained as well as a back row of Jack Dempsey, Michael Hooper and Pocock.
Meanwhile, Eddie Jones has named co-captain Dylan Hartley on England's bench, with Jamie George to start at hooker.
Owen Farrell returns to the No.10 jersey and will have former NRL player Ben Teo outside of him.
Centre Manu Tuilagi is also set for his first international game in two years off the bench.
“Weve picked our best 23 for the Australia game,” said Jones, whose men claimed a 35-15 win over Japan last week.
Wallabies team
(1-15): Scott Sio, Tolu Latu, Sekope Kepu, Izack Rodda, Adam Coleman, Jack Dempsey, Michael Hooper, David Pocock, Will Genia, Matt Toomua, Jack Maddocks, Bernard Foley, Samu Kerevi, Dane Haylett-Petty, Israel Folau
Bench: Tatafu Polota-Nau, Jermaine Ainsley, Allan Alaalatoa, Rob Simmons, Ned Hanigan, Pete Samu, Nick Phipps, Sefa Naivalu
England team
(1-15): Ben Moon, Jamie George, Kyle Sinckler, Maro Itoje, Courtney Lawes, Brad Shields, Sam Underhill, Mark Wilson, Ben Youngs, Owen Farrell, Jonny May, Ben Te'o, Henry Slade, Joe Cokanasiga, Elliot Daly
Bench: Dylan Hartley, Alec Hepburn, Harry Williams, Charlie Ewels, Nathan Hughes, Richard Wigglesworth, George Ford, Manu Tuilagi
Tom Decent is a journalist with Fairfax Media.
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