Petaia, Polota-Nau and Pocock return to Wallabies squad

Qantas Wallabies rookie Jordan Petaia has been named in Australia’s squad for the final Mitsubishi Estate Rugby Championship clash of 2019 against New Zealand at Optus Stadium in Perth.

The exciting prospect has been steadily building in his return from a Lisfranc injury that he suffered in Round Three of Vodafone Super Rugby earlier this year for the Queensland Reds.

Petaia will be joined in the squad by veterans David Pocock (calf) and Tatafu Polota-Nau (knee) with the experienced pair also continuing their rehabilitation from injury.

The 36-man squad will arrive in Perth on Sunday ahead of the first-ever Test match at Optus Stadium with the Rugby Championship crown still up for grabs.

The Perth clash will be one of two Bledisloe Cup Tests in 2019 with the reverse fixture in Auckland not included in The Rugby Championship schedule this year.

Qantas Wallabies coach Michael Cheika said: “We know it’s going to be a packed house in Perth, full of Wallabies fans cheering us on and seeing what we’re building towards. We want to make every Australian proud of our performance next Saturday.

"Squad decisions are getting harder and harder to make. So many lads are putting their hands up at training and at Club Rugby around the country, and each one of them is pushing the other to get better each day.

“It’s great to see Jordan (Petaia) back. He’s had a few games of Club Rugby under his belt now so we’ll look to integrate him this week in Perth and give him time to settle in.

“We were pleased to get the win against Argentina and we felt we built on some things from the previous game against South Africa and now we’ll be looking to build on that.

“There’s strong belief in the group and it’s showing itself in how hard they’re training and how committed they are to doing whatever they need to do to achieve our goals,” Cheika said.

Perth has never hosted a clash between Australia and New Zealand in the trophy’s 116-year history with the Wallabies out to break a 16-year drought in 2019.

The Wallabies last tasted victory against New Zealand in October 2017, in a clash remembered as the first time the national Rugby team wore an Indigenous jersey.

The Optus Stadium clash will also play host to another #partOfMore march with more than 3,000 people from the broader West Australian Rugby community to parade the ground before kick-off.

FOX SPORTS will showcase every game of the Mitsubishi Estate Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup LIVE with no ad-breaks during play and in HD.

All matches in the tournament will also be streamed LIVE on Kayo Sports. All Qantas Wallabies Tests will be screened LIVE and free in HD on TEN and WIN Network and streaming on tenplay.com.au.

All Tests will also be LIVE on RUGBY.com.au Radio and available to stream via the RugbyXplorer App.

Qantas Wallabies squad for Mitsubishi Estate Rugby Championship Test against New Zealand (Test caps, Vodafone Super Rugby side and age)

Forwards

Allan Alaalatoa (32 Tests, Brumbies, 25)

Rory Arnold (21 Tests , Brumbies, 29)

Adam Coleman (31, Melbourne Rebels, 28)

Folau Fainga’a (9 Tests, Brumbies, 24)

Michael Hooper (c) (93 Tests, NSW Waratahs, 27)

Luke Jones (4 Tests, Melbourne Rebels, 28)

Sekope Kepu (105 Tests, NSW Waratahs, 33)

Tolu Latu (12 Tests, NSW Waratahs, 26)

Isi Naisarani (2 Tests, Melbourne Rebels, 24)

David Pocock (77 Tests, Brumbies, 31)

Tatafu Polota-Nau (89 Tests, Leicester, 34)

Izack Rodda (19 Tests, Queensland Reds, 22)

Rob Simmons (96 Tests, NSW Waratahs, 30)

Lukhan Salakaia-Loto (13, Queensland Reds, 23)

Scott Sio (56 Tests, Brumbies, 27)

James Slipper (88 Tests, Brumbies, 30)

Taniela Tupou (13 Tests, Queensland Reds, 23)

Jordan Uelese (3 Tests, Melbourne Rebels, 22)

Rob Valetini (uncapped, Brumbies, 20)

Liam Wright (uncapped, Queensland Reds, 21)

Backs

Adam Ashley-Cooper (117 Tests, NSW Waratahs, 35)

Tom Banks (4 Tests, Brumbies, 25)

Kurtley Beale (85 Tests, NSW Waratahs, 30)

Bernard Foley (69 Tests, NSW Waratahs, 29)

Will Genia (102 Tests, Melbourne Rebels, 31)

Dane Haylett-Petty (32 Tests, Melbourne Rebels, 30)

Reece Hodge (35 Tests, Melbourne Rebels, 24)

Samu Kerevi (27 Tests, Queensland Reds, 25)

Marika Koroibete (21 Tests, Melbourne Rebels, 27)

Tevita Kuridrani (60 Tests, Brumbies, 28)

Christian Leali’ifano (20 Tests, Brumbies, 31)

James O’Connor (45 Tests, Queensland Reds, 29)

Jordan Petaia (uncapped, Queensland Reds, 19)

Joe Powell (4 Tests, Brumbies, 25)

Matt Toomua (44 Tests, Melbourne Rebels, 29)

Nic White (22 Tests, Exeter Chiefs, 29)

2019 Mitsubishi Estate Rugby Championship

South Africa v Qantas Wallabies at Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg, South Africa, Sunday 21 July at 1.05am AEST

Qantas Wallabies 16 v 10 Argentina at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Saturday 27 July at 7.45pm AEST

Qantas Wallabies v New Zealand at Optus Stadium, Perth, Saturday 10 August at 7.45pm AEST



2019 Mitsubishi Estate Bledisloe Cup (second Test)

New Zealand v Qantas Wallabies at Eden Park, Auckland, Saturday 17 August at 5.35pm AEST



Take-off Test

Qantas Wallabies v Samoa at Bankwest Stadium, Parramatta, Saturday 7 September at 7.30pm AEST

