Here are the teams
Okay, here are the teams. Les Kiss has rolled the dice on keeping some star power on the bench, to ensure there is enough quality to play out a full 80 minutes.
After strong starts, the Wallabies fell off in the last 30 minutes in each of their three Tests in July.
Miles Amatosero and Aidan Ross are making their starting debuts, and Hunter Paisami has replaced Len Ikitau at no.12.
Charlie Cale returns after a two-year absence, on the bench. And nuggety Reds utility Isaac Henry is set for a Test debut in the no.23. He will Wallaby no.999 if he gets on.
Weather report – it’s pretty hot
But how is the weather, I hear you asking? That heatwave you’ve been banging on about all week?
It’s definitely hot, but it’s slightly more bearable tonight than through the week.
The temperature is about 30 degrees, and is forecast to be 29 degrees by kickoff. There is a whiff of relieving breeze out at Hanazono Stadium, however, and that may knock out a little more sting.
But it’s 72% humidity, so the “feels like” is going to hover around 30 for the game.
Konnichiwa from Osaka
Hello and welcome to Osaka, Japan, for the Wallabies’ clash with Eddie Jones and the Brave Blossoms. That sounds a bit like a folk band.
My name is Iain Payten and I will be with you for the build-up to the game, which kicks off at 8pm AEST, and then the tireless Jonny Drennan will take over for the live match action. The Belfast brawler is also covering the Swans’ win at the SCG this afternoon, but let’s hope it’s not a red-and-white clean sweep.
This match is, of course, the first of the new Les Kiss era, after Joe Schmidt exited stage left following the Wallabies’ big win over Italy.
What we can expect from Kiss-ball? It won’t be hugely different – they keep talk about this transition being “evolution, not revolution” – but there will be some small tweaks in defence, apparently, and Kiss is happier with his side attacking space in the wide channels than Schmidt.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
