- Updates from the All Blacks v Wallabies clash in Dunedin
- Kick-off at Forsyth Barr Stadium is 2:35pm NZST/12:35 pm AEST
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The appointment of scrum-half Tate McDermott as the 86th captain of the Wallabies has been the story of the week on this side of the Tasman. Eddie Jones was confident he’d backed the right leadership contender, despite overlooking the 24-year-old in his 33-man training squad in April.
“Tate’s got all the attributes to be a great captain of his country,” Jones said. “We’re definitely remodelling the team. We need to change the team from where we’ve been and part of it is definitely the leadership aspect.”
Australia have now conceded more than 30 points in three straight defeats, falling off one-on-one tackles with such regularity that the heat on defence coach, former NRL great and union rookie Brett Hodgson, is now at boiling point. And their handling of the ball, despite a new halves pairing in McDermott and 22-year-old Carter Gordon with many promising waves of attack, yielded just one try last week, and that was by a forward, No 8 Rob Valetini.
Written by Jonathan Howcroft
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2023/aug/05/bledisloe-cup-2023-live-wallabies-vs-all-blacks-australia-v-new-zealand-score-aus-nz-rugby-union-championship-scores-results-lineup-kick-off-time-forsyth-barr-stadium-dunedin-latest-news-updates under the title “New Zealand v Australia: Bledisloe Cup 2023 – live”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
