Rugby-Australia drop winger Koroibete for second All Blacks test

(Reuters) – Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has axed winger Marika Koroibete for Australia’s final Rugby Championship test and replaced him with Dylan Pietsch for the clash against the All Blacks in Wellington on Saturday.

Fiji-born Koroibete was named Australia’s best test player in 2019 and 2022 but has looked out of sorts in the Rugby Championship and dropped a couple of simple passes in the 31-28 loss to New Zealand in Sydney last week.

Pietsch, the 15th indigenous Australian to play for the Wallabies, shone as a replacement at Stadium Australia as the home side fought their way back from a heavy early deficit and gets his reward with a first test start.

In other changes, Jake Gordon returns at scrumhalf in place of Nic White and Ben Donaldson comes onto the bench as backup to flyhalf Noah Lolesio in place of Tom Lynagh.

James Slipper gets a rest after becoming the most capped Wallaby of all time last week with Isaac Kailea returning from injury to backup loosehead prop Angus Bell.

Australia, whose hopes of winning the Bledisloe Cup for the first time in more than two decades ended with the loss in Sydney, last beat the All Blacks in New Zealand in 2001 in Dunedin.

“We didn’t help ourselves last weekend falling behind early to a fast moving, high tempo All Blacks side,” Schmidt said in a news release.

“We know we will need to start better than we did last week, with the physical edge and accuracy required.”

Team: 15-Tom Wright, 14-Andrew Kellaway, 13-Len Ikitau, 12-Hunter Paisami, 11-Dylan Pietsch, 10-Noah Lolesio, 9-Jake Gordon, 8-Harry Wilson, 7-Fraser McReight, 6-Rob Valetini, 5-Jeremy Williams, 4-Nick Frost, 3-Taniela Tupou, 2-Matt Faessler, 1-Angus Bell

Replacements: 16-Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17-Isaac Kailea, 18-Allan Alaalatoa, 19-Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 20-Langi Gleeson, 21-Tate McDermott, 22-Ben Donaldson, 23-Josh Flook.

(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)