Australia coach Eddie Jones dropped four forwards from the team that lost 18-9 to Ireland when he named his side yesterday for tomorrow's international against England at Twickenham.
"It's a flexible side . . . and I would expect players to play in different positions," Jones said. "This is our best 22 for England."
Argentina-born prop Patricio Noriega is the only front-five survivor as Nick Stiles is replaced by Bill Young at loosehead, hooker Adam Freier loses his place to Jeremy Paul, and locks Justin Harrison and Daniel Vickerman come in for David Giffin and Owen Finegan.
In the backs, Queensland's Elton Flatley is named in the starting line-up at inside centre, with Daniel Herbert moving outside, Stirling Mortlock to the wing and Scott Staniforth dropping to the bench.
Jones said those joining the forwards had played well in the team's 17-6 win over a physical Argentina side in Buenos Aires two weeks ago. "Jeremy (Paul) is back from injury. We were very happy with his form against Argentina," Jones said. "Bill Young's scrummaging form against Argentina was very good."
Vickerman was also praised. "Against a good mauling side like England, where it's hard to get at the ball, he'll be useful," Jones said.
"In terms of back-line play, what we'd like to do is definitely look at interchangeability of positions," he added. "We're looking at guys that can mix and match."
Scotland will line up against South Africa at Murrayfield tomorrow with the same team that beat Romania 37-10 at the weekend. "A game against South Africa is not the time to experiment," the Scots coach Ian McGeechan said.
But his decision to stick with the same 15 is nevertheless a surprise as it means there is no place in the line-up for experienced outhalf Gregor Townsend.
Leeds Tykes' Gordon Ross will win his third cap at outhalf while place-kicking duties will again be handed to the New Zealand-born centre Brendan Laney.
Meanwhile, the process to find the host for the 2007 Rugby World Cup took a surprise twist after England and France, the only two countries aiming to stage the tournament, were told to re-submit their bids by the International Rugby Board (IRB).
Following a meeting of its ruling council in Dublin yesterday, the IRB issued a statement saying: "As neither of the bids submitted by England and France for the hosting of Rugby World Cup 2007 complied with the tender document, both unions have been instructed to provide bids which are in compliance." It is now understood that England, whose initial proposal contained plans for both a traditional as well as a new format World Cup, and France, who only offered one tournament stucture, will submit fresh bids.
AUSTRALIA (v England): M Burke; W Sailor, D Herbert, E Flatley, S Mortlock; S Larkham, G Gregan; B Young, J Paul, P Noriega, D Vickerman, J Harrison, M Cockbain, G Smith, T Kefu. Replacements: A Freier, B Darwin, D Giffin, D Croft, C Whitaker, M Giteau, S Staniforth, B Cannon.
SCOTLAND (v South Africa): S Moffat; N Walker, A Craig, B Laney, C Paterson; G Ross, B Redparth; T Smith, G Bulloch, B Douglas, S Murray, S Grimes, M Leslie, B Pountney, S Taylor. Replacements: S Scott, D Hilton, N Hines, J White, G Beveridge, G Townsend, B Hinshelwood.
WALES (v Canada): R Williams; M Jones, J robinson, S Parker, G Thomas; S Jones, D Peel; I Thomas, R McBryde, B Evans, V Cooper, G Llewellyn, D Jones, M Williams, C Charvis. Replacements: Replacements: M Davies, G Jenkins, M Owen, S Quinnell, R Powell, I Harris, D James.
CANADA (v Wales): W Stanley; S fauth, N Witkowski, J Cannon, F Asselin; J Barker, M Williams; R Snow, P Dunkley, J thiel, J Tait, M James, R Banks, A van Staveren, P Murphy. Replacements: M Lawson, K Tkachuk, J Cudmore, L Carlson, E Fairhurst, B Ross, M Di Girolamo.
