MELBOURNE - Under-pressure Wallabies coach Eddie Jones rolled the dice with a new-look "young, vibrant" side to face the All Blacks in Melbourne, while powerhouse New Zealand opted for stability in making just one injury-enforced change.
Australia head into the Melbourne Cricket Ground game on Saturday, in front of an expected 80,000 fans, after consecutive Rugby Championship defeats to South Africa and Argentina.
Should the All Blacks win they will retain not only the Rugby Championship title, but also the trans-Tasman Bledisloe Cup, which Australia has not got its hands on since 2002.
Former England boss Jones is without a win since taking over from Dave Rennie, and again shuffled the deck as he continues his search for his best side to field at the September-October World Cup in France.
The biggest surprise among seven changes to the run-on team was Test rookie Carter Gordon getting the nod at fly-half ahead of 78-Test stalwart Quade Cooper, who started the last two matches.
Gordon will partner scrum-half Tate McDermott, preferred to another veteran Nic White as Jones looks to freshen up the underperforming team.
Equally surprising was co-skipper James Slipper dropping to the bench, with Angus Bell linking up with hooker David Porecki and tighthead prop Allan Alaalatoa.
As expected, fellow co-skipper Michael Hooper was not among the 23 as he continues to recover from a calf injury, with ACT Brumbies captain Alaalatoa taking the armband.
"We are a team that wants to make Australia proud, and Saturday night is a great opportunity to light up the MCG," said Jones.
"A young starting 15 and vibrant, experienced finishers will give us the 80 minutes we want. Wallaby rugby versus New Zealand rugby, it's the most important game of the year."
Among other changes, Jordan Petaia returns at outside centre after a long injury lay-off and will partner Samu Kerevi in the midfield.
Andrew Kellaway will also play his first Test of the year at fullback alongside Marika Koroibete and Mark Nawaqanitawase on the wings.
In contrast to Jones's mass changes, opposite number Ian Foster mostly stuck with the side that emphatically beat world champions South Africa 35-20 earlier this month, describing the Wallabies as "a massive challenge".