Waratahs youngster Langi Gleeson will make his first run-on start for the Wallabies alongside Tahs teammate Ben Donaldson who's been handed the starting flyhalf position over the more experienced Noah Lolesio.
In a move that will likely raise eyebrows, Dave Rennie has chosen to slide Donaldson into the No.10 jersey with Lolesio retaining his place on the bench, despite starting just once against Italy and failing to make his way onto the pitch against Ireland last week.
Donaldson came on late into the Wallabies loss against Italy, playing just the final five minutes where he failed to slot a conversion that would have given his team a one-point win. Even with just his few minutes in the gold jersey, it was enough to impress Rennie, with the Wallabies coach eager to see more, lining him up alongside Tahs teammate Jake Gordon and 55-Test veteran Reece Hodge in centre.
"I wouldn't say it's always been the plan [playing Donaldson], but we want to learn a bit more about him, he only got five minutes against Italy," Rennie told media on Thursday.
"Initially we were thinking to get him on the field earlier in that game, but we scored late... then when we were down by six with five to go we decided to throw him out there to see what he could do.
"He's trained really well, he's got a good skill set, big kicker of the ball, quick, he's got an ability to play flat and he's developing as a voice and his ability to boss people around -- we still need to see plenty of that. We've got familiarity on the inside with Jake [Gordon] and then a fair bit of experience with Hodgey [Reece Hodge] on his outside, so that should help.
"We want to find out about Ben, we're heading into a World Cup year next year and the assumption is Quade [Cooper] will be fit and available hopefully, so we obviously know about him, we know a lot about Bernard [Foley], we're going to find out a bit about Ben.
"His versatility helps too, he can play 15, he's certainly quick enough to play back there, and we've got Noah who's got a fair bit of experience now to come into the game late."
Forced into close to a total team reshuffle through the decimation of his squad with injury, Rennie gave Gleeson the nod to replace injured No. 8 Rob Valetini for the Principality clash while Fraser McReight has moved into the backrow to replace Michael Hooper who presented with concussion symptoms late following the side's 13-10 loss to Ireland.
Gleeson has enjoyed a rapid rise in 2022, working his way into the Waratahs senior squad before he made an eye-catching first start against the Highlanders in Dunedin.
Named in the Australia A squad for the Pacific Nations Cup, Gleeson was one of the standout performers in Fiji, resulting in his call-up for the Rugby Championship.
But he had to wait until the opening of the tour against Scotland for a taste of Test rugby, Gleeson earning a brief cameo off the bench in Edinburgh and then again in the shock loss to Italy.
"I first saw Langi at 20s camp, obviously they didn't get to play last year, but he was a standout there and I watched his progress with interest at the Waratahs," Rennie said of the 21-year-old. "He's a bit of a like for like with Bobby [Rob Valetini] not being able to play.
"He's very athletic, powerful, very quick, can hit hard, but he's green as, he's got a lot to learn about the game, so the tour's been gold for him and hopefully he goes well on the weekend and then he heads back to the Waratahs with a lot of confidence and hopefully has a big season with them."
Gleeson and Donaldson were just a number of changes to the Australia side, with hooker Dave Porecki [concussion], prop Taniela Tupou [Achilles] scrum-half Nic White [concussion], Hunter Paisami [knee] and Andrew Kellaway [foot] all flying home alongside Valetini earlier this week.
In Porecki's absence Folau Fainga'a has been given the nod to start despite his many disciplinary issues - including a yellow card last weekend. According to Rennie the decision to play the 27-year-old ahead of Lachlan Lonergan was clear cut.
"Not really [a consideration to start Lonergan]," Rennie said. "Folau's been excellent for us, he's played a lot of footy, he started in the No.2 jersey a lot last year so he gives us a lot of experience. He's a very good scrummager, good chop tackler -- we think that's going to be important early in the game.
"Lachie's a good player, so we're hoping he grabs whatever time he gets this weekend and puts in a massive performance. He's a good exponent from the set-piece point of view, but his strength is ball in hand and his ability around the park, so we certainly want to see that impact from him."
Retaining last week's locking pair of Caderyn Neville and Nick Frost, Rennie has named Ned Hanigan on the bench alongside Sam Talakai and Pete Samu as a backrow replacement with Matt Gibbon and Darcy Swain missing out.
"Obviously Matt Gibbon misses out. Sam's been training really well, our preference is stronger as a loosehead versus a tighthead, so we've gone that way, and Darcy misses out.
"I thought Ned was excellent against Italy; he was really crook leading into the game and it was touch and go whether we'd play him, so he was pretty wasted for a couple of days beyond that, but he played really well so we we're keen to get him back in the mix."
With White ruled out after a concussion review, Jake Gordon has won the battle for the starting jersey ahead of Tate McDermott who slots onto the bench. Gordon started alongside Lolesio in Florence and was forced to play as a replacement wing last week, while McDermott saw only limited time off the bench in that defeat having worn the No. 9 jersey in the Wallabies' 16-15 win over Scotland - their only victory so far in Europe.
Paisami's injury continues the Wallabies' cursed run at No. 12 this season, the Queenslander joining Samu Kerevi and Lalakai Foketi on the sidelines. With no other specialist option available Rennie has turned to versatile Hodge as a stopgap solution in the midfield.
Elsewhere, Tom Wright has been pushed into fullback with Jordan Petaia and Mark Nawaqanitawase slotting onto the wings after both players had an impressive showing last week.
With Rennie scrapping together his 23, an injury to any backline player in the lead up to the clash on Sunday morning [AEDT] spells disaster for a campaign that has seen just one victory.
"I hear Drew Mitchell's available," Rennie joked. "It's probably a six-two split to be honest [if we lose any more backline players].
"It's big for us, it's big from a tour point of view, we want to finish on a high note. We've lost three in a row, even though a couple of those were pretty good performances, you've got to find a way to win, so that's going to be similar on Saturday without a fair bit of cattle. But we've got a good side on the field, we've got to perform well, we do that and we're in with a shake."
The Wallabies' record sits at 4-9 for 2022, a loss this weekend in Cardiff condemning them to their worst calendar year since 1958.
The Wallabies have not won the final Test of their season since 2013, with Wales also in desperate need of a victory following their shock loss to the 14th ranked Georgia at home last weekend.
"They'll be hurting, we've reflected on that," Rennie said. "We're hurting as well, because we put a lot into last week's effort and came up short, but we're well aware of how much they'll be hurting after that loss. They're probably getting it in the media here and they'll want respond, so we fully understand the intensity required."
Wallabies: Tom Wright, Jordan Petaia, Len Ikitau, Reece Hodge, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Ben Donaldson, Jake Gordon, Langi Gleeson, Fraser McReight, Jed Holloway, Caderyn Neville, Nick Frost, Allan Alaalatoa, Folau Fainga'a, James Slipper. Replacements: Lachlan Lonergan, Tom Robertson, Sam Talakai, Ned Hanigan, Pete Samu, Tate McDermott, Noah Lolesio, Jock Campbell.