James O’Connor set to start Bledisloe Test as Wallabies settle on new fullback

O’Connor will cap a wild week in which he flew from Sydney to London, then drove two hours to Leicester to meet his new Tigers teammates, before being asked to return to Wallabies camp by coach Joe Schmidt.

His 51-hour round trip will culminate with a start in the No.10 jersey at Eden Park, where the All Blacks are looking to extend their 31-year, 51 Test match undefeated streak to keep the Bledisloe on Kiwi shores.

A calf injury to Andrew Kellaway will see Jorgensen – playing against the All Blacks for the first time in his career – move from the wing to fullback.

Harry Potter and Corey Toole will be the wingers, while Tane Edmed has beaten out Tom Lynagh for a spot on the bench as the replacement playmaker.

O’Connor will start in the halves alongside the returning Jake Gordon, while Len Ikitau returns to the midfield alongside Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii after missing the previous Test against Argentina.

Allan Alaalatoa will make his first appearance in The Rugby Championship, starting at tighthead prop, with Taniela Tupou moving to the bench.

Nick Frost returns to start at lock, with Tom Hooper moving to blindside to cover for the injured Rob Valetini.

Jorgensen, 21, gets his first crack at a Bledisloe Cup, having been born two years after Australia last held the trophy in 2002.

“It’s always been a massive rivalry, the Bledisloe Cup, (to) watch it growing up, (I) always dreamt of playing in something like the Bledisloe Cup, and if given the opportunity, it would be awesome,” Jorgensen said.

Australia has not defeated New Zealand at Eden Park since 1986.

“Everyone knows about it,” Jorgensen said.

“It’s pretty known within the group and it really gives us a good opportunity this weekend to go out and win it back.”

Australia leads the Rugby Championship by one point with two games remaining.

They’ve had mixed results like their three competitors, winning the opening games against South Africa and Argentina respectively, before losing the second games, including the 28-26 loss to the Pumas in Sydney a fortnight ago.

“There’s a lot of stuff we’re still working on as a team,” Jorgensen said.

“Last week, we let Argentina get away with it in the first 40 and then we ended up coming back in the last 40 there, but we want to really do that for 80 and put on a good performance.

“I think it’s ultimately becoming an 80-minute team, putting in an 80-minute performance that we can really be proud of.”

The All Blacks are under enormous pressure after suffering a record 43-10 loss to the Springboks in their previous game, while also losing to the Pumas in Argentina for the first time earlier in the tournament.

Persistent rain is predicted in Auckland throughout the week, which will amplify the kicking game of both teams.

Gordon will do much of the box-kicks for the Aussies, while O’Connor and Jorgensen will be tasked with putting the Kiwis under pressure with long clearances and high balls – an area the Boks exposed them in the record rout.