Jake Gordon will return from a knee injury scare to start for the Wallabies against France in the first Test in Brisbane on Wednesday.
The Waratahs captain is set to line up alongside Noah Lolesio in the halves with Nic White and James O'Connor ruled out due to injury.
Few would have predicted Gordon would don the Australia number nine jersey so soon after he left late in a defeat to the Highlanders last month with what was initially feared to be an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Yet he was able to make a quick recovery after scans revealed only minor damage to his medial collateral ligament, opening the door for his first Wallabies start since his debut against Italy back in 2018.
Up front, Lolesio's Brumbies team-mates James Slipper and Allan Alaalatoa are the starting props and Brandon Paenga-Amosa was named at hooker by head coach Dave Rennie.
Matt Philip and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto are in the second row, with Rob Valetini to make his first start for the Wallabies at blindside flanker, captain Michael Hooper in the number seven shirt and Harry Wilson at number eight.
Veteran Matt Toomua is at number 12 alongside Hunter Paisami.
The back three features Marika Koroibete and the Brumbies pairing of Tom Wright and Tom Banks.
"The whole squad has been training really hard over the past three weeks to prepare for what’s going to be an exciting, tough series against the French," Rennie said.
"We’ve always selected a side based on earning the right to wear the jersey and this team is no different.
"The whole group is excited to be back playing Test rugby in front of our families and supporters and we’re looking to start the year with a positive result at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night.”
Australia have won their past 11 at home against France dating back to a 1990 loss in Brisbane.
Australia: Tom Banks Tom Wright, Hunter Paisami, Matt Toomua, Marika Koroibete, Noah Lolesio, Jake Gordon; James Slipper, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Allan Alaalatoa, Matt Philip, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Rob Valenti, Michael Hooper, Harry Wilson.
Replacements: Lachlan Lonergan, Angus Bell, Taniela Tupou, Darcy Swain, Isi Naisarani, Tate McDermott, Len Ikitau, Andrew Kellaway.
Fit-again Mbappe not selected by France
Kylian Mbappe has been left out of France's squad for their Nations League games against Israel and Belgium.
Mbappe, who sustained a muscular injury while in action for Real Madrid last month, returned to action for Los Blancos on Wednesday.
The 25-year-old was a substitute but could not help Madrid avoid falling to a 1-0 defeat at Lille in the Champions League.
However, Didier Deschamps has made the call to rest Mbappe for this month's fixtures.
"He has a problem that is not serious. I'm not here to take risks, which is why Kylian isn't on the list," Deschamps told reporters.
Bayern Munich's Michael Olise, meanwhile, was called up, while Chelsea's Christopher Nkunku has also been selected for the first time since June 2023.
Lucas Digne, who was called up as an injury replacement for the last squad, has kept his place after some impressive displays for Aston Villa.
Mbappe's Madrid team-mate Eduardo Camavinga has also been called up after recovering from a knee injury.
France lost to Italy in their Nations League opener, but bounced back by beating Belgium 2-0.
France squad in full:
Alphonse Areola (West Ham), Mike Maignan (Milan), Brice Samba (Lens); Jonathan Clauss (Nice), Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Wesley Fofana (Chelsea), Theo Hernandez (Milan), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Jules Kounde (Barcelona), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich); Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Youssouf Fofana (Milan), Matteo Guendouzi (Lazio), Manu Kone (Roma), Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid), Warren Zaire-Emery (PSG); Bradley Barcola (PSG), Ousmane Dembele (PSG), Randal Kolo Muani (PSG), Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Marcus Thuram (Inter).
France great Griezmann announces international retirement
Antoine Griezmann has announced his retirement from international football, having amassed 137 caps over 10 years in the France setup.
Griezmann made his Bleus debut in a friendly against the Netherlands in March 2014 and went on to play a vital role for Didier Deschamps' side at six major tournaments.
Griezmann scored in the 2018 World Cup final as France beat Croatia to win their second crown in Russia, also shining as they reached the 2022 final, only to lose to Argentina.
The 33-year-old also helped his country win the 2020-21 edition of the Nations League and finished as the leading goalscorer at Euro 2016, where France were runners-up to Portugal on home soil.
In a video posted to his social media channels, Griezmann said: "It is with a heart full of memories that I close this chapter of my life.
"Thank you for this magnificent tricolour adventure and see you soon."
Only Hugo Lloris (145) and Lillian Thuram (142) have won more caps for France than Griezmann, who is tied for third in their all-time appearance charts with Olivier Giroud.
His tally of 44 goals makes him the fourth-highest scorer in France's history, while he has also provided the most assists (30) of any Bleus player since records began in 1966.
Griezmann made 116 starts for his country, the third-highest total of any player in their history, while he also enjoyed a record-breaking run of 84 successive caps, which ended earlier this year when he missed his first France game in seven years – a friendly defeat to Germany in March.
He scored four times during France's triumphant run at the 2018 World Cup but made his most decisive impact at the European Championships.
Only Cristiano Ronaldo (14) and compatriot Michel Platini (nine) have bettered his total of seven goals at the Euros, six of which came in 2016 – only Platini (nine at Euro 1984) has ever scored more at a single edition of the tournament.
Griezmann's announcement comes one day after he brought up his 500th LaLiga appearance in Atletico Madrid's derby draw with Real Madrid, becoming only the second non-Spanish player to hit that milestone after Lionel Messi (520).
Sevilla icon Jesus Navas, meanwhile, is the only active player to make more appearances than Griezmann in the competition, playing 508 games.
Griezmann is just the eighth player overall to reach 500 LaLiga matches, with 285 of his appearances coming for Atleti, 141 for Real Sociedad and 74 for Barcelona.
'We've done really well' - Brook upbeat despite Australia ODI series defeat
Harry Brook focused on the positives as he saluted England's performances, despite their 3-2 ODI series defeat to Australia.
Australia clinched a 49-run victory by the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method in the final ODI in Bristol.
England had recovered from 2-0 down in the series with Brook, who captained the hosts in Jos Buttler's absence, leading their charge with 110 not out and 87 in the third and fourth ODI respectively.
Brook (72) and Ben Duckett (107) put on a fantastic 132-run stand on Sunday to set a target of 310, though it proved academic as DLS came into play with the tourists on 165-2 with 29 overs remaining when rain stopped play.
However, the stand-in skipper believes the experience will benefit him and his team-mates in the long run.
"It's not just the present now, we're looking long-term," said Brook, who was named the ODI player of the summer.
"We're trying to build towards the bigger series and competitions. It's a new brand of cricket we're trying to play, and I think we've done that perfectly.
"Getting out of the power play, we didn't get the wickets we wanted, but outside of that, we've done really well."
On his own performance, he added: "It's nice to get on the board, score a few runs and contribute to some wins. I haven't played too much, but it's nice to finally get the tempo of ODI cricket.
"Captaincy has been good. It's something I might think about in the future, but I'll sit back and let Jos do it for now."
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