 Lockyer and Australia head for Britain after the NZ Test |
Darren Lockyer will captain Australia for the first time on Saturday when he leads the Kangaroos into their one-off Test with New Zealand in Auckland. The Brisbane full-back steps up after injury ruled out Andrew Johns and Gorden Tallis announced his retirement from international rugby. Lockyer is one of four Broncos in the starting line-up, even though the team faded in the NRL and were eliminated in the first round of the Finals. The Test takes place on Saturday. In contrast to the Broncos' form, Grand Final winners Penrith have only one player in the 17-man squad, half-back Craig Gower, who has to settle for a place on the bench. Despite losing a full team to injury, Australia are still favourites to win the game, which forms part of the build-up to their three-Test tour of Great Britain later this month.
Australia: D Lockyer (Brisbane, cpt), A Minichello (Sydney Roosters), S Heggarty (Sydney Roosters), M De Vere (Brisbane), M Sing (North Queensland), C Wing (Sydney Roosters), B Kimmorley (Cronulla), S Webcke (Brisbane), D Buderis (Newcastle), R Kearns (Melbourne), S Simpson (Brisbane), C Fitzgibbon (Sydney Roosters), L Ricketson (Sydney Roosters). Substitutes: W Mason (Canterbury), R Villasanti (New Zealand Warriors), P Bailey (Cronulla), C Gower (Penrith).
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