“The lineout maul is a massive part of the game now and if you don’t have a genuine threat up front,it is pretty easy to defend beyond that. The maul,teams are going to have spend a bit of time working out how they’re going to defend it and use some bodies,which creates opportunities elsewhere,” Rennie said.

“We still want to play but there’s no doubt it will be a focus for them. They have a very big pack and have a fair bit of experience. Lineout,maul and scrum are big aspects of their game and they’ll maybe want to scrum for penalties,to get territory and get to the corner,or get to the posts. It is an area we feel if we can overshadow them,it gives an opportunity to get our game going and put a bit of heat on them.

“We have a pretty big pack. We have a lot of powerful athletes. We have confidence in our set-piece,there is a fair bit of continuity there and some strong connection. We have a scrum we think can be competitive with anyone,even with Taniela missing. We have that mindset going into this because it is such a crucial area.”

Rennie praised the form of 30-year-old Scott Sio,who was named on the bench after a return to powerhouse form for the Brumbies this year. Sio had only ever played one Test under Rennie,and missed selection on the Spring Tour.

Rennie also praised the perseverance of Manly pair Neville and Porecki,who both spent time overseas before returning home to chase their dreams of playing for the Wallabies.

Porecki,whoplayed for Saracens and London Irish for five seasons before returning to NSW in 2020,would have been picked last year but picked up an injury,and Neville’s debut might have also come earlier but for injury last year also.

“I think he got called into a Wallabies squad at the time when Michael Hooper made his debut. So that tells you something doesn’t it. Hoops has had 120 Tests since then,” he said.

“It is a great story for the guys out there who may have thought that the dream had passed them.”

Watch every match of the July Test Series on the Home of Rugby,Stan Sport. Kicks off this weekend withWallabies v England (Saturday 7:15pm AEST),All Blacks v Ireland (Saturday 4:30pm AEST),South Africa v Wales (Sunday 12:55am AEST) andArgentina v Scotland (Sunday 5:05am AEST). All streaming ad-free,live and on demand only on Stan Sport.