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Australia warm up for Dove Men Series against New Zealand

Australia warm up for Dove Men Series against New Zealand

Australia will take on New Zealand tomorrow in their final match before embarking on a European Grand Slam tour.

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The Wallabies face Wales in the final Dove Men Series clash at the Millennium Stadium on November 30.

They face the All Blacks at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin and then take on England, Italy, Ireland and Scotland before arriving in Wales.

Star scrum-half Will Genia will win his 50th cap in the Bledisloe Cup encounter, becoming just the 39th player to do so for the Wallabies.

“Will has been an amazing servant of Australian Rugby for a long time now so it’s extremely pleasing for him to reach 50 games, a huge career milestone in any player’s career,” said Australia head coach Ewen McKenzie.

“He has an incredible drive to see Australia succeed at this level and you’ll no doubt see that in his performance against the All Blacks on Saturday night.

“I think I speak for everyone when I congratulate Will on reaching the prestigious 50-game honour.”

NSW Waratahs wing Peter Betham will make his debut for the Wallabies and could seal his place in the touring part that will jet to Europe.

He becomes the 12th player to debut for Australia in 2013, joining: Scott Fardy, Chris Feauai-Sautia, Israel Folau, Bernard Foley, Tevita Kuridrani, Christian Leali’ifano, Jesse Mogg, Ben Mowen, Scott Sio, Matt Toomua, and Nic White.

The All Blacks have already won the Rugby Championship and sealed the Bledisloe Cup but McKenzie is relishing the challenge as Australia’s great rivals target a 30th consecutive victory on home soil.

“The All Blacks are the most consistent team in world Rugby and their record proves just how formidable they are when playing at home in front of their fans,” said McKenzie.

“History indicates that playing the All Blacks is a significant challenge, but you want to be measuring yourself against the best performing teams in the world and we are very much looking forward to that on Saturday night.”

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