John Manenti has confirmed a revamped line-up as the Australia Men's Sevens side begins their HSBC World Rugby Sevens title defence in Hong Kong on November 4-6.
Manenti has made three changes from Los Angeles in August, with Kye Oates in line for his Australian debut.
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“He’s been a bit of a weapon in the Hospital Cup for a couple of years – he won the Alec Evans Medal last year in a premiership-winning season for University of Queensland," Manenti said on Oates in a statement.
“You’ve got to be going alright to do that – he’s fit right in with the squad, and has worked hard to earn this opportunity.”
The University of Queensland flyer comes into the side alongside Tim Clements and Darby Lancaster, with defending Impact Player of the Year Corey Toole the big change from last year after his departure to the ACT Brumbies.
“We came a long way this year – winning the World Series has given the group such a huge confidence boost,” added Manenti.
“We refer to ourselves as a bunch of misfits – all the guys have different backgrounds, and our paths to this team have all varied greatly – we’ve got guys that have been in the group for a long time, young blokes and rookies.
“We’ve been knocking on the door for a while, so when you achieve something special like that, you start to really believe that anything is possible – it whets your appetite for more success.
“That hunger has been noticeable throughout this period building up to Hong Kong.”
The defending champions will open their Hong Kong campaign against the hosts on November 4 (10:03 pm AEDT).
They will then once again face off against Samoa on November 5 (5:00 pm AEDT), who they defeated in Los Angeles in the bronze medal match to secure the HSBC World Series title.
Australia will conclude their Pool A action against traditional rivals New Zealand (9:03 pm) as they look for their first title at the prestigious event since 1985.
World Rugby has introduced a new numbering system for the teams in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series as players keep the same numbers for the full season.
Every game of the HSBC Hong Kong Sevens is live and exclusive on beIN SPORTS, available via Foxtel, Kayo, Fetch & beIN SPORTS CONNECT.
1. Henry Hutchison
2. Stuart Dunbar
4. Dietrich Roache
5. Tim Clements
6. Henry Paterson
7. Josh Turner
10. Nick Malouf (c)
11. Maurice Longbottom
12. Nathan Lawson
14. James Turner
15. Ben Marr
23. Darby Lancaster
24. Kye Oates*
* Denotes new player
*All times AEST
Friday November 4
Australia v Hong Kong, 10:03 pm
Saturday November 5
Australia v Samoa, 5:00 pm AEST
Australia v New Zealand, 9:03 pm AEST
