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SYDNEY - George Gregan and Stephen Larkham will be reunited for one of the last times when Australia lock horns with Fiji in a one-off rugby test at Perth tomorrow.
The pair have been automatic selections in the Australian team for the past decade but are both in
their final year of international rugby.
Their enduring partnership is in danger of being broken up prematurely after John Connolly began experimenting with Matt Giteau at halfback but the new coach is still unsure whether the plan will work.
While Giteau has added a new dimension to Australia's attack with his running game, he lacks Gregan's organisational skills and many critics believe he is better suited at inside centre, leaving Gregan and Larkham in the halves.
With Giteau injured, Connolly has recalled Gregan, already the world's most capped player.
Gregan was among 10 changes to the starting team that beat Wales 31-0 in Brisbane last week to wrap up the series after winning 29-23 in Sydney.
Fijian-born winger Lote Tuqiri will make his first test appearance this year after being told to increase his speed while 22-year-old Queesland lock James Horwill will become the fourth Australian to make his international debut in the past three weeks.
Australia and Fiji are in the same group at this year's World Cup and Connolly said he expected both teams to go all out to push their claims for the trip to France.
"This test will be extremely important for the players involved and very important for the team as we look to establish some depth in positions in the build-up to the World Cup," Connolly told reporters.
"The Fijians will throw everything at us and we intend to do the same in return."
Fiji coach Ili Tabua also made wholesale changes, including seven new faces from the side that was hammered 57-8 by New Zealand's Junior All Blacks in the Pacific Nations Cup in Suva last weekend.
Most of the changes were planned but Tabua was forced to make at least one unexpected switch when the Australian government banned prop Alefoso Yalayalatabua, as well as assistant coach Semi Rogoyawa, from entering the country because they are members of the Fijian military.
Australia is among a handful of countries that imposed economic and defence sanctions on Fiji after the military coup in the Pacific islands nation last year.
- REUTERS
