Sydney: Australia coach Michael Cheika retained seven uncapped players on Friday in his 34-man squad for the Rugby Championship opener against world champions New Zealand.

Hooker Jordan Uelese, flanker Adam Korczyk and lock Izack Rodda are long shots to make their Test debuts in Sydney on August 19 but outside backs Marika Koroibete, Izaia Perese, Billy Meakes and Curtis Rona have a better chance.

Cheika’s backline stocks will look a little threadbare if centre Samu Kerevi (pectoral strain) and utility Kurtley Beale (hamstring) fail to recover from injury in time to play in the first of back-to-back Tests against the All Blacks.

Flanker Michael Hooper will captain the squad after being named as the successor to Stephen Moore, who was also included in the squad despite announcing his retirement from Tests at the end of the season.

Experienced halfbacks Will Genia and Bernard Foley have been named as vice-captains.

“Will and Bernard are starting to find their voice as real leaders within the team and will be valuable assets to the captain in Michael,” said Cheika.

“They have been selected because both of them are hungry to win and are prepared to keep both themselves and their team to the high standards required to take the Wallabies to be the best.” Meanwhile, the decision allowing Sonny Bill Williams to play the opener against Australia showed that common sense had prevailed, All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster said on Friday.

An independent judicial committee upheld an appeal on Thursday to allow Williams to play in the match in Sydney, overturning an earlier decision that had ruled him out of the clash as part of his four-game ban for a shoulder charge during the British and Irish Lions series.

A World Rugby panel had earlier ruled that the All Blacks’ ‘three-way’ warm-up game against two provincial teams did not comply as a match and could not count as part of his suspension.

But the appeals committee said the game had sufficient meaning to be included in the ban, clearing Williams to take on the Wallabies.

Foster said the warm-up game would be played under the same rules and disciplinary procedures used in first-class matches.

“From a common sense perspective, it is a game we play 80 minutes under the normal laws of rugby and we said we’ve done this three or four times,” Foster told New Zealand’s Radio Sport on Friday.

“It is not like a one-off or hastily organised.

“The reason we play two teams is it actually makes the game harder for us. This is not a training run.”

World Rugby said in a statement that it respected the independent committee’s decision but added it was “surprised by the ... interpretation of the definition of ‘match’.”

Foster said Glen Jackson, New Zealand’s top referee, would officiate in the warm-up game.

“We treat this as a real game,” he said.

“If someone gets sent off in this game, they have to go through the same process Sonny had to go through.

“Under all purposes, this is a match and we just wanted the chance to express that. Fortunately, we felt common sense prevailed.”

Australia squad: Forwards — Allan Alaalatoa, Rory Arnold, Adam Coleman, Jack Dempsey, Kane Douglas, Tetera Faulkner, Ned Hanigan, Michael Hooper (captain), Sekope Kepu, Adam Korczyk, Sean McMahon, Stephen Moore, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Tom Robertson, Izack Rodda, Rob Simmons, Scott Sio, Lopeti Timani, Jordan Uelese.

Backs - Kurtley Beale, Israel Folau, Bernard Foley, Will Genia, Dane Haylett-Petty, Reece Hodge, Samu Kerevi, Marika Koroibete, Tevita Kuridrani, Billy Meakes, Izaia Perese, Nick Phipps, Joe Powell, Curtis Rona, Henry Speight.