Tupou and White return as Wallabies aim to avoid a British and Irish Lions' series sweep

SYDNEY (AP) — Taniela Tupou has been recalled at tighthead and Nic White will return for his final international appearance in a reworked Wallabies lineup trying to prevent the British and Irish Lions completing a 3-0 series sweep on Saturday night.

Australia coach Joe Schmidt on Thursday unveiled three injury-enforced and one tactical change to his starting XV and another two on the bench after the contentious, last-gasp 29-26 loss in the second test at Melbourne last weekend.

Lions coach Andy Farrell made two changes to his starting lineup for the third test, with Blair Kinghorn replacing James Lowe on the left wing and James Ryan replacing Ollie Chessum to join skipper Maro Itoje in the second row.

The Lions are 8-0 in Australia, including the victory in the first test in Brisbane, the second test in Melbourne, wins over Super Rugby franchises Western Force,Queensland Reds, Waratahs and Brumbies and two invitational teams.

They're aiming to be the first Lions squad to record an unbeaten tour since 1974, which finished with a 13-13 draw in the third test against the Springboks, and the first to sweep a three-test series since the lopsided victories in Argentina in 1927.

“We have put ourselves in position to finish this tour with our best performance to date and create our own piece of history,” Farrell said. “Last weekend's test match was an incredible spectacle. We are expecting another epic battle this weekend.”

Hooker Dan Sheehan is starting again alongside Irish teammate Tadhg Furlong, who is starting his ninth consecutive Lions test, and said before the squad was announced that there'd be no relenting from the tourists.

“We’ve always been pretty clear on our goals — to go unbeaten overseas and win the series 3-0,” he said. “So we just need to stick to what we said.”

For the Lions, the halves pairing of Finn Russell and Jamison Gibson-Park has been pivotal to their success in both tests so far, along with a consistent backrow featuring No. 8 Jack Conan and flankers Tom Curry and Tadhg Beirne.

For Australia, Tupou replaces the injured Allan Ala'alatoa and will combine with hooker David Porecki and 146-test veteran James Slipper in the front row.

Tom Hooper moved into the starting lineup on the side of the scrum to replace Rob Valetini and join a backrow containing No. 8 and captain Harry Wilson and openside flanker Fraser McReight.

The 35-year-old White missed selection in the first two tests against the Lions but has won a starting spot over Jake Gordon at No. 9 and will form another new partnership with flyhalf Tom Lynagh in one of two changes to the backline. It will be the 72-test veteran's last test before retirement. Dylan Pietsch replaced Harry Potter on the left wing.

“The squad was certainly deflated after the gut-wrenching end to last week’s test in Melbourne,” Schmidt said, “but they have started to gather momentum in the back half of the week and will be ready to go again on Saturday.”

Hugo Keenan's last-gasp try in Melbourne capped an extraordinary comeback win for the British and Irish Lions in the second test last, played in front of 90,000 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The Lions rallied from 23-5 down in the first half to win the match and seal an unassailable 2-0 lead.

Wallabies captain Wilson remonstrated with the match officials, asserting that replacement flanker Carlo Tizzano had illegally been taken out of play as he stood over the ball. But Keenan’s try stood.

In 2001 and 2013 the Lions lost in Melbourne after winning the first match of a three-test series against the Wallabies and those series went to a decider in Sydney. A sweep is on the minds of both teams this time in what will be a sold-out former Olympic stadium in Sydney.

Squads:

Australia: Tom Wright, Max Jorgensen, Joseph-Aukuso Sua’ali’i, Len Ikitau, Dylan Pietsch, Tom Lynagh, Nick White; Harry Wilson (captain), Fraser McReight, Tom Hooper, Nick Frost, Taniela Tupou, David Porecki, James Slipper. Reserves: Billy Pollard, Angus Bell, Zane Nonggorr, Jeremy Wiliams, Langi Gleeson, Tate McDermott, Ben Donaldson, Andrew Kellaway.

British and Irish Lions: Hugo Keenan (Ireland), Tommy Freeman (England), Huw Jones (Scotland), Bundee Aki (Ireland), Blair Kinghorn (Scotland), Finn Russell (Scotland), Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland); Jack Conan (Ireland), Tom Curry (England), Tadhg Beirne (Ireland), James Ryan (Ireland), Maro Itoje (England, captain), Tadhg Furlong (Ireland), Dan Sheehan (Ireland), Andrew Porter (Ireland). Reserves: Ronan Kelleher (Ireland), Ellis Genge (England). Will Stuart (England), Ollie Chessum (England), Jac Morgan (Wales), Ben Earl (England), Alex Mitchell (England), Owen Farrell (England).

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

Maro Itoje of the British & Irish Lions, right, and Australia's Will Skelton clash during the second rugby union test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Tadhg Furlong of the British & Irish Lions celebrates after winning the second rugby union test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Coach of the British & Irish Lions Andy Farrell reacts after his team won the second rugby union test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Maro Itoje, captain of the British & Irish Lions celebrates after winning the second rugby union test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

AL HENAKIYAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Ricky Brabec deliberately gave up his motorbike lead over Luciano Benavides in the Dakar Rally while Nasser Al-Attiyah was happy to cruise through another day closer to his sixth car title on Thursday.

Al-Attiyah started 346-kilometer stage 11 between Bisha north to Al Henakiyah with a 12-minute overall lead and let it drop to less than nine minutes over new second-placed driver Nani Roma in a Ford.

Al-Attiyah was content to let Dacia teammate Sébastien Loeb catch up and pass him to have a teammate nearby for any help and to minimize errors on the mazy, dirt track. Al-Attiyah was 17th, nearly 13 minutes behind stage winner Mattias Ekström, and said he needed to execute the same plan on Friday's last effective racing stage before the end on Saturday.

“If we lose two, three, four minutes no problem,” Al-Attiyah said. “We just need to finish this Dakar in first place.”

Honda cooked up a strategy in the Saudi desert for Adrien van Beveren to open the way and let Brabec catch up after the 190-kilometer pit stop and pick up time bonuses.

Brabec boosted his overall lead from 56 seconds to nearly four minutes just 25 kilometers from the finish. He was also within a minute of the stage lead but he slowed down so KTM rival Benavides was the new overall leader, but only by 23 seconds.

Brabec got his his wish to start Friday's stage 12 six minutes behind Benavides, so he can eye him. They head west to the rally starting point of Yanbu on the Red Sea coast on 311 kilometers of gravel, some river beds with a finish in the dunes.

“A little bit of strategy today and hopefully it pays off tomorrow,” Brabec said. "I feel like its going to be a good day. We’re going back into the rocks so it will be a little bit better for us.”

Brabec is counting on his experience of winning the Dakar in 2020 and 2024 to trump Benavides, who has a best placing of fourth last year.

“I've been in this situation before,” Brabec said. “For the whole two weeks I've been just trying to stay relax, stay comfortable and just be confident, so two days more. I'm gonna do the same thing tomorrow that I've been doing every day; ride dirt bikes and have fun.”

Van Beveren helped Brabec with navigation while fighting with another teammate, Skyler Howes, the entire day for the stage win.

Howes prevailed by 21 seconds for his first career major stage in his eighth Dakar. He was third in 2023 and sixth last year. He's running fifth, 34 minutes off the pace.

Benavides was fourth in the stage and believed the race will be decided on the final 105-kilometer sprint on Saturday.

“I played no strategy like Ricky. I don't care,” Benavides said. “I'm doing what I can to control what I can control.”

Ekström won his third car stage of this Dakar, a special so fast that 12 other drivers were within 10 minutes.

Ford achieved another 1-2-3 stage. Romain Dumas, a three-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours, was a career-best second just over a minute back and Carlos Sainz was third.

Only Toyota's Henk Lategan beat Ekström to a checkpoint but Lategan's podium hopes were wrecked after 140 kilometers when a bearing broke on his rear left wheel. Lategan was second last year and second overall overnight but he plunged out of the top 15, at least.

Loeb moved up to third overall, 10 minutes behind Roma and three minutes ahead of Ekström.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Rider Daniel Sanders competes during the eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally between Bisha and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Driver Nasser Al-Attiyah and co-driver Fabian Lurquin compete during the eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally between Bisha and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Rider Skyler Howes competes during the eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally between Bisha and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Driver Henk Lategan, left, and co-driver Brett Cummings repair their car during the eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally between Bisha and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Driver Nani Roma and co-driver Alex Haro compete during the eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally between Bisha and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)