Wallabies enforcer Will Skelton and scrumhalf Jake Gordon have been handed starts for Saturday night's sold-out Bledisloe Cup clash with New Zealand in Perth, but James O'Connor has been dropped to the bench.

Skelton has flown in from France to bolster the Wallabies as they attempt to bounce back from last week's 33-24 loss to the All Blacks at Eden Park.

Also among the five changes to the starting line-up was the inclusion of playmaker Tane Edmed, resulting in O'Connor shifting to the bench.

Halfback Tate McDermott was among the outs after tearing his hamstring so badly last week it requires surgery.

Gordon has recovered from his own hamstring injury to replace McDermott in the starting side, with last week's debutant Ryan Lonergan named on the bench.

It means Nic White, who came out

See Full Page