The Wallabies will dispense with finesse and unleash a pair of Fijian powerhouses against England on Saturday, with childhood mates Samu Kerevi and Tevita Kuridrani teaming up for the first time in the Test series opener. 
Kerevi, the bullocking Reds centre, has been handed his first cap by Michael Cheika after Christian Lealiifano's late arrival to Camp Wallaby provided a golden opportunity in the No.12 jumper. The 22-year-old could barely believe his ears as Cheika read out the team to his players, with the news only starting to sink in as teammates started to come up and shake his hand.
"I was just sitting there and he [Cheika] started talking and naming the team, starting with the forwards. I was sitting there with Tevita and then he got to the centres and he said my name," Kerevi said. "I just didn't ... surely he's got that wrong. Then the boys started shaking my hand and I was still, nah ... surely not. I just wanted to take in the moment. It means a lot. Now I have to do a job on Saturday night. I know my role well and I know it clearly."
That role will be to smash England to pieces in the middle in what Cheika hopes will be a continuation of the kind of Super Rugby form that has made him one of Australian rugby's most-damaging ball carriers.
With Lealiifano only getting to Brisbane on Thursday night after the birth of his first baby, Jeremih, Cheika had little choice but to use him off the bench and move away from the second-playmaker game Australians have long embraced, although Kerevi has underrated skills with the ball in hand. Now the Wallabies will meet England head-on at their power game, with Kerevi saying he wouldn't be taking a backward step at his first taste of Test rugby.
"Cheik has us there for our physicality. He wants us to be physical and run hard. It's a basic game plan and about us doing our job. We know what to do," Kerevi said.
Helping Kerevi will be the presence of close friend Kuridrani. The pair grew up together on Brisbane's southside, along with Western Force back Junior Rosolea, attending church around the same suburbs and belting each other in spirited games in the back yard.
First Rosolea found a pathway through the sevens, then Kuridrani, who has become a Cheika favourite for his quality defence and resolute carries. Now Kerevi takes his spot, joining Kuridrani for the first time on a rugby field. "... I've been chasing Tevita for a long time now, trying to be as good as him. This will be the first time we have played together," he said.