Confirming no-one is safe from Robbie Deans's razor-sharp axe, champion flanker George Smith was on Tuesday shunted to the bench for Australia's Bledisloe Cup clash with New Zealand in Tokyo on Saturday.

Young gun David Pocock, considered by many a future Test captain, will start as openside flanker, opposing All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw, after Deans relegated Smith for the first time in eight trans-Tasman encounters since taking over as Wallabies coach last year.

With 105 Tests to his credit, 29-year-old Smith is the most-capped forward in Australian rugby history and captained the Wallabies in their past four Tests before Deans this month appointed fellow breakaway Rocky Elsom as his spring tour skipper.

All up, Smith has led Australia eight times during Deans' 25-match coaching reign.

But there was no room in the starting XV for the dual John Eales Medallist when Deans named a reshuffled line-up in the hope of ending the Wallabies' six-Test losing streak against the All Blacks.

Deans and fellow selectors Jim Williams and David Nucifora believe the powerhouse Pocock will better serve the Wallabies at the front end of the game.

"What we're trying to do is find a way of winning so we're looking for little points of difference that can help us to get there," Deans said.

Nevertheless, the selection is certain to raise eyebrows among Australian rugby fans who have grown accustomed over the past decade to seeing Smith win countless games for the Wallabies with his brilliant ball pilfering.

An eternal optimist, Deans shed his nice-guy image after Australia's 33-6 loss to the All Blacks last outing in Wellington, the native New Zealander breaking ranks with his troops to condemn the Wallabies's lame finish to the match.

He then piled veteran forwards Phil Waugh and Al Baxter onto his high-profile scrapheap, the pair omitted from Australia's 35-man spring tour squad as Deans's sweeping generational change continued in the countdown to the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

The demotion of Smith, though, is undoubtedly the biggest selection gamble of Deans's 17-month tenure.

Should the Wallabies lose a seventh successive Test to their fiercest rivals for only the third time in history and again be battered at the breakdown, critics of Deans will doubtless be screaming.

But the unflappable coach is unfazed at the prospect of any backlash should his dumping of Smith backfire.

"That's part of the industry. There's always going to be differing opinions," he said.

"You can't satisfy everyone. The critical thing is to satisfy what we're here to do and that's have the Wallabies succeed.

"That's the underlying motivation."

In total, Deans made four personnel changes to his run-on side, with No.8 Wycliff Palu's inclusion in the back row in place of Smith the only alteration to the forward pack.

Wingers Peter Hynes (knee) and Digby Ioane (shoulder) earned recalls after recovering from long-running injuries, replacing Drew Mitchell, who has been relegated to the bench, and Lachie Turner, who was dropped altogether from the match-day 22.

And Ryan Cross returns at outside centre, with Adam Ashley-Cooper moving from the midfield to replace teenager James O'Connor at fullback.

O'Connor will start on the bench.

Newly-crowned Wallabies player of the year Matt Giteau remains at five-eighth but will continue to share the playmaking role with inside centre Berrick Barnes.

Wallabies: Adam Ashley-Cooper, Peter Hynes, Ryan Cross, Berrick Barnes, Digby Ioane, Matt Giteau, Will Genia, Wycliff Palu, David Pocock, Rocky Elsom (capt), Mark Chisholm, James Horwill, Ben Alexander, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Benn Robinson. Replacements: Stephen Moore, Matt Dunning, Dean Mumm, George Smith, Luke Burgess, Drew Mitchell, James O'Connor.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP