Wallabies go on points hunt against Pool A minnows Uruguay

An all-change Australia will seek to rack up the points when they take on Pool A minnows Uruguay on Sunday.

The Wallabies got their World Cup campaign off to a belated start with a 28-13 victory over Fiji on Wednesday, but failed to bag a bonus point having seen keen rivals England and Wales both claim the extras in their opening matches.

With just two teams guaranteed of automatically qualifying for the quarter-finals, the pressure will be on Australia to nab the bonus point to put the pressure on England and Wales, who play each other in Twickenham on Saturday.

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika changed 14 players from his starting XV against Fiji, lock and new father Dean Mumm skippering a side packed with experience despite the massive revamp -- the line-up against the South Americans boasts more than 800 caps.

"We really want the entire squad to get a touch of the ball early at this Rugby World Cup and get everyone into match mode," said Cheika.

"We will need all 31 players ready for action throughout the tournament and this is the first chance to do that for many of this team.

"We've had a solid preparation for this match considering that we've had to play two games in five days and we're very happy with where the players are at.

"It's important we continue to improve each day as a collective."

Kurtley Beale was only on the bench for the Fiji match, but will start at full-back on Sunday.

"The good Fiji win was a great way to start off the tournament and I know all the guys have been working really hard towards kicking off the World Cup and a solid result against Fiji was fantastic," Beale said.

"The opportunity now is for the next group of guys to continue that with a solid performance against Uruguay."

Beale said the competition for spots in the back line was nothing but positive.

"It's a huge learning curve," he said.

"It's exciting and it's very challenging for every player who is competing for spots.

"What's great is that we are all learning from each other and as that goes on it is raising the standards and getting the best out of each other, which will improve our results."   

Uruguay coach Pablo Lemoine brought in five new faces for Sunday's clash, flanker Juan De Freitas, prop Mateo Sanguinetti, hooker German Kessler and lock Franco Lamanna starting up front and winger Leandro Leivas coming in after recovering from injury.

Lemoine had confidence in what his side could achieve against the Australians given the nation's growth since its last appearance in the World Cup in 2003.

"Over the last 12 years the team has followed the road of a tier-two team, and over the last four years has had a lot of support from World Rugby, so we need to show that its investment in the team is paying off," Lemoine said.

"We are going to show our best weapons on Sunday and the team will play a good game."

Lemoine, a former tighthead prop with Bristol and Stade Francais, added: "Australia have a very physical game, with good back and forward play, and they are very fast, so we have to be very careful."

Source: AFP