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.

[Edmed] The inclusion of Tane Edmed (pic) means James O'Conner will start on the bench. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)

O'Connor missed two touchline kicks from penalties against the All Blacks last week, but Schmidt still thinks the 35-year-old will add huge value to the side, albeit from the bench t

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