Nathan Sharpe is set to earn his 100th Test cap after being named in the Australia line-up to face Wales in the bronze play-off on Friday.
The 33-year-old second row will become just the fifth Australian, and the 21st player in the history of the game, to play a century of Test matches.
Sharpe, who was controversially axed from the 22 for last week's semi-final loss against New Zealand, joins David Campese, George Gregan, Stephen Larkham and George Smith as the only Wallabies to achieve the milestone.
The Western Force skipper made his Test debut against France in Melbourne in 2002 and is the only surviving member of the squad that lost to England in the 2003 Rugby World Cup final.
Sharpe is one of six new faces in the starting pack after a brutal clash against the All Blacks.
Lock Dan Vickerman (shoulder, leg and nose), prop Sekope Kepu (eye) and hooker Stephen Moore (sternum) were all unavailable for selection and are replaced by Sharpe, James Slipper and Tatafu Polota Nau.
Salesi Ma'afu will make his first start of the tournament at tight-head prop, Ben McCalman has been promoted to start at number eight while Scott Higginbotham gets his shot on the blind-side flank in place of former skipper Rocky Elsom, who fails to make the 22.
Out wide, John Eales Medal winner Kurtley Beale returns at full-back after overcoming the hamstring strain that forced him to miss last weekend's contest.
Beale, who was sorely missed in Sunday's semi-final loss to the All Blacks, is confident his hamstring has healed sufficiently to allow him to play.
"The strain's actually fine, it's healed," said the 22-year-old. "It's just the muscles around it that are pretty weak, so I guess it's not strong enough to help the hamstring.
"It's a little weak at the moment, but obviously it's our last game and I've done everything I can to get it as strong as possible and I'm just looking forward to it."
Beale admitted missing last week's semi-final was "devastating".
"I was very frustrated," he added. "They played their natural game, they were pretty much the best team out there and deserved to win, but I felt like not being out there I could have helped the boys."
Beale expects a 'tough challenge' from Warren Gatland's men but warned the Wallabies plan to make a statement on Friday night.
"We've got an opportunity to leave our mark in the tournament and show everyone what we're really about," he said. "The boys are pretty keen to get out there and do a good job on the Welsh."
Beale's reinstatement allows Adam Ashley-Cooper to return to the midfield, with Anthony Fainga'a moving back to the bench to sit alongside half-back Luke Burgess and centre Rob Horne as the backline substitutes.
The other change to the starting backline sees Berrick Barnes start at inside centre for the injured Pat McCabe (shoulder).
Wales suffered an agonising 9-8 loss to France at Eden Park last Saturday where they played much of the contest with 14 men after flanker and captain Sam Warburton was sent off for a lifting tackle.
The two teams met in the 1987 third-place play-off, with Wales prevailing to claim the bronze medal and their highest ever tournament finish.
Australia: 15. Kurtley Beale, 14. James O'Connor, 13. Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12. Berrick Barnes, 11. Digby Ioane, 10. Quade Cooper, 9. Will Genia, 8. Ben McCalman, 7. David Pocock, 6. Scott Higginbotham, 5. Nathan Sharpe, 4. James Horwill (c), 3. Salesi Ma'afu, 2. Tatafu Polota Nau, 1. James Slipper.
Replacements: 16. Saia Fainga'a, 17. Ben Alexander, 18. Rob Simmons, 19. Radike Samo, 20. Luke Burgess, 21. Anthony Fainga'a, 22. Rob Horne.
Follow ITV Rugby on Twitter
Sign up for our ITV Rugby email alerts
Like ITV Rugby on Facebook and play our Ultimate Fan game