Coach Michael Cheika opts for safe pair of hands as Wallabies face Fiji in opener

Australia coach Michael Cheika has opted for twin openside flankers in David Pocock and Michael Hooper for their Rugby World Cup pool A opener against Fiji at the Millennium Stadium on Wednesday.

Finally revealing his hand after chopping and changing his team in the run-up to the tournament, Cheika included Pocock at number eight and Hooper in his normal number seven shirt as he did for their victory over the All Blacks in early August.

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"It's pretty hard not to pick one of them," Cheika said Monday at the team announcement. "It sort of means you pick them both. I'm not trying to claim there is any brilliant rocket science behind it. You just have two very good players.

"The way they've played throughout the Super Rugby season and in the rugby internationals, either together or separately, has forced the coach's hand - and that's exactly what you want from players."

Bernard Foley gets the start at fly-half and is paired with scrum-half Will Genia, who edged out Nick Phipps to claim the number nine shirt for the first time since the opening match of the season against South Africa in Brisbane.

With only a four-day turnaround before Australia's second match of the tournament against Uruguay, Cheika has decided to prepare two starting sides.

The 15 picked to take on the Fijians were always going to be his strongest team and are likely to form the basis for the line-ups to face England and Wales in the heavyweight pool clashes.