The Qantas Wallabies have announced a 28-man touring squad for the next stage of their 2014 Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship campaign in South Africa and Argentina.
The Wallabies will assemble in Sydney on Friday before flying to South Africa on Monday ahead of matches against the Springboks in Cape Town on Saturday 27 September and Argentina in Mendoza on Saturday 4 October.
Vice-captain Adam Ashley-Cooper has recovered from a nerve compression injury and will return to the squad after missing Australia’s victory over Argentina on the Gold Coast at the weekend.
He will be joined by three further additions in scrumhalf Will Genia, prop Benn Robinson and hooker Saia Fainga’a. All three return as official members of the 28-man squad, after being used as additional training squad players in the lead-up to the Gold Coast Test.
The squad will also see the fairytale story of 33-year-old ACT Brumbies hooker Josh Mann-Rea continue, as he gets another chance to earn his first Test cap with three specialist hookers selected for the two-game tour.
“It’s pleasing to be able to bring in some experienced guys for what will be an extremely challenging tour of South Africa and Argentina,” coach Ewen McKenzie said.
“We took a conservative approach with Adam’s injury in our most recent Test against Argentina, and we’re confident the additional week off will serve him well going into the next stage of our campaign.
“Collectively, we add almost 250 games of Test experience to our squad through the inclusion of Adam, Will, Benn and Saia. They’ve all had good exposure to our program this year, so we expect them to be able to contribute immediately when we get into camp.”
McKenzie said the squad was looking forward to the challenges on tour.
“While pleased to have finished ahead on the scoreboard over the past two weeks, we understand there is still a lot of improvement left in this group and we’ll be working hard to ensure we see that over the next fortnight,” McKenzie said.
“The Springboks and Argentina always lift to another level when they are playing at home and so we are under no illusions as to the challenges which are ahead.
“We’ll look forward to that, and to the opportunity to continue evolving and improving our game over the next period.”
Players who have not been considered for selection due to injury include, but is not limited to, hookers Stephen Moore (knee), Tatafu Polota-Nau (ankle), Nathan Charles (pectoral), Tolu Latu (arm) and Heath Tessman (ankle); prop Scott Sio (ankle); backrowers Wycliff Palu (head), David Pocock (knee) and Dave Dennis (knee); flyhalf Quade Cooper (shoulder); and outside backs Henry Speight (hamstring); Peter Betham (ankle); and Chris Feauai-Sautia (shoulder).
The Qantas Wallabies squad for the next stage of the 2014 Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship is:
Player
State
Age
Test Caps
PROP
Ben Alexander
ACT Brumbies
29
66
Pek Cowan
Western Force
28
10
Sekope Kepu
NSW Waratahs
28
45
Benn Robinson
NSW Waratahs
30
66
James Slipper
Queensland Reds
25
56
HOOKER
Saia Fainga’a
Queensland Reds
27
29
James Hanson
Queensland Reds
26
4
Josh Mann-Rea
ACT Brumbies
33
Uncapped
LOCK
Sam Carter
ACT Brumbies
25
5
James Horwill
Queensland Reds
29
53
Rob Simmons
Queensland Reds
25
44
BACKROW
Scott Fardy
ACT Brumbies
30
17
Scott Higginbotham
Melbourne Rebels
27
28
Matt Hodgson
Western Force
33
8
Michael Hooper (c)
NSW Waratahs
22
35
Ben McCalman
Western Force
26
33
SCRUMHALF
Will Genia
Queensland Reds
26
55
Nick Phipps
NSW Waratahs
25
21
Nic White
ACT Brumbies
24
16
FLYHALF
Kurtley Beale
NSW Waratahs
25
46
Bernard Foley
NSW Waratahs
25
11
CENTRE
Tevita Kuridrani
ACT Brumbies
23
14
Christian Leali'ifano
ACT Brumbies
26
13
Matt Toomua
ACT Brumbies
24
17
BACK-THREE
Adam Ashley-Cooper
NSW Waratahs
30
97
Israel Folau
NSW Waratahs
25
22
Rob Horne
NSW Waratahs
25
20
Joe Tomane
ACT Brumbies
24
9
The remaining Qantas Wallabies schedule for the 2014 Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship is:
Date
Opponent
Venue
Saturday 27 September (Sun 28 Sept. AEST at 1:05am)
South Africa
Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
Saturday 4 October
(Sun 5 Oct. AEST at 9:40am)
Argentina
Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza
