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Wallabies coach Robbie Deans will name his core squad of 25 players for the upcoming British and Irish Lions series at 2.00pm this afternoon. Join us on The Roar for live updates and comments.
The Lions named their 45-man entourage a few weeks ago and finally we will have some certainty as to what type of Wallabies team Deans is assembling to defend their home turf.
The games last night will have some impact on the final selections, especially because of injury.
Tatafu Polota-Nau had sustained a broken arm that looked very bad. He’ll be out for some time and was almost certainly going to be part of the Wallabies squad.
The other main concern is for George Smith, who injured the medial ligament in his knee and is reported to be out for six to eight weeks.
Other injury worries from that match such as Kane Douglas and Christian Lealiifano are understood to be short-term and won’t affect their selection status.
The Reds game against the Cheetahs showed that Liam Gill may still be either playing slightly injured or is now wearing down after being a shining light earlier in the year.
He’s not had the same impact in the last month. He could almost be selected over Hooper in today’s squad because he obviously needs time to recharge if he’s to play a part.
Quade Cooper had a hot and cold game in Bloemfontein when he really needed to have a blinder to further cloud the Wallabies staff infatuation with James O’Connor.
He might need to set the world alight in the Reds match against the Lions to play much of a part in the series.
It will be very interesting to see if Berrick Barnes is selected, who had a great match last night against the Brumbies but hasn’t played a lot of rugby.
The same goes for Pat McCabe who’s been back from injury much longer but hasn’t had much game time in a good Brumbies team.
There are so many unknowns heading into today’s announcement. It’s likely there will still be plenty afterwards but it could be expected that a squad of 25 players will shed some light on what Deans has on the drawing board this far into preparations.
Join us here at 2.00pm AEST for updates on the announcement and for a chance to have your say on the squad chosen.
The Roar’s finest rugby minds have already selected their first XV for the series. If you haven’t already, check out the team and stats here.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.