McKenzie's 40-man Wallabies squad announced for the Rugby Championship

26th July, 2013

6069 Reads

Anyone can contribute to The Roar and have their work featured alongside some of Australia’s most prominent sports journalists.

The ARU needs your help to plan for the future of the game. (AAP Image/Dan Peled)

The Roar

26th July, 2013

337

6069 Reads

A 40-man Wallabies squad has been announced ahead of the Bledisloe and Rugby Championship matches, with 10 uncapped players brought into the squad.

As expected, Quade Cooper has made the squad, with most expecting him to start for the Wallabies at fly-half.

McKenzie has cast a wider net, including uncapped players Peter Betham, Chris Feauai-Sautia, Scott Fardy, Bernard Foley, Tevita Kuridrani, Hugh Pyle, Jake Schatz, Scott Sio, Matt Toomua and Nic White.

Kurtley Beale, Wycliff Palu, David Pocock, Digby Ioane, Pat McCabe and Scott Higginbotham are notable injury-forced absentees, while Cam Crawford, Kyle Godwin and Rod Davies were considered for the squad, but also missed out through injury.

Rob Horne and Berrick Barnes have missed the squad, the latter perhaps due to his excursion to Japanese rugby.

James O’Connor has been named as a wing/fullback – what that means in practical terms is to be seen.

Beale requires shoulder surgery and will be sidelined for the rest of the 2013 season. Palu is continuing to recover from knee surgery to repair a damaged meniscus.

“At this stage it’s important that as many players as possible gain exposure to our program and that everyone is receiving an opportunity to push their case for selection before we narrow down our squad,” said McKenzie.

“The first five days will be invaluable in this respect as there are some players I know very well and others that I’m interested in learning more about.

“What I do know though, as is evidenced by the fact that we’ve chosen 10 uncapped players for the training camp, is that Australian Rugby does have a lot of depth and talent coming through, now and for the future.

“We’ve taken that very much into consideration with our selections and believe this squad is capable of having success right now, while also expediting the development process for some of the younger guys who we see as having the potential to represent Australia in a few years.

“We’ve assessed each case on its own merits, but it’s important that we are, where possible, making investments in players that are going to provide value for Australian Rugby over the next few seasons.

“That was definitely a major consideration in selecting this training squad.

“With new systems to install, we’ve also put a lot of weight on those players who are healthy and able to contribute fully in training in the lead-up to our opening two Tests.

“There is only a very short period before our first match, so it’s paramount that the players are in a strong position mentally and physically to be investing all their time now into understanding what we are trying to achieve.

“We’re also trying to develop strong combinations and competition across all positions and you can only do that by having players who are available to train and compete.”

The Wallabies will have a fortnight to prepare for their opening game against the All Blacks on August 17th, looking to win back the Bledisloe Cup for the first time since 2002.

The following week in Wellington an opportunity also exists for the Wallabies to snap a 12-year losing drought against the All Blacks in New Zealand, with Australia’s last victory coming at Dunedin in 2001.

“It’s always going to be challenging when you come up against the number one team in the world, but it also gives you the greatest opportunity to make a statement,” said McKenzie.

“If we want to change where we are in the Rugby landscape, this is a great place to start. Effectively, the Bledisloe Cup is there for the taking if we are good enough over two weekends.

“We’ll have some different thoughts and ideas about how we go about it. The reality is we’ve got to challenge ourselves to do things differently otherwise the outcomes will remain the same.

“We’ll be able to go into that first game in our own backyard, in front of a full house, with some element of surprise. I don’t think that’s a bad situation.”

James Horwill will captain the side.

The Wallabies 40-man training squad, to assemble in Sydney on 5 August ahead of the Rugby Championship is as follows:

Player	Position	State	Age	Test Caps
Ben Alexander	Prop	ACT Brumbies	28	51
Adam Ashley-Cooper	Centre	NSW Waratahs	29	80
Peter Betham	Wing	NSW Waratahs	24	Uncapped
Quade Cooper	Flyhalf	Queensland Reds	25	38
Nick Cummins	Wing	Western Force	25	6
Dave Dennis	Backrow	NSW Waratahs	27	15
Kane Douglas	Lock	NSW Waratahs	24	9
Anthony Fainga’a	Centre	Queensland Reds	26	23
Saia Fainga’a	Hooker	Queensland Reds	26	19
Scott Fardy	Lock/Backrow	ACT Brumbies	29	Uncapped
Chris Feauai-Sautia	Wing/Centre	Queensland Reds	19	Uncapped
Israel Folau	Wing/Fullback	NSW Waratahs	24	3
Bernard Foley	Flyhalf	NSW Waratahs	23	Uncapped
Will Genia	Scrumhalf	Queensland Reds	25	44
Liam Gill	Backrow	Queensland Reds	21	10
Mike Harris	Centre/Flyhalf	Queensland Reds	25	8
Michael Hooper	Backrow	NSW Waratahs	21	16
James Horwill	Lock	Queensland Reds	28	38
Sekope Kepu	Prop	NSW Waratahs	27	26
Peter Kimlin	Backrow/Lock	ACT Brumbies	28	2
Tevita Kuridrani	Centre	ACT Brumbies	22	Uncapped
Christian Leali’ifano	Centre	ACT Brumbies	25	3
Ben McCalman	Loose Forward	Western Force	25	22
Hugh McMeniman	Backrow/Lock	Western Force	29	21
Jesse Mogg	Fullback	ACT Brumbies	24	1
Stephen Moore	Hooker	ACT Brumbies	30	79
Ben Mowen	Backrow	ACT Brumbies	28	3
James O’Connor	Wing/Fullback	Melbourne Rebels	23	40
Nick Phipps	Scumhalf	Melbourne Rebels	24	14
Tatafu Polota Nau	Hooker	NSW Waratahs	27	44
Hugh Pyle	Lock	Melbourne Rebels	24	Uncapped
Benn Robinson	Prop	NSW Waratahs	29	59
Paddy Ryan	Prop	NSW Waratahs	24	1
Jake Schatz	Backrow	Queensland Reds	23	Uncapped
Rob Simmons	Lock	Queensland Reds	24	26
Scott Sio	Prop	ACT Brumbies	21	Uncapped
James Slipper	Prop	Queensland Reds	24	37
Joe Tomane	Wing	ACT Brumbies	23	3
Matt Toomua	Flyhalf	ACT Brumbies	23	Uncapped
Nic White	Scrumhalf	ACT Brumbies	23	Uncapped

337

Join the conversation

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.