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

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: