Fourteen St.George Queensland Reds representatives have been chosen in the Wallabies second national training squad for their final three-day camp prior to the announcement of Australia’s squad for the inaugural Rugby Championships.
The group features a number of members of the Queensland Reds side from FxPro Super Rugby who were omitted from last week’s first camp in order to rest after their exertions from that competition.
Wingers Digby Ioane and Dominic Shipperley, midfield backs Anthony Faingaa and Mike Harris, halfback Will Genia and loose forward Scott Higginbotham all join after being allowed to by-pass the first post-Super Rugby assembly.
They join the eight members included in the first training squad: Ben Tapuai, Quade Cooper, Radike Samo, Jake Schatz, Liam Gill, Rob Simmons, James Slipper and James Hanson.
All seven additions were involved in the Wallabies squad during the June Tests.
The training squad breaks again on Friday, with the 30-man Wallabies squad for the Rugby Championship to be named on Tuesday August 6. That group assembles in Sydney the morning it is named.
The Qantas Wallabies training squad for this week’s second camp in Sydney ahead of the inaugural Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship is: Kurtley Beale (Melbourne Rebels), Adam Ashley-Cooper (NSW Waratahs), Drew Mitchell (NSW Waratahs), Digby Ioane (Queensland Reds), Cooper Vuna (Melbourne Rebels), Nick Cummins (Western Force), Dominic Shipperley (Queensland Reds), Rob Horne (NSW Waratahs), Anthony Fainga’a (Queensland Reds), Ben Tapuai (Queensland Reds), Pat McCabe (Brumbies), Mike Harris (Queensland Reds), Quade Cooper (Queensland Reds), Berrick Barnes (NSW Waratahs), Will Genia (Queensland Reds), Nick Phipps (Melbourne Rebels), Nic White (Brumbies), Radike Samo (Queensland Reds), Scott Higginbotham (Queensland Reds), Jake Schatz (Queensland Reds), David Pocock (Western Force), Michael Hooper (Brumbies), Liam Gill (Queensland Reds), Dave Dennis (NSW Waratahs), Kane Douglas (NSW Waratahs), Nathan Sharpe (Western Force), Rob Simmons (Queensland Reds), Cadeyrn Neville (Melbourne Rebels), Sitaleki Timani (NSW Waratahs), James Slipper (Queensland Reds), Sekope Kepu (NSW Waratahs), Benn Robinson (NSW Waratahs), Ben Alexander (Brumbies), James Hanson (Queensland Reds), Stephen Moore (Brumbies), Tatafu Polota-Nau (NSW Waratahs).
* The players who were not considered because of injury are: Salesi Ma’afu (Western Force), Dan Palmer (Brumbies), Saia Fainga’a (Queensland Reds), James Horwill (Queensland Reds), Ben McCalman (Western Force), Wycliff Palu (NSW Waratahs), Paddy Ryan (NSW Waratahs), Christian Leali’ifano (Brumbies), James O’Connor (Melbourne Rebels), Joe Tomane (Brumbies).
The Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship Dates
Bledisloe Cup - #1
(i) August 18: Qantas Wallabies v New Zealand, Sydney (ANZ), 8pm
August 18: South Africa v Argentina, Cape Town
Bledisloe Cup - #2
(ii) August 25: Qantas Wallabies v New Zealand, Auckland, 7.35pm
August 25: Argentina v South Africa, Mendoza
Mandela Challenge Plate - #1
(iii) September 8: Qantas Wallabies v South Africa, Perth, 6.30pm
September 8: New Zealand v Argentina, Wellington
(iv) September 15: Qantas Wallabies v Argentina, Gold Coast, 8pm
September 15: New Zealand v South Africa, Dunedin
Mandela Challenge Plate - #2
(v) September 29: Qantas Wallabies v South Africa, Pretoria, 3pm
September 29: Argentina v New Zealand, La Plata
(vi) October 6: Qantas Wallabies v Argentina, Rosario, 8pm
October 6: South Africa v New Zealand, Soweto
Castrol EDGE Bledisloe Cup Test - #3
(vii) October 20: Qantas Wallabies v New Zealand, Brisbane, 8pm