Stirling Mortlock returns as captain while two new caps have been included in the Qantas Wallabies squad named today for the 2009 Bundaberg Rum Rugby Series.
Mortlock, who is the country?s third most capped skipper with 25 Tests in charge, will lead Australia for a fourth season, having first captained his country when the Qantas Wallabies beat England 43-18 at Melbourne in 2006.
He is joined in the squad by the Western Force pair of backrower Matt Hodgson and prop Pekahou (Pek) Cowan, who have been called up after impressing in the recently concluded Investec Super 14.
Both have been members of the Force since the team?s foundation year in 2006, but have established themselves in the starting line-up over the last two seasons.
Hodgson, who covers all three backrow positions, featured in every game played by the Force this season, operating primarily as a blindside flanker. Cowan, who is a specialist loose-head prop but appeared as a tight-head for Australian Schools and Australian Under-19 teams, appeared in all but one of the Force?s 13 matches.
?Both Matt and Pek have been included with one eye on the future,? Qantas Wallabies coach Robbie Deans says.
?They both play in areas where we have a clear need, and are looking to build up our depth. Their selection today gives us an opportunity over the next month to get them started, in terms of exposing them to the international environment.?
The desire to continue the development process is also behind the decision to switch 18-year-old Force fullback James O?Connor from the Australian Under-20s, for whom he was named earlier in the month, into the Wallabies.
?Our general thoughts around the value our younger players gain from attending that tournament and playing in a Rugby World Cup, albeit at age-group level, haven?t changed,? Deans says.
?If anything, it is simply the level of James? performance in the Super 14 that has changed our thought process specific to his circumstance, and what is best both for his career development, and for Australian Rugby overall.?
Deans said that the level of the teenager?s performance had been such that his claims on a position in the Qantas Wallabies for the Bundaberg Rum Rugby Series simply could not be ignored.
?James would have gained a lot of opportunity and chances to experience new things with the Under-20s, but that dynamic also exists with the Wallabies,? Deans says.
?This decision reflects the development pathway that we believe is the most appropriate for James at this stage of his career.?
O?Connor was used primarily at inside centre through his 10 appearances in the Super 14, but Deans confirmed he is also being viewed as a potential fullback option for the Wallabies.
O?Connor last year became the second youngest player ever to play a Test match for the Wallabies, aged 18 years and 126 days, when he made his debut against Italy at Padova.
Twenty nine players have been named today. Thirteen new players were introduced to the international arena by Deans in his first season as Wallabies coach, with 12 of those players being re-selected today, including Brumbies second-row Peter Kimlin, who remains uncapped after appearing only in the non-Test match against the Barbarians last year.
The odd man out from the group is Waratahs prop Sekope Kepu, who has only recently returned to play after tearing his pectoral muscle against the Barbarians at Wembley Stadium in December.
Deans said that the decision to go with 29 reflected the make up of the squad, with all positions adequately covered by the personnel available.
He also acknowledged that injuries had played their part in the squad?s numerical make-up, with No 8 Wycliff Palu the latest to be sidelined after breaking his hand during the Waratahs recent tour of South Africa.
Palu is expected to return in time to be considered for the Tri-Nations.
Utility forward Hugh McMeniman, winger Digby Ioane and lock Mark Chisholm are other players from last year?s Spring Tour squad who were not considered due to injury.
Deans said that Kepu, fellow prop Matt Dunning, who was also injured in that match, and other players coming back from injury like last year?s squad members, hooker Adam Freier and lock Chisholm, would be closely monitored by the selectors as they either continued with, or made their comebacks in club rugby.
?We will be continuing with the practice of releasing playersnot in our match day squad to club rugby each weekend, and we will certainly be keeping an eye on the progress of the guys who are coming back from injury. In the cases of Kepu, Dunning, Freier and Chisholm, they need Rugby and they will get that playing for their clubs,? Deans says.
NSW Waratahs skipper Phil Waugh has been included in the Wallabies? squad, but is being released to appear for the Barbarians in their upcoming matches against England and Australia.
This means he will play against his team-mates at the Sydney Football Stadium on 6 June, but Deans is happy with that prospect, saying Waugh?s contribution to Australian rugby had earned him the right to take up the prestigious Barbarians invitation.
?Phil was keen to play; he?d been invited and earned that honour. We see it as a win-win,? Deans says.
?He is getting exposure in two more top class games, and will be going head-to-head with the other flankers in our squad which is a great result for us.?
Australia kicks off the Bundaberg Rum Rugby Series against the Barbarians in Sydney before hosting a two-match series against Italy at Canberra on 13 June, and Melbourne on 20 June.
The focus will then switch to Sydney and a match against a full strength touring side from France on 27 June at ANZ Stadium.
The selectors will then review all of their options before naming a side for the 14th annual Tri-Nations series through July, August and September
