The Wallabies will this week ramp up preparations for their opening Test of the season against Ireland in under three weeks, gathering in Sydney before a wider training squad is cut down on Friday.
As reported by ESPN last week, a handful of new faces are on the cusp of their first official Wallabies callup, with Brumbies Declan Meredith, Rory Scott and Lachlan Shaw all closing in on national squad selection.
Catching the eye of outgoing Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt on the training paddock this week will be vital if the debutants' deals are to be sealed, while Jock Campbell, arguably Australia's finest Super Rugby player in a disappointing season, appears poised to earn a recall after four years in the Test wilderness.
But two players who are unlikely to line up against the Irish at Allianz Stadium on July 4 are on Tom Hooper and Len Ikitau, after the duo won through to the English Premiership final with Exeter.
The former Brumbies stars played their part in the Chiefs' dramatic semifinal win over Bath on Saturday, Exeter coming from behind to steal a 29-28 victory and advance to the season decider against Northampton at Twickenham next weekend.
While Hooper and Ikitau will be thrilled they have made it to the biggest game in English club rugby, the Premiership final will likely cost them the chance of facing Ireland in Australia's Nations Championship opener.
And it is likely to be a similar situation for Taniela Tupou, who has made it to the final four of the Top 14 with Racing 92.
Schmidt, who has just three Tests left as Wallabies coach, usually likes players to have had a full week of training before they are eligible for selection and with Hooper and Ikitau not due back until early next week at best, the duo is likely to be held back for the Test against France in Brisbane on July 11.
If Racing 92 advance to the final, Tupou's involvement could be limited to the final Test against Italy, or not at all, given the front-rower has virtually been playing non-stop since the beginning of 2025. After winding up the Wallabies' spring tour in late November, Tupou has since made 11 appearances for the Parisian club.
However, given Australia's lack of depth in the midfield and a knee injury to Reds inside centre Hunter Paisami, Schmidt may well have to break his own rule and consider Ikitau for inclusion. The Wallabies centre hasn't had the same workload as Hooper at Exeter, as he missed more than two months of rugby earlier this year through injury.
And it may be that Schmidt's hand is forced with Tupou, at least for the France Test in Brisbane, if Racing 92 were to advance to the Top 14 final on June 27. The Wallabies aren't exactly flush with depth at tighthead with veteran Allan Alaalatoa still finding his feet on return from injury and Western Force prop Tom Robertson absent from the closing few weeks of Super Rugby.
Ireland coach Andy Farrell will meanwhile be sweating the upcoming United Rugby Championship Final, when Leinster host the Bulls in Dublin. With the bulk of Farrell's squad to come from Leinster, he will have a shorter preparation that Schmidt, although Ireland have already played five Tests this season through the Six Nations.
While the Wallabies could benefit from some extra time on the training paddock this week, Rugby Australia will have preferred that at least one of the Brumbies, Reds, Force or Waratahs had made the Super Rugby semifinals instead of sitting out last weekend's two fixtures.
Australia won their opening clashed of 2024 and 2025 under Schmidt, against Wales and Fiji respectively, but an Ireland side that has shaken off the expectation they are on the decline looms as entirely different challenge altogether.
The Test, which is already confirmed to be a sell-out at Allianz Stadium, will see Australia and Ireland meet Down Under for the first time since the visitors clinched a 2-1 series win with a 20-16 win at old venue with the same name, a Test best remembered for a controversial yellow card awarded to Wallabies fullback Israel Folau.
Meanwhile, the Reds have confirmed the exit of talented playmaker Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, with the fly-half set to take up a deal with the Western Force. McLaughlin-Phillips impressed in a series of starts this season, before Carter Gordon regained fitness and was preferred at No. 10 later in the year.
