Wallabies breakaway Rocky Elsom and fullback Adam Ashley-Cooper will both miss the Tri Nations clash against South Africa in Durban next Saturday, while doubts remain over second-rower James Horwill and winger Lote Tuqiri.
Although the Wallabies have enjoyed a lengthy 10-day break since the despair of losing to the All Blacks in Auckland, they were anything but a healthy bunch when they assembled for a training session at Oxford Falls yesterday.
Elsom and Horwill were both sidelined and wore protective boots on their injured legs; Ashley-Cooper, who had an operation on his broken hand last week, was involved in fitness work but played no part in contact training; captain Stirling Mortlock and inside-centre Berrick Barnes were both back at the team hotel with the flu.
Wallabies coach Robbie Deans has already ruled out Elsom and Ashley-Cooper but believes the pair will be available for the Test against South Africa in Johannesburg on August 30.
Horwill's hopes of playing initially looked grim as well, but Deans yesterday argued that the bruised bone in his foot should heal in time for the Durban Test. Horwill suffered a similar problem before the Auckland Test and missed the early training sessions of that week, but still played.
And although Tuqiri trained for the whole session yesterday, there still appears to be concerns within the camp about whether he has fully recovered from the knee injury that sidelined him before the Tri Nations.
Deans admitted that Tuqiri was still being troubled by his left knee, but appeared to be a certainty to be named in the 28-man squad to leave for South Africa tomorrow. He said there was some discussion over whether Tuqiri should have an arthroscopy, or "a general clean-up".
"But he's positive, trained fully today, and is keen to carry on," Deans said. "If that's his mindset, then that's fine by us. There may be a need later to get a clean-up, but we'll respond to that week by week."
Tuqiri yesterday said the week's rest had improved the condition of his knee, and he was assuming he would play in Durban. Drew Mitchell is most likely to take over Ashley-Cooper's No.15 Test jersey, while Hugh McMeniman is scheduled to be brought into the back row, after the two-flyers policy of playing both Phil Waugh and George Smith didn't work against the All Blacks.
If Horwill is fit, Nathan Sharpe could easily be the casualty for the anticipated return of Dan Vickerman to the second row.
However, the greatest dramas will occur if Tuqiri is forced out. That could even see Timana Tahu picked ahead of Lachie Turner on the wing.
The other serious concern for the Wallabies is their abominable track record in South Africa - they have not beaten the Springboks on the road since 2000.
However Deans, who has a good record there both with the Crusaders and the All Blacks, could not see what all the fuss was about. "Personally, I think it's a great place to tour," he said.
"It's a great country and it's a unique country. It's a rugby destination, and it's a place where you test yourself, because they are the original rugby nation. For a rugby player and coach, there's nothing better than that."
Tuqiri was also relatively upbeat, despite having had no joy with the Wallabies in the Republic. "Sure, it's daunting going into a Test match over there, because of the crowd support," Tuqiri said. "The fans love getting into you and saying they're the best. They like telling us how we're going. But it's fun, and I really do love the atmosphere."
