ACT Brumbies fullback Mark Gerrard is putting trust in his experience as he prepares for a head-to-head battle for the suddenly vacant Wallabies No.15 jersey.

Gerrard and Western Force fullback Cameron Shepherd will go into Friday's final Super 14 match as the chief contenders to replace veteran Wallabies fullback Chris Latham, whose Australian career was cut short by a pectoral injury last weekend.

Gerrard made the final cut for the Wallabies' World Cup campaign last year but suffered a crippling knee injury when coming off the bench against Japan in the team's opening pool game. Shepherd was called over to France as his replacement.

Gerrard said yesterday he hoped the work he put in to win initial World Cup selection would be rewarded when new Test coach Robbie Deans named a 30-man squad on June 2.

"Hopefully the past games in the Australian jumper will count for something and if they do, I'd like to think I might be in some sort of contention," Gerrard said.

"I'd love to be able to say, 'Yes I'm the front-runner or yes my name has been bought up', but who's to know what the new coach and selectors are thinking.

"For me, if I want to make the Wallabies squad, and fingers crossed I do, I need to play well on Friday night as it's always good to prove yourself against the other Aussie sides."

Gerrard and his Brumbies teammate Adam Ashley-Cooper have both spent time at fullback for the Wallabies in the past year. Ashley-Cooper has played outside-centre, wing and fullback for the Brumbies this year while Gerrard has played wing and fullback.

Both have been disappointed with their Super 14 form in 2008.

Brumbies coach Laurie Fisher will name his team for the game today, where he will recall Patrick Phibbs (scrumhalf) and Francis Fainifo (wing) in the only changes to the starting line-up.

He will revert to a standard four forwards/three backs bench, recalling prop Salesi Ma'afu for Ben Alexander, dropping Adam Wallace-Harrison and including Matt Toomua.

Gerrard will again start at fullback, with Ashley-Cooper on the wing.

Ashley-Cooper believed he was out of the race for the Wallabies fullback role, naming Gerrard and Shepherd as the key contenders.

The 24-year-old hoped his versatility would count in his favour, not against him, in Deans' eyes.If Ashley-Cooper is not selected at fullback, his chances of reaching the starting XV are limited.

Brumbies and Wallabies captain Stirling Mortlock is all-but guaranteed the outside-centre role while Lote Tuqiri is a certainty for one wing berth.

Unless Mortlock shifts to inside centre, which has been mooted, that leaves only one vacant wing position for Ashley-Cooper to cement, otherwisehe'll more than likely come off the bench.

Fisher believed both players should be in selection contention and had no doubt Wallabies aspirations would be playing on not only their minds on Friday night, but on all players who were in with a chance.