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Sydney - Senior Wallabies Drew Mitchell and Matt Giteau may lose their places in the starting XV for the Tri-Nations tournament next month as Australia searches for ways to revitalise their sputtering attack.
A concerted push has begun to reunite Berrick Barnes at inside-centre with his former Queensland midfield partner Quade Cooper, while Mitchell's poor form on the wing in the past two Test matches has dramatically improved the hopes of the likes of Lachie Turner and Peter Hynes earning a recall.
Winger Digby Ioane's direct running was sorely missed during the Wallabies' uninspiring 22-15 win over Ireland at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night and the sooner he overcomes his shoulder problems the better.
A back-line reshuffle for the Tri-Nations, which starts for the Wallabies against South Africa in Brisbane on July 24, is also expected to include Adam Ashley-Cooper at either outside-centre or fullback. And despite dramatic improvement in Luke Burgess's game, Will Genia will regain the Test halfback spot when he overcomes his broken thumb.
The Wallabies' selection panel of Robbie Deans, Jim Williams and David Nucifora are mindful that Australia's best performance this month was the win over England in Perth - and it hasn't been forgotten that the No.10-12 combination that night was Cooper-Barnes. Before Barnes joined the Waratahs this season, he played many games alongside Cooper at the Reds and, compared with Giteau, appears far more comfortable combining with the unpredictable pivot, who received another man-of-the-match award on Saturday night.
While Giteau and Mitchell, who between them have played 126 Tests, are certain to make the 30-man Tri-Nations squad when it is announced on July 8, they are no certainties for the starting line-up.
Cooper's spot will be determined on Friday when he appears in a Gold Coast court on a burglary charge.
Wallabies coach Robbie Deans said Giteau would work on his goalkicking over the next few weeks after having to share the duties with Cooper against Ireland.
Deans said Giteau had some technical issues to fix up with his goalkicking, after he struggled against England in Sydney and missed his first shot against Ireland, before proving successful with the next two.
''He's been kicking for so long now, so he knows what he's not doing correctly,'' Deans said. ''He is going through a speed bump … no doubt about that. And he's allowed it to affect his mental process. That happens even to the best.''
In spite of the gloom caused by the loss to England in Sydney and the lacklustre outing against Ireland, Deans remained relatively buoyant. ''I'm pretty proud of the effort of the group over the last month. Sure we didn't win every Test, but we have seen the emergence of some players who are going to be here for a while,'' Deans said.
''And they emerged through some pretty trying circumstances. Last night, you saw their growth. You've also seen a bloke play his first Test match on Australian soil at No.10, and he's clearly going to be part of this for awhile.''
Not surprisingly Cooper, the standout player in the past four Tests, received a special mention. Ashley-Cooper explained why.
''The defence is just waiting for him to play. That's the best thing about being outside him because the opposition know he is going to create something. For me, it is a case of waiting for him to create something and running off him,'' Ashley-Cooper said. ''There was a bit of uncertainty last night. There was a back-line play where myself and James O'Connor had no idea what Quade was doing. He switched James and then I had no idea what James was doing. But that's great because it brings out that uncertainty to their defence, as well as bringing a lot of creativity to our attack.''
A concerted push has begun to reunite Berrick Barnes at inside-centre with his former Queensland midfield partner Quade Cooper, while Mitchell's poor form on the wing in the past two Test matches has dramatically improved the hopes of the likes of Lachie Turner and Peter Hynes earning a recall.
Winger Digby Ioane's direct running was sorely missed during the Wallabies' uninspiring 22-15 win over Ireland at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night and the sooner he overcomes his shoulder problems the better.
A back-line reshuffle for the Tri-Nations, which starts for the Wallabies against South Africa in Brisbane on July 24, is also expected to include Adam Ashley-Cooper at either outside-centre or fullback. And despite dramatic improvement in Luke Burgess's game, Will Genia will regain the Test halfback spot when he overcomes his broken thumb.
The Wallabies' selection panel of Robbie Deans, Jim Williams and David Nucifora are mindful that Australia's best performance this month was the win over England in Perth - and it hasn't been forgotten that the No.10-12 combination that night was Cooper-Barnes. Before Barnes joined the Waratahs this season, he played many games alongside Cooper at the Reds and, compared with Giteau, appears far more comfortable combining with the unpredictable pivot, who received another man-of-the-match award on Saturday night.
While Giteau and Mitchell, who between them have played 126 Tests, are certain to make the 30-man Tri-Nations squad when it is announced on July 8, they are no certainties for the starting line-up.
Cooper's spot will be determined on Friday when he appears in a Gold Coast court on a burglary charge.
Wallabies coach Robbie Deans said Giteau would work on his goalkicking over the next few weeks after having to share the duties with Cooper against Ireland.
Deans said Giteau had some technical issues to fix up with his goalkicking, after he struggled against England in Sydney and missed his first shot against Ireland, before proving successful with the next two.
''He's been kicking for so long now, so he knows what he's not doing correctly,'' Deans said. ''He is going through a speed bump … no doubt about that. And he's allowed it to affect his mental process. That happens even to the best.''
In spite of the gloom caused by the loss to England in Sydney and the lacklustre outing against Ireland, Deans remained relatively buoyant. ''I'm pretty proud of the effort of the group over the last month. Sure we didn't win every Test, but we have seen the emergence of some players who are going to be here for a while,'' Deans said.
''And they emerged through some pretty trying circumstances. Last night, you saw their growth. You've also seen a bloke play his first Test match on Australian soil at No.10, and he's clearly going to be part of this for awhile.''
Not surprisingly Cooper, the standout player in the past four Tests, received a special mention. Ashley-Cooper explained why.
''The defence is just waiting for him to play. That's the best thing about being outside him because the opposition know he is going to create something. For me, it is a case of waiting for him to create something and running off him,'' Ashley-Cooper said. ''There was a bit of uncertainty last night. There was a back-line play where myself and James O'Connor had no idea what Quade was doing. He switched James and then I had no idea what James was doing. But that's great because it brings out that uncertainty to their defence, as well as bringing a lot of creativity to our attack.''
