Brumbies half Nic White has recovered from a knee injury and is expected to be rushed back into Dave Rennie's Wallabies side ahead of Saturday's crunch Bledisloe Cup Test at Eden Park.
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The 31-year-old has missed all four Wallabies Tests this winter after picking up the injury in the lead up to the recent three-match series against France, and failed to get up for last weekend's 33-25 Bledisloe Cup opener against the All Blacks.
His recovery is a timely boost for Rennie, who must overhaul 35 years of All Blacks dominance in Auckland to take the Bledisloe Cup to a deciding Test in Perth later this month.
Wallabies defence coach Matt Taylor confirmed this week that White, and flanker Lachie Swinton, had returned to full training, while Brumbies prop Scott Sio is also available.
"They're in the mix to be selected or be part of the group," Taylor said.
"You pick the best team available that you think is going to win a Test match, and sometimes that's part of the combination, with who they've been selected with.
"Sometimes it's the opposition, sometimes you want a faster back row, sometimes you want a heavier back row or different combinations. There might be guys who have done well in training.
"That's the hard thing at the moment, we've got a big squad and there's many guys week on week that aren't playing games. Sometimes you've got to pick on form in terms of what they're going in training."
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Queensland's Tate McDermott started against the All Blacks last weekend, and was replaced by Jake Gordon with 10 minutes on the clock.
Should White be selected when Rennie names his side on Thursday, it would likely be Gordon who drops out of the 23-man squad.
The All Blacks did their damage against the Wallabies in a devastating 23-minute burst either side of half-time on Saturday, scoring four tries and putting the game beyond reach.
"We understand the history [at Eden Park], we understand it's a tough place to go," Taylor said.
"We get to go there and we get to have another crack. We need an 80-minute performance, we can't turn up for 50 minutes or 60 minutes and hope the All Blacks give us the game, they're never going to do that.
"A team as good as the All Blacks, when you get them you've got to take the game away from them. We're going to have to do a lot of things really well, that's what we're training to do.
"We've got the guys who weren't available last week, it's good to have them back. At the moment there's no injuries so we've got a full complement to choose from."
Taylor expected a more disciplined New Zealand this weekend, after the All Blacks conceded 18 penalties in the first Test.
"They're a team that probably pushes the boundaries, they're right on the edge, sometimes that can be an advantage," Taylor said.
"You try not to give too many penalties away. They'll be looking back at the video and trying to tighten up certain areas of the game."
James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
