Tom Wright has emerged as a leading candidate to fill the void if the ACT Brumbies are forced to go back to the well for their third different fullback in as many weeks.
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Wright could be called upon to fill the Brumbies' No. 15 jersey as the club sweats on Jesse Mogg's scan results leading into a clash with the Fijian Drua in Brisbane on Saturday night.
Mogg lasted just eight minutes before leaving the field with a leg injury in last weekend's loss to the Queensland Reds, forcing 24-year-old Wright to shift from the wing to fullback.
Now club officials say they are still waiting on scan results which could leave the Brumbies without their top two fullback options.
Mogg had stepped into the role after Tom Banks underwent surgery on a fractured cheekbone which is likely to keep the Test fullback sidelined until at least round 11.
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The Brumbies have a plethora of options to fill a place on the wing should Wright shift into fullback, with the likes of Cam Clark, Hudson Creighton and Ollie Sapsford earning club debuts this year. Former Wallaby Chris Feauai-Sautia is also on the comeback trail from a hamstring injury.
Wright is in camp with the Wallabies on the Gold Coast until Wednesday alongside the bulk of the Brumbies' starting line-up, leaving coaches with a skeleton to work with in Canberra early this week.
Injured duo Banks and Noah Lolesio [ankle] are also in a Wallabies camp largely centred on logistics, joining club teammates Wright, Allan Alaalatoa, Folau Fainga'a, Nick Frost, Len Ikitau, Lachlan Lonergan, Ryan Lonergan, Cadeyrn Neville, Pete Samu, James Slipper, Darcy Swain, Rob Valetini, and Nic White.
A somewhat disjointed week on the training paddock means Brumbies coach Dan McKellar could use the Drua game to make further rotations to his playing group in a bid to keep their noses in front on top of the Super Rugby Pacific ladder.
"The beauty of it is we're back here [in Brisbane against the Fijian Drua on Saturday] and we get our chance to be better," McKellar said in the wake of a last-start loss to the Reds.
"A short turnaround, a lot of our group will be with the Wallabies camp, so the key for the back end of the year regardless of who we're playing is making sure we're as fit and as healthy as we can possibly be."
Saturday night's return to Brisbane marks the Brumbies' final game before the bye, after which trans-Tasman rugby will commence during Super Round in Melbourne.
The Brumbies will then close out the regular season with games against all six New Zealand-based teams, but will only have to travel across the Tasman twice.
SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC ROUND EIGHT
Saturday: Fijian Drua v ACT Brumbies at Lang Park, 7.45pm. Broadcast live on Stan Sport.
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Caden Helmers
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
