![Blake Schoupp has been drafted into Eddie Jones' Wallabies squad. Picture by Karleen Minney Blake Schoupp has been drafted into Eddie Jones' Wallabies squad. Picture by Karleen Minney](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/36vwtM5n3dmMVgNPycRBEHz/54f93713-f876-4454-b76a-18cd69097b7b.jpg/r0_76_4265_2474_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Want to know why unheralded ACT Brumbies prop Blake Schoupp is in Eddie Jones' World Cup plans? Well, "if he's standing behind a picket fence, you're not going to see much of him, [but] he's built like a brick shithouse".
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Schoupp came from the clouds to earn a Super Rugby debut this year and is now one of six uncapped bolters alongside teammate Ryan Lonergan in Jones' first Wallabies squad named ahead of a camp later this month.
But Brumbies flyhalf Noah Lolesio has been overlooked, with Rebels playmaker Carter Gordon and Waratahs No. 10 Ben Donaldson beating him to a place in Jones' first Australian training squad since 2005.
Schoupp, Lonergan and Gordon join 18-year-old Waratahs sensation Max Jorgensen, Melbourne flanker Brad Wilkin and Queensland centre Josh Flook as the six uncapped players in a group. Former Brumbies lock Richie Arnold is among a cohort of overseas-based players to join sessions via Zoom.
Shute Shield rivals know all too well how dominant Schoupp has been at club level in recent years but the 23-year-old was only ever gifted as much as a single day of training with the Waratahs before he excelled on a train and trial deal with the Brumbies.
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"What I like about him is he is one of those players I feel has got a lot of growth in him. He's an unheralded player, he's pretty close to the ground," Jones said.
"If he's standing behind a picket fence, you're not going to see much of him. He's built like a brick shithouse, isn't he? He's perfectly built to be a prop, he scrummages hard, he's hard on the ball, and again, one of those players who has come up the hard way.
"With an opportunity, we may get a bit more out of him."
Lonergan and Nic White are the only two scrumhalves named in Jones' squad. It leaves Tate McDermott and Jake Gordon alongside overlooked flyhalves Lolesio and James O'Connor desperately trying to knock down the door at Super Rugby level.
"I haven't spoken with everyone, but I've spoken with maybe 15 players this morning. I gave them an indication of what we feel they need to do over the next period of time," Jones said.
"It's their responsibility to bang on the door. Players always tell you what you want to hear. It's not what I hear, it's what I see. The evidence is always performance."
Which is why some players would do well to cast an eye towards Canberra. There they'll find a towering lock setting the standard - and at 202 centimetres, Cadeyrn Neville is hard to miss.
"Big men are always important. Neville has been very tough, very combative for the Brumbies and he's one of the reasons why the Brumbies are doing so well," Jones said.
"You see him put a stake in the ground and there are other opportunities for other locks to do that."
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