ACT Brumbies skipper Allan Alaalatoa on track for Wallabies clash with South Africa

The prop missed his club's last three games of their Super Rugby campaign after suffering a calf injury in the round-14 loss to the Waikato Chiefs.

Alaalatoa made a desperate bid to be available for Saturday's semi-final against the Chiefs in Hamilton, however was ultimately ruled out after conversations between Rugby Australia and the Brumbies.

Wallabies officials were eager to ensure the 29-year-old did not aggravate his calf with the Rugby Championship and World Cup looming on the calendar.

A wider national squad has assembled in the past couple of weeks as Australian teams were eliminated from Super Rugby, with the Brumbies to join following the announcement of an official squad on Sunday.

Having taken a cautious approach, Wallabies officials expect Alaalatoa to be fit for the team's clash with South Africa on July 8.

Australian assistant coach Neal Hatley declared Alaalatoa among the best tighthead props in the world and said he will play a crucial role in the team's bid to claim an historic victory in Pretoria.

"If they were playing in the [Super Rugby] final, I'm pretty sure Allan would've been involved," Hatley said. "He's an unbelievably diligent person, he's been working his backside off.

"We get the videos of him, he's been scrummaging, running, accelerating, decelerating so Al's on course. I expect when he comes in next week he'll be firing into everything."

MORE CANBERRA SPORT NEWS:

Hatley is convinced Australia has the talent to win the World Cup and he views the trip to Pretoria as the perfect season starter.

Australia open their Rugby Championship campaign against the Springboks at Loftus Versfeld in the much-anticipated first game of Eddie Jones' second tenure as Wallabies coach.

The Wallabies have lost their last seven Tests in South Africa and have never conquered the Springboks on the high veldt since first facing them in Pretoria 60 years ago.

But Hatley, the South African-born scrum guru hand-picked by Jones to join his coaching team, is relishing the challenge and believes win or lose the Springboks will provide the Wallabies with an important barometer in a World Cup year.

"It's a great test," he said.

"The Springboks, of course, always have two sets of front-rowers and are always ready to roll on and off so it's pretty much as much in the deep end as you could get for this first Test.

"It's probably what we would have wanted, to go away to Loftus, which is a real fortress for them. A game where Australia haven't won before and take on the world champions.

"Yeah, it'll give us a real good bar mark of where we are, what we need to do and where we need to keep improving. It's fantastic."

Hatley is adamant the Wallabies pack can take it to the very best in the world but consistency and mongrel is the key to providing the up-front platform to win the Webb Ellis Trophy.

"Eddie's expectations are really clear. He wants a fearsome Wallabies pack," Hatley said.

"He wants a pack that can scrum - and more - with the best of them.

"We don't need any angels. We need to be attacking every set piece that we can."

Hatley worked under Jones with England for four years leading up to the 2019 World Cup in Japan.

He's been privy to what gives the 63-year-old the Midas touch when it comes to mastering tournament play.

As well as guiding the Wallabies to the 2003 extra-time final loss to England in Sydney, Jones helped mastermind the Springboks' 2007 World Cup triumph in France, plotted Japan's historic victory over South Africa in 2015 and took England to the title match four years ago.

"I've never worked with anyone who's more fastidious and analytical in his preparation and his planning," Hatley said.

"In the previous World Cup that I worked with him there, the planning going into it was just next level.

"I want to work with people like that, somebody who pushes me every day to get the most other players every day."

While there's no doubting Jones' coaching credentials, it's the depth of the playing squad that continues to be the big question mark around Australia's ability to contend for World Cup glory.

But Hatley also believes the Wallabies have the cattle on that front too.

"I know (Wallabies attack coach) Scott Wisemantel really well," he said.

"I worked with 'Wise' so he was the first bloke I phoned and I asked what he thought (after being approached by Jones).

"And he said '100 per cent we can win the World Cup'. Otherwise he wouldn't have been involved.

"I look at the players, I see players who are really hungry. I think we've got the class."

With Australian Associated Press

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: