James Slipper to captain Wallabies after Michael Hooper injures calf

Slipper and NSW veteran Michael Hooper were named co-captains last month, Australian coach Eddie Jones breaking with tradition in picking two leaders.

The NSW flanker, however has been ruled out of Saturday's clash with Argentina in Sydney and clouds are hovering over his future at the international level.

Hooper struggled in last week's 31-point loss to South Africa and is likely in his final year of Test rugby.

The 31-year-old suffered a calf injury at training on Tuesday, Jones confident the injury is not serious.

"He should be running by Friday," Jones said on Thursday. "It's only a small injury but he's too valuable a player to risk for this Test."

Slipper was elevated to captain in 2022 when Hooper stepped away to manage his mental health and has re-signed with the Brumbies and Australia through to the 2025 Lions series.

Given his standing, the ACT prop shapes as the leading contender to skipper the Wallabies throughout the next two years.

Slipper is eager to lead a team Australia is proud of and was disappointed with the last week's performance.

Saturday's clash with Argentina is one of just two games on home soil this year and the skipper recognises the importance of producing an immediate turnaround.

The Wallabies are determined to generate home support prior to the World Cup and are looking to run out in front of big crowds in Sydney this weekend and Melbourne against New Zealand on July 29.

"We only get two games on home soil this year," Slipper said. "Both of them are going to be really important. We have this weekend against Argentina, but we also have a big one against the All Blacks at the MCG.

"There's not one player in the squad at the moment that's played at the MCG so that's really exciting for us as a playing group, but we understand the importance of putting in a good performance for the fans here.

"We want to be building but also getting results along the way."

The coach has, however, swung the axe after last week's heavy defeat in Pretoria and made five changes to his starting lineup.

Richie Arnold has been promoted to the starting side, Brumbies lock Nick Frost dropping out of the squad completely.

Nic White and Quade Cooper will again combine in the halves, while Samu Kerevi has moved into the No.12 jersey. He will partner with Len Ikitau in the centres. Winger Suliasi Vunivalu has paid the price for a poor performance in South Africa and has been replaced by Mark Nawaqanitawase.

There were also changes on the bench, ACT forward Pete Samu replaced by Rob Leota, who will play his first game since rupturing his Achilles last year.

NSW prop Angus Bell has been named to return from a long-term injury and Melbourne youngster Josh Kemeny is in line to debut.

MORE CANBERRA SPORT:

Jones is confident the returning players will have an instant impact and is expecting improvement.

"For us it's about building depth so we can take a team to the World Cup and in every position we've got three players of the quality that we need to have," Jones said. "We don't have that at the moment in all positions so we're aiming to do that.

"If you look at our team on the weekend, if you go from the top, you've got Bell, [Will] Skelton, Arnold, Leota, [Matt] Phillip. Then you go further down, Quade, Kerevi, are all coming back either into international rugby or have been out with long-term injuries. All of those players are not at their best at the moment so we've got a fair bit of growth in those players.

"But we want to fire up on Saturday. There's no excuses. We're trying to create a squad that's capable of winning the World Cup and that wins on Saturday."

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.