An upbeat Michael Cheika said he had no concerns about the fitness of David Pocock after naming the loose forward in his World Cup squad on Friday but the Australia coach would not be drawn on how he planned to use him.
Barring the inclusion of uncapped teenager Jordan Petaia as a midfield option, there were no surprises in the squad that will take on Wales, Fiji, Uruguay and Georgia in the pool stage at the global showpiece in Japan.
Despite that, Cheika said the Wallabies would be making a virtue of unpredictability as they bid for a second straight final and third title at the Sept 20-Nov 2 tournament.
"We'll be a little bit unpredictable, that's been a little bit of our theme this year, if we don't know what we're doing no one will know what we're doing," he told reporters.
"It's a bit of joke line for us but I think today in rugby there's a lot of 'by the numbers' strategy. I think we're working on more of a principles strategy."
NO CONCERNS: Wallabies coach Michael Cheika is not concerned about the fitness of David Pocock. Photo: Dave Hunt/EPA.
Openside flanker Michael Hooper will captain the Wallabies for the second World Cup in a party that boasts 1,406 caps of test experience, 200 more than in 2015.
REWARDED: Australia captain Michael Hooper. Photo: Rick Rycroft/AP.
Adam Ashley-Cooper accounts for 112 of those and is set to become only the second Australian after George Gregan to play at four World Cups.
It was a reward, Cheika said, for what the 35-year-old brought to the squad as a leader, particularly in defence, and his ability to play in various positions across the backline.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/Wallabies?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Wallabiessquad to travel to Japan for the 2019 Rugby World Cup!
READ: https://t.co/lk6t0BTQCk #GoldBlooded #RWC2019 #TeamRugby pic.twitter.com/kFICJBNPqU
— Qantas Wallabies (@qantaswallabies)
Australia face Samoa in their final warm-up in Sydney on Sept. 7 and open their Pool D campaign against Fiji in Sapporo on Sept. 21.
Squad:
Forwards:
Allan Alaalatoa, Rory Arnold, Adam Coleman, Jack Dempsey, Folau Fainga'a, Michael Hooper ( captain), Sekope Kepu, Tolu Latu, Isi Naisarani, David Pocock, Izack Rodda, Rob Simmons, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Scott Sio, James Slipper, Taniela Tupou, Jordan Uelese
Backs:
Adam Ashley-Cooper, Kurtley Beale, Bernard Foley, Will Genia, Dane Haylett-Petty, Reece Hodge, Samu Kerevi, Marika Koroibete, Tevita Kuridrani, Christian Leali'ifano, James O’Connor, Jordan Petaia, Matt Toomua, Nic White.
Reuters