Cooper 'cover' for injured Wallabies

Wallaby coach Robbie Deans has been forced to name Quade Cooper in a 39-man training squad on Sunday - the result of injuries to other key players.

The Australian mentor's injury concerns increased dramatically over the weekend, with new that seasoned lock and captain James Horwill will miss the June internationals against Scotland and Wales.

Horwill injured his hamstring in the Reds' 13-12 nailbiting win over the Aussie conference leading Brumbies in Canberra at the weekend.

Although Horwill has assembled with the squad in Sydney, and will have scans on Monday, it is expected that he will be ruled out of the June Tests - meaning that the Wallabies will have a new captain for those matches.

Reds scrumhalf Will Genia and Western Force openside flank David Pocock are likely front-runners to take the captaincy against Scotland in Newcastle on June 5, Wales in Brisbane on June 9 and June 16 in Melbourne.

Flyhalf Kurtley Beale is also potentially in doubt after injuring his shoulder playing for the Melbourne Rebels in their 24-66 loss to the Hurricanes in Wellington at the weekend.

Beale had scans on Sunday, and while he has been selected, a time-scale as to when he can return to training and the playing is still to be determined.

The injury cloud over Beale, and the existing injury which has sidelined James O'Connor, has resulted in the selection of Quade Cooper - even though the Reds flyhalf has had just 120 minutes of playing time in his comeback from the knee ligaments he ruptured at last year's World Cup.

While acknowledging that Cooper was short of match play, Deans said that calling him into training with the national squad will help assist with bringing him up to speed for a return to a Test arena.

Apart from the injuries, the most significant feature of the selection is the absence of former skipper Rocky Elsom.

The Reds and Western Force members of the squad have assembled in Sydney on Sunday.

They will be joined midweek by players from the other franchises, who will spend Wednesday with the national side before returning to their respective state sides to prepare for the final round of Super Rugby matches before the June break.

The Wallaby coach, Deans, said he appreciates the assistance the franchises have provided, in releasing the players, in order that they can get some background ahead of the full squad assembly next Sunday, June 3.

"The cooperation of the franchises has been considerable and we appreciate that," Deans said.

"We've obviously sought to have as little disruption to their campaigns as is possible, but the solution provided by utilising the training day off does at least allow us to get the players started – both with organisational logistics and training background – as we will have to hit the ground running once the final group gathers."

Deans and his fellow selectors, coaching coordinator Tony McGahan and David Nucifora; will name the matchday squad to play Scotland on June 3.

That is just 48 hours before the historic match, which will represent the first Test match to have been held at Newcastle.

Although acknowledging that it will be a tight preparation, Deans said delaying the naming until after the final match featuring Australian participation in the weekend's Super Rugby round had concluded; was imperative.

"We can't finalise a side for that match until all of the games are played, and we are in a position to assess all of the players," Deans said.

"Obviously we have preliminary ideas but the selection template is a living document. It can, and probably will change, as a result of events through the final round of Super Rugby before the international break."

As well as the matchday 22 for the Scotland Test, the remainder of the Wallabies squad that will train ahead of the Tests again Wales will also be confirmed next Sunday.

The exact size of that group, and how many of the players will depart after the Scotland Test, won't be confirmed until after that Test has been played.

"We are effectively having to select two combinations at the same time, as the first Wales Tour Test in Brisbane follows just four days after the game in Newcastle, so we need to have an up-to-date picture before we complete that process," Deans said.

Fifteen of the players named Sunday are yet to represent Australia in a Test match - including Reds inside centre Mike Harris, fullback Luke Morahan and wing Dom Shipperley.

Rebels wing Cooper Vuna and locks Hugh Pyle and Cadeyrn Neviulle were also named in their first Wallabies squad.

There are 11 players from the Reds, 11 Waratahs, eight Brumbies, five Rebels and four from the Force.

Australian squad: Ben Alexander, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Berrick Barnes, Kurtley Beale, Quade Cooper, Dave Dennis, Kane Douglas, Anthony Faingaa, Saia Faingaa, Bernard Foley, Will Genia, Mike Harris, Scott Higginbotham, Michael Hooper, Rob Horne, Digby Ioane, Sekope Kepu, Salesi Ma'afu, Pat McCabe, Ben McCalman, Jesse Mogg, Stephen Moore, Luke Morahan, Cadeyrn Neville, Dan Palmer, Wycliff Palu, Nick Phipps, David Pocock, Tatafu Polota Nau, Hugh Pyle, Benn Robinson, Nathan Sharpe, Dom Shipperley, Rob Simmons, James Slipper, Sitaleki Timani, Joseph Tomane, Cooper Vuna, Nic White.

Wallabies coaching & management team:

Head Coach: Robbie Deans

Coaching Coordinator: Tony McGahan

Forwards Coach: Andrew Blades

Coaching Assistant: Nick Scrivener

Strength & Conditioning Coach: Ashley Jones

Manager: Bob Egerton

Logistics Manager: Matt Sheppard

Doctor: Warren MacDonald

Physiotherapist: Andrew Ryan

Physiotherapist: Ed Fitzgerald

Analyst: Andrew Sullivan

Media Manager: Matt McIlraith

2012 Test Series Schedule

(all kick-offs are local times)

Internationals:

June 5: Wallabies v Scotland, Newcastle, 19.30

June 9: Wallabies v Wales, Brisbane, 20.00

June 16: Wallabies v Wales, Melbourne, 20.00

June 23: Wallabies v Wales, Sydney (SFS), 15.00

The Rugby Championship

August 18: Wallabies v New Zealand, Sydney (ANZ), 20.00

August 25: Wallabies v New Zealand, Auckland, 19.35

September 8: Wallabies v South Africa, Perth, 18.30

September 15: Wallabies v Argentina, Gold Coast, 20.00

September 29: Wallabies v South Africa, Pretoria, 15.00

October 6: Wallabies v Argentina, Rosario, 20.00

October 20: Wallabies v New Zealand, Brisbane, 20.00