The Wallabies’ comeback crew grew by one more on Tuesday, with the addition of Sam Carter to the World Cup squad.
Brumbies lock Carter is set to replace injured Will Skelton (pectoral) for the remainder of the World Cup after news of the Waratah’s tournament-ending injury.
Carter faced a race against time when a medial injury ruled him out for the second half of the Super Rugby season.
While the timeline of his injury always potentially saw him fit for the World Cup campaign, there was little recent form for Carter to show when the squad was picked in August.
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika showed the lock that he was clearly in the mix, though, bringing Carter in for Australia’s Test against the USA.
Carter impressed in the final 30 minutes of that Test and a loan deal with Bordeaux meant he was likely to be close to the first called up if injuries ultimately played a part in the Wallabies’ Cup campaign.
He will join camp this week ahead of the England game, along with hooker James Hanson.
Hanson has been plying his trade at the Queensland Reds and was one of his side’s most consistent in what was a difficult season for the side.
Over his time at the Reds, Hanson became somewhat of a cult figure and respected for his physicality on the field.
Until Sunday, the Wallabies had been blessed with an almost entirely clean bill of health, while their opponents dropped like flies.
Wales’ injury list is compounding by the day and England had to pull Skelton-like Billy Vunipola out of their squad, while injury clouds hang over a handful of others.
Hanson and Carter could barely have found a bigger week to come into the squad, with a baptism of fire coming their way as the Wallabies count down to what will effectively be a sudden-death pool match against England.
All the under the radar preparation the Wallabies have had is well and truly in the spotlight this week and the two newest additions to the squad will need to adapt quickly.
