Wallabies duo Matt Philip and Rob Leota are using Saturday's clash with Argentina as the perfect audition for the World Cup after their extended layoffs on the sidelines.
Philip and Leota return to the Wallabies squad via the bench as Eddie Jones freshens up his squad after last week's defeat.
Read the Official Wallabies v Argentina Test Program here!
The pair missed the majority of the 2023 season with injuries suffered towards the end of the 2022 domestic Test season.
Philip damaged his knee mere hours before the team were set to fly to Europe for the Spring Tour, eventually returning for the final rounds of Super Rugby Pacific with the Rebels.
"It's been a tough seven months or something now but a lot of hard work into it and I'm feeling really confident in my body," he told reporters.
"(I've) got to put that nostalgia a little bit behind me and do a job this weekend. I can't dwell on it too much.
"I think it is a pretty fast turnaround...you probably heard the story all the stories before about ACL rehabs and they're not pretty, they can get a little dark. I had a lot of help from psychologists and people around the Melbourne Rebels to help me deal with that and get me back to where I am today. So it's definitely been a group effort."
As for Leota, Saturday will mark the first game back since rupturing his Achilles during last year's Bledisloe Test in New Zealand.
The back-rower was named captain of the Rebels at the start of 2023, however, failed to make it back in time, conceding he had thought he'd missed his chance to impress new coach Eddie Jones.
However, Jones has shown faith in the energetic backrower, with Leota eager to repay it.
"It's awesome to be back," he said.
"To be honest, yeah, I thought (I'd missed the opportunity) but something I can't control and all I could control was doing the best job possible to come out of rehab in the best shape I could.
"There were chats that (with Eddie) but that's stuff I can't control. The only thing I could control was getting my body right, being able to team train again so I'm fortunate enough to actually be back in the mix now.
"So I'm just really grateful for the journey that I've been on during rehab and just again happy to be back in the mix."
