SAINT-ETIENNE, France - The Wallabies insist skipper Will Skelton is still a chance play Fiji in the Rugby World Cup encounter on Sunday, despite lock Matt Philip taking his place in the team photograph on Saturday.
Assistant coach Dan Palmer told gathered media that Skelton had been receiving treatment while the Wallabies conducted their captain's run, and that the towering lock would be given right up until kick-off at the Stade Geoffrey Guichard to prove his fitness.
"We're giving Will as much time as possible to get ready for the game," Palmer said. "So he's in treatment, he's working with the physios at the moment, we'll give him to the last moment to be ready.
Pushed on whether Skelton was really a chance of playing, Palmer added: "Absolutely.
"There's no mind games, we're just giving him as long as possible to get ready, he's an important part of our team, and we're prepared to do it."
Quizzed on why Philip had then been part of the team photograph if he was not yet confirmed in the team, Palmer again reinforced that Skelton was still a chance of playing.
"He might play, and he might not," Palmer said of Philip. "So if he doesn't we're confident that MP can step up and do a job for us, he's a world-class lock, so he'll be Will's replacement if Will's not ready."
Palmer did however confirm that if Skelton is ruled out, then hooker Dave Porecki would captain the Wallabies in the lock's absence. That would make Porecki Australia's sixth different captain of 2023.
When Eddie Jones first returned as coach earlier in the year he declared the Wallabies could need as many as five captains in the run to the World Cup, the statement appearing more prophetic as the year goes on.
News that Skelton had pulled up lame late at training on Thursday afternoon was revealed on Friday morning, the lock sent for scans Palmer said had revealed only "minor" damage.
After losing powerhouse prop Taniela Tupou earlier the week, Skelton's potential omission means the Wallabies could be without their two chief forward ball-carriers. While Skelton didn't make huge metres against Georgia last week, he repeatedly put his hand up for the tough carries, doing exactly what coach Eddie Jones had wanted when he unveiled the La Rochelle lock as captain in a surprising move before the World Cup.
Tupou, meanwhile, was superb against Georgia, dominating at scrum time and proving just as impactful around the paddock. The tighthead prop helped lay on the first of Ben Donaldson's second-half tries with a timely intercept that helped kill of a Georgian counterattack and broke the back of their second-half riposte.
Without both Skelton and Tupou, the Wallabies will have to turn to prop Angus Bell, lock Richie Arnold and No. 8 Rob Valetini for their go-forward up front. Richie Arnold will be promoted to the run-on side if Skelton is scratched, with Matt Philip set to be added to the bench.
Veteran prop James Slipper will meanwhile become just the third Australian to play at four World Cups when he runs out on Sunday, following in the footsteps of George Gregan and Adam Ashley-Cooper.
Fiji, meanwhile, ran for an incredible 655 metres in their 32-26 loss to Wales, when only a late Semi Radradra knock-on cost them a chance to snatch victory in the dying moments. Australia won't want to match Wales' record-equalling night in defence, which even further demonstrates the need for the Wallabies ball-carriers to step up in the absence of Tupou and potentially Skelton.
"It's got to be shared between all the players out there, especially in the forward pack," Slipper said of the ball-carrying responsibilities.
"The two players under a question mark now - well obviously Nela's out but hopefully Willy's gets across the line - they're big carriers, they're big figures in our team, not only in defence but especially in attack, so we're going to have to share the workload. I'm not sure I can cover like Nela, but I will give it a go."