Will Genia is set to return earlier than expected from a thumb injury with the incumbent Wallabies scrum-half announcing on Monday that he hoped to be available for selection when the Aussies kick off their Tri Nations campaign against South Africa at Suncorp Stadium on the July 24.
Genia is one of eight first-choice Wallabies on the injured list, and the Queensland Reds star is understandably feeling frustrated after breaking his thumb in the first ten minutes against England on his return from a knee-injury.
But while others amongst the wounded Wallabies are working their way through lengthy rehab stints, a better than expected prognosis has Genia hoping to make a surprise early return – if chosen.
"(My hand is) a lot better than expected. At this stage it’s a realistic goal to be fit to play in the opening Tri Nations game, here at Suncorp Stadium."
"I’m very excited and the best thing about it is I can still train and do gym, so I’ll be as fit and strong as I can be when I come back."
"It’s very frustrating.. the worst thing was I hurt it fairly early on, so it was hard to get right into the game (against England)."
"I can look forward to getting this right and getting back on the pitch," he said.
Suncorp Stadium has been a happy hunting ground for the Wallabies, and particularly Will Genia, who will be desperate to return to the ground where he got his first start for Australia in a win over the Springboks last year.
"Playing any Test match is a special moment, but my first Test match in Brisbane against the Springboks, is one of the proudest occasions of my career so far."
"We played really well as a team to upset the South Africans. It’s a night I’ll never forget," Genia said.
The Wallabies hold a faultless 7-0 record against the Springboks in matches held in Brisbane, but judging by recent performances that streak will be under serious threat in the upcoming encounter.
While the South Africans have looked sharp in 2010, Australia has fallen to fourth in international rankings and lacked any cohesion in their most recent victory, 22-15, over Ireland on Saturday.
While the Australian side has copped flak for their faltering efforts of late, Wallabies great Tim Horan is one man who believes the Australians are capable of making the huge lift needed to compete with the powerful South African outfit and throughout the Tri Nations.
"You can see that we’ve got talented players over the park that can do things individually, it’s just collectively trying to get that together."
"(But) It’ll happen and the Wallabies tend to lift for certain games."
"When we play against South Africa we’ve seen the lift, we play against New Zealand we lift, but when we play against Italy we beat them by 10 points – it’s just the way it is – it’s just the way it is."
"It’ll be a different Wallabies team in four weeks here," said Horan.