Michael Cheika has planned the holiday camp from hell for his Wallaby aspirants as the Australians begin to tread a torturous path towards the Rugby Championship and on to the World Cup.
On Sunday, head coach Cheika and his 40-man squad will settle into the idyllic surrounds of Caloundra on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. They will spend a week by the beach in the winter sun before moving back to Brisbane to finalise preparations for the Springbok Test on July 18.
It won't resemble a vacation. Cheika plans to pit his players in direct and rugged competition as he tries to whittle down a squad that has raised just as many questions as answers after it was announced on Thursday afternoon.
Among those missing out were winger James O'Connor, Liam Gill and props Ben Alexander and Benn Robinson. Notable inclusions were the French-based Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell, Reds centre Samu Kerevi and Reds prop Greg Holmes, whose effective scrummaging has resulted in him returning to the fold for the first time since 2007.
But Cheika concedes he has decisions to make throughout the scrum, at nine, 10 and 12 and in holes in the outside backs. Nothing is set in stone and, outside of the automatic picks such as Israel Folau, jerseys are there for the taking.
Not only will Cheika embrace some internal competition but he wants a hard edge on the Wallabies from the moment they set foot on the field at Suncorp Stadium in a fortnight. He has stressed the Rugby Championship won't be used as an extravagant warm-up exercise for the big show in the UK later this year.
"Across the park ... back row is difficult," Cheika said. "Playmakers, there's an abundance. It's not an easy option. There is a lot of them. That whole 9-10-12 section is going to be an interesting battle. The running backs as well, guys playing out wide.
"And then ... we've got three tight fives. We've specifically taken three tight fives to the camp. There's three sets of props, three sets of locks and we're going to go hard at it at set piece up there and see who comes out the best.
"That competition will get us in the right frame of mind for what we're going to come up against with South Africa, who bring a big, nasty pack.
"That's rugby, isn't it? It's about getting stuck into it and competing with your mates. And once that decision has been made, to join together and compete against the opposition."
Exclusion from this first batch of Wallabies doesn't equate to exclusion from the final 31-man World Cup squad, Cheika stressed. Players such as O'Connor, who has been omitted because of fitness and niggling injury issues, remain in the mix for the two Bledisloe Cup Tests in Sydney and Auckland and the World Cup after that.
The squad picked on Thursday will take Cheika through Tests against South Africa and Argentina in Mendoza before he returns to the drawing board to re-select a group he believes can help return the elusive BledisloeCup, which was last in Australian hands when Ansett was still flying (2002).
Quade Cooper remained a strong chance to play against the Springboks and Cheika said his shoulder was mending well and he had run strongly with the ball during sessions earlier this week. Outside of that, Cooper's future remained unclear.
"I think he's in real good shape," Cheika said. "His mates will tell you a bit more but to me, he's looking really happy, he wants to be involved. He's really into it and he's been giving a lot of input into how the team is going to look, along with his fellow playmakers."
Wallaby great George Smith wasn't named in the 40-man squad but Cheika hinted there could be a role for the 111-cap veteran. He said he had a contingency plan that could include the 34-year-old, who played with Lyon in the French T14.
"I've spoken with George," Cheika said. "I've got a pretty clear role in how he might fit in here. We're obviously blessed with sevens. A squad without Liam Gill was very difficult.
"George has played a lot of eight this year over in Lyon. I think he's comfortable with the role I might want him to fill if necessary. I'll speak to him further. He's returning to England soon. We'll be keeping in touch."
Cheika said Dean Mumm's experience in England helped him over the line and said Karmichael Hunt's exclusion had nothing to do with his involvement in fresh drugs revelations engulfing his former side the Gold Coast Suns.
And if Cheika wanted his players talking the talk early, he needed to look no further than Will Genia, who was his typically bullish self when he suggested there was no reason the Wallabies couldn't win another World Cup.
"One hundred per cent," Genia said. "I feel like we're in a good place, we're building well, we've got talented players and we've got the right people in place."
BACKS: Adam Ashley-Cooper, Kurtley Beale, Quade Cooper, Israel Folau, Bernard Foley, Will Genia, Matt Giteau, Rob Horne, Samu Kerevi, Tevita Kuridrani, Christian Lealiifano, Drew Mitchell, Taqele Naiyaravoro, Nick Phipps, Henry Speight, Matt Toomua, Joe Tomane, Nic White.
FORWARDS: David Pocock, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Scott Sio, Rob Simmons, Will Skelton, James Slipper, Toby Smith, Wyclif Palu, Ben McCalman, Sean McMahon, Dean Mumm, Stephen Moore, Sekope Kepu, Rory Arnold, Dave Dennis, James Hanson, Scott Fardy, Tetera Faulkner, James Horwill, Scott Higginbotham, Greg Holmes, Michael Hooper.
