The ACT Brumbies will put Test ambitions on hold to chase Super Rugby success, declaring they won't be distracted by head-to-head Wallabies battles despite Australian coach Ewen McKenzie unveiling his squad on Wednesday.
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McKenzie will name a 32-man squad for the Rugby Championship just three days before the Brumbies' blockbuster clash against the NSW Waratahs at Allianz Stadium in Sydney on Saturday night.
Flying Fijian Henry Speight - the form winger of the competition - is set to be included, despite not being eligible to play for the Wallabies until September 11.
The bulk of the players that defeated France will be retained in the Test squad.
The Waratahs boast 13 Wallabies in their starting XV and two more on the bench, while the Brumbies will have 12 in their match-day squad for the Super Rugby semi-final.
The Test battle includes an all-Wallabies prop duel between Ben Alexander, Scott Sio, Sekope Kepu and Benn Robinson.
But Sio insists the fight for a gold jersey won't be a factor. "Not at all. It’s all about making sure that we get the result done," he said.
"For me, I can’t be worrying about things like that. I’ve got to make sure I get my job done first and foremost so the team functions well.''
The only two non-Wallabies in the Waratahs' starting XV are Jacques Potgieter, who has played three Tests for the Springboks, and winger Alofa Alofa.
The Waratahs have had an outstanding season, finishing on top of the ladder for the first time.
"You'd think we are [underdogs], they came first and we came fourth," Brumbies lock Scott Fardy said.
"They've been excellent this year. I think they've won eight in a row and they're at home - they're definitely favourites. We've got some errors we need to get right."
Sio and Fardy are NSW rejects. Sio was in the Waratahs Academy in 2011 and Fardy spent 2006 and 2007 trying to break into the NSW Super Rugby squad.
But they have made their Wallabies debuts since starting with the Brumbies on ARU-funded contracts two years ago.
Sio said the players had built a "brotherhood" in Canberra.
"Everyone has a different road to the final, you've got to suck it up and keep moving if you want to make it to next week," he said.
"We've built a brotherhood ... we've got experience. We understand what it takes to get there and the sacrifices you have to make. It's all hands on deck. We're really looking forward to it."
