Powell is expected to skip the Wallabies' crucial two-Test tour of South Africa and Argentina to instead play for the Canberra Vikings in the National Rugby Championship for the next three weeks.

The 24-year-old has struggled to force his way into coach Michael Cheika's regular rotation, playing just four of the past 20 Tests despite being included in every national squad since June last year.

He was picked to play against South Africa two weeks ago, but Cheika opted to keep Will Genia on the field for the entire match while Powell sat on the bench for 80 minutes.

So instead of taking him around the world on a two-week international jaunt, Wallabies coaches are understood to have cleared the path for Powell to finally get some game time.

He will likely join the Canberra Vikings for their clash against the NSW Country Eagles in Armidale on Sunday, with the Wallabies to fly to South Africa on Saturday.

Powell would then also be available for games against the Melbourne Rising and Fijian Drua before the Wallabies return.

The idea of cutting Powell from the Wallabies squad is to give the four-Test No. 9 the best chance of impressing Cheika before the last Bledisloe Cup match and the spring tour of Europe.

Powell has played just 46 minutes of international rugby in his four Tests and has been used sparingly with Cheika opting for Genia and Nick Phipps as the main combination.

The game-time versus international training debate was an awkward dilemma for Powell.

Staying with the Wallabies meant watching his ACT Brumbies scrumhalf rivals and other fringe Wallabies getting crucial game time in the NRC to press their claims for Super Rugby and Test call ups.

But leaving the Wallabies to play in the NRC would clear the way for the next in line to join the Test squad and potentially leap over him.

In the end the coaches made the decision for him and have said playing is more important than travelling 32,000 kilometres to be a full-time trainer.

Powell has played just four and a half games in the past three months and can use his time with the Vikings to fire a message to Wallabies selectors about a Test recall.

He is expected to be one of a host of changes to the Vikings team when coach Nick Scrivener unveils a new-look line-up for the game against the Eagles.

The decision to release Powell comes as the Wallabies face a massive task of restoring their dented international reputation.

The Wallabies have slipped to seventh in the world rankings. It's their lowest ranking since the World Rugby system was introduced 15 years ago.

The Wallabies are hoping back-rower Pete Samu will be cleared of a knee injury after he was sent to have scans in Canberra earlier this week.

Every Test and training opportunity is crucial for the Wallabies from now on, with Thursday marking one year until the start of the World Cup in Japan next year.

Former Wallabies skipper and Brumbies legend Stirling Mortlock is urging Australian fans not to panic, despite a disastrous loss to Argentina last weekend.

"They've still got time. You've only got to look at the last World Cup. 'Cheik' only had the team for less than 12 months," Mortlock said.

"So it can be done. It's more a case of what's happening now and the systemic issues that are creating the poor results of late.

"That's probably more the question: What specifically do they need to do better to consistently turns these defeats around?

"A lot of them are quite narrow, barring the ones against New Zealand."

NRC ROUND FOUR

Sunday: NSW Country Eagles v Canberra Vikings at Armidale, 1pm.