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ACT Brumbies back-rower Jone Tawake will find out on Friday if he will join the Wallabies World Cup squad when it goes into training next week.
The Wallabies coaching staff is set to name a shadow squad on Friday, which will train with the team in the lead-up to September's World Cup in France.
Tawake, who played No8 this year with Australia A, is likely to be included in case David Lyons, who has a blood clot in his calf, or Wycliff Palu, who is struggling to overcome a shoulder injury, fail to be fully fit before the competition starts.
Brumbies coach Laurie Fisher did not weigh into Tawake's role in the World Cup but said opportunities may arise for players outside the initial 30-man squad, named on Monday night, should injury or lack of game time take its toll.
"There are a couple of doubts in the back-row with Wycliff Palu and David Lyons, and a couple of guys who need to play some time in the rugby championships, like Greg Holmes, who haven't had a lot of rugby, and Sam Cordingley has played one or two games of football all year," Fisher said.
"So those guys need some rugby under their belt if they're going to be called on under the pump in France."
Matt Cockbain, 34, is also on stand-by for the squad and can't quite believe he's in line to end what has become a part-time playing career with a third Rugby World Cup.
But Cockbain, plucked out of club rugby, is adamant he can justify coach John Connolly's left-field decision to put the 63-Test forward on stand-by four years after he last played for Australia.
The turnabout comes after he impressed for GPS in two Brisbane club finals, which Connolly attended to watch World Cup selections Greg Holmes and Chris Latham.
A surprised Cockbain admitted he didn't know what to make of Connolly's call at first.
"He put me on the spot a bit. I was a bit shocked and he said to have a bit of a think about it," he said.
"At this stage I think I've got to go for it. It's your country and if he thinks by watching me play that I can do what's required then I can give him more of that, that's for sure."
Coincidentally, Cockbain's last Test was in the 2003 World Cup final loss to England when he came off the bench for the last 40 minutes.
He started in the 1999 World Cup final defeat of France, along with current halves George Gregan and Stephen Larkham.
The former Queensland blindside flanker spent two seasons in Japan for World Corp before a possible return to the Reds in 2006 was prevented by red tape.
Cockbain was keen to return this year but Reds coach Eddie Jones preferred him as a lineout coach rather than a lineout jumper.
"It's one for the old blokes. If I was to go I would be the oldest player in the Wallabies squad for the past two World Cups," Cockbain said.
Cockbain is six months older than Gregan and will turn 35 three days before the Wallabies' third pool game against Fiji on September 22.
Reds lock James Horwill is also on stand-by while flanker Rocky Elsom is an option to move back to No8, which would allow Hugh McMeniman to play flanker and open up the possibility of Cockbain touring.
Meanwhile, Fisher was happy to see 10 Brumbies players in the squad to travel to France, but felt prop Nic Henderson was not given a chance to stake his claim for a place in the touring party.
"I was disappointed that Nic Henderson hasn't been given a chance throughout the domestic Test season," he said.
"He was as good as any loose-head in the rest of the Australian sides and I think he deserved an opportunity and it's probably disappointing from his perspective, apart from that everything else seems fairly reasonable."