Recently retired Wallabies prop James Slipper is in line to make a shock return to the gold jersey amid a front-row injury crisis, less than a year after he farewelled the group for what was to be the final time. And in a stunning development, a record fifth Rugby World Cup is now a real possibility for Australia's most-capped rugby player.
After hanging up his international jersey to much fanfare at the end of the Rugby Championship in Perth last year, Slipper has this week been involved with the Wallabies training camp in Sydney, putting his hand up to play in the opening three Nations Championship clashes in July, with the potential to continue through to the end of the year and into next.
Speaking to media at camp on Tuesday, the 151-Test veteran said his return to the Wallabies setup "genuinely felt like I was at my first day of school again", while he wouldn't rule out postponing his retirement through to next year and a potential fifth World Cup. If Slipper was to run out at next year's tournament, he would be the first Australian player to make five World Cups and could potentially become the most capped player in rugby history, overtaking Wales great Alun Wyn Jones' 170.
"At this stage, just for the July series and then, a few things again working out behind the scenes," Slipper said when asked of his availability through 2026 and into 2027.
"I want to keep playing next year and that's still to be set in stone down at the Brumbies, so at this stage, I can guarantee I'm available for the first three games and then potentially throughout the year if needed. But that's probably where it's gotten to at this stage.
"It hasn't really been in the pipeline for too long yet, so we're just kind of crossing that path when we get there.
"If there's a reason for me to be available for the World Cup, then I'll put my hand up, but a couple of things need to happen there. I need to earn that. I need to be playing well, and I've got to be a better option than other loosies in the country at the time.
"There's no stage in my thinking I'm going to be a certainty for the World Cup because, you've got to be playing well, you've got to be picked, but yeah, if I'm still playing for the Brumbies, and the team needs me, I'll put my hand up for the World Cup."
The most-capped Wallaby in Australian rugby history revealed he'd been speaking with outgoing coach Joe Schmidt throughout the season, with discussions quickly turning to his potential return after several loosehead props went down through the season, with Brumbies prop Blake Schoupp the latest to be ruled out.
The Brumbies confirmed on Tuesday that Schouup would be out of the game for four-to-six months after suffering a Lisfranc injury in the side's quarterfinal loss to the Hurricanes, ruling him out of the upcoming Nations Championship, the Bledisloe Cup and Tests against Argentina and Japan.
Meanwhile, leading prop Angus Bell only recently returned from an ankle injury, Western Force's Tom Robertson has battled a niggling calf injury through the year, and the Waratahs' Tom Lambert has fought a knee injury. It left Schmidt looking to wider squad members Isaac Kailea, Aiden Ross -- who also recently returned -- and now Slipper.
"It's been a bit of an interesting one because I obviously retired last year, but I think just how the year's kind of panned out, there's been a few injuries on that loosehead side throughout the year.
"Obviously, we've lost Schouppy and Robbo's [Tom Robertson] under a bit of an injury cloud, so I talked to Joe [Schmidt] a fair bit, I wouldn't say weekly, but maybe fortnightly and he just asked me to come in and have another go.
"We actually speak quite a fair bit, it's not always about rugby, he's a good man and I call him a friend, so it probably wasn't until Belly [Angus Bell] went down throughout the year that he probably just sought out my interest in coming back. Then we just stayed in contact for the rest of the year.
"It wasn't necessarily from the first phone call like 'I'm definitely coming back' it was more like to and fro, and just making sure that, one, I was playing good rugby for the Brumbies and then, two, like it's always a team-first approach so if I was needed then I'd give it another go."
With just over a year until the Wallabies open the World Cup against Hong Kong China in Perth, the side remains in a state of flux with outgoing coach Schmidt set to handover the group to Les Kiss at the end of the first leg of the Nations Championship in July. It remains a delicate situation for both the coaching group and the playing group with little time to ensure cohesion and momentum.
According to Slipper, getting the start to the Test season right and building momentum into next year is very important to producing a good performance at the global showpiece.
"Starting the year off right and these three Tests could be really influential in terms of the momentum and building.
"I do think combinations and momentum is important. Building into a World Cup, you want to be playing your best rugby at the World Cup, and I've been in plenty of World Cups now that we had that and we didn't have that, and the differences between the results in the World Cup were staggering. I guess the more the team can play together leading into a World Cup, the better it'll be in the World Cup.
"That didn't really influence my decision [though], like mine's kind of come around just the circumstances of this year and as I said at the start, like I'm happy with the way I'm playing and contributing.
"To get given an opportunity to come in here and help out, yeah, I'll put my hand up."
If Slipper was to continue onto next year and a fifth World Cup, he'd enter the pantheon of rugby greats such as All Blacks hooker Dane Coles and South Africa's Victor Matfield and Schalk Brits playing at a World Cup in their late 30s. He wouldn't be the oldest prop to play at a World Cup, however, with Canada's Rod Snow (37 years and 149 days old) pipping Slipper by just 33 days if he was to play in the Wallabies' opener.
"Well, it all comes down to performance, doesn't it? Age is really irrelevant at a World Cup, you look at the South Africans, they got plenty of thirty-five-year-olds plus," Slipper said.
"Sometimes experience gets overlooked here in Australia, and I think, one, it's important, but two, you still got to earn your spot. Just because you're an old bloke doesn't mean you just get the luxury of being in the squad or being in the team. At the end of the day, it's performance-based and you've got to perform."
There was plenty for the recently turned 37-year-old to consider, more than just if his body could hold up to the task. There were plenty of discussions with his wife and family camping trips that had to be sidelined, while the thought of returning after the celebration he received following his final game against the All Blacks last year weighed heavily on his mind.
"It did a little bit," Slipper said. "I don't like being the centre of attention most of the time so the thought of making everyone go through that and then it's a bit of a waste is a bit... sits uneasy with me a little bit.
"But if I do come back and manage to play another game, I don't want another send-off like that. I feel like I've had my one go, and players only deserve one."
The Wallabies open the inaugural Nations Championship against Ireland in front of a sold-out Allianz Stadium in Sydney before they take on France in Brisbane and Italy in Perth. All three nations defeated the Wallabies in consecutive Tests to end their 2026 northern tour from hell.
The group lost four consecutive Tests to end their season and returned home as the worst Australian touring group to Europe in 67 years.
Each of those nations will provide a stern test in July, but Slipper believes it's the perfect practice ahead of next year's World Cup.
"I think the first three games are going to be tough in their own. Obviously, Ireland and France are well known as really good teams and you can't underestimate Italy, they've got the wood on us lately and seeing what they did in the scrum to us, to the Irish and to the Pommies [England] over the last Six Nations was pretty impressive, so they're going to be a really tough outfit.
"Obviously, with the new competition this year, the Nations Championship, it's really important that you start well, and that's another little competition that we can have, a little precursor before the World Cup, because you know what, at the World Cup, you got to do seven games straight, like you got to win, and you're going to come across some really good teams in that World Cup, so you get a kind of trial run at it this year."