Veteran Wallabies lock Nathan Sharpe is standing tall as the last of a dying breed.

Thursday's announcement of an injury-affected 30-man Test squad for the opening four Tests of the winter will include Sharpe's name but may serve as last rites for fellow Australian rugby stalwarts.

Former skipper Stirling Mortlock is already a goner due to injury, 33-year-old prop Al Baxter is all-but certain to be overlooked and breakdown warrior Phil Waugh is 50-50 at best.

And with George Smith announcing his international retirement this year, Sharpe should be the last player standing to have started in the 2003 World Cup final loss to England.

Mortlock, Baxter, Waugh and Smith all played in the extra-time 20-17 defeat at Sydney's Olympic stadium and remained Test regulars until last year.

Melbourne Rebels-bound Mortlock's star has faded but a worrying nerve problem in his back has taken a decision out of the selectors' hands.

Baxter has been unable to make a recovery of his own - from referees' perceptions he is a problem scrummager.

With 110-Test flanker Smith off the scene, as well as the other experienced hands, Waugh would feel he deserves to add to his tally of 79 caps after showing fine leadership for NSW in their Super 14 campaign.

But the Waratahs' 25-6 semi-final loss won't have helped his cause for a recall after coach Robbie Deans left him at home during last year's grand slam tour of the British Isles.

David Pocock is now Australia's stand-out No.7 while his Western Force teammate Matt Hodgson produced an outstanding Super 14, starring for the injury-hit Force at both openside and blindside flanker.

Deans showed his hand last year by picking Hodgson in his initial Wallabies team ahead of Waugh but the late-blooming 28-year-old suffered a bad shoulder injury in his debut against the Barbarians.

Sharpe, who has stormed back from shoulder injury of his own to be the first lock picked, said Hodgson sorely deserved to be rewarded with a Test cap after the disappointment of 2009.

"He carried a huge work load this year and epitomises a guy you want to play rugby with," the Force skipper told AAP. "He can play anywhere in the back-row and he's adapted himself to all the positions in the last five years.

"He's a pretty special player like that."

In spite of serious injuries to starting forwards Benn Robinson, Stephen Moore, James Horwill and Wycliff Palu, Sharpe said the competition for squad spots showed how much the playing depth had improved in recent seasons.

"There's a heap of choice for this 30-man Test squad and I don't think in the past we had that," he said.

"There's a lot more depth in terms of guys coming through."

The Super 14 injury toll has opened the door for the likes of young Queensland front-rowers Saia Faingaa, Ben Daley and Laurie Weeks to be rewarded for their efforts in the Reds' revival.

NSW hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau is carrying ankle and shoulder problems that require fixing and he may also get a break from duty, while star halfback Will Genia will miss at least the opening Test against Fiji on June 5 with a knee injury.

While the forwards make-up is unclear, the rest of the backline stocks look healthy and relatively clear cut.

Incumbents Quade Cooper, Matt Giteau, Digby Ioane, Drew Mitchell, Peter Hynes and Adam Ashley-Cooper are all certainties, along with Berrick Barnes, James O'Connor and Lachlan Turner.

Young NSW duo Rob Horne and Kurtley Beale were highly influential for the Waratahs' and also deserve places in the 30-man squad, which will be complemented by an extra 10 players for the two mid-week Barbarians games against England on June 8 and 15.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP