Australia's Bledisloe Cup preparation suffered a serious stumble last night when Wallabies captain Stirling Mortlock was forced out of Saturday night's Sydney Test because of a head knock.
Ryan Cross is set to be named today for his starting debut in the Wallabies' biggest Test of the year and the flanker George Smith will assume the captaincy after the inspirational skipper Mortlock failed to recover sufficiently from concussion sustained in last Saturday's Tri-Nations defeat of the Springboks in Perth.
Mortlock sparked Australia's memorable, drought-breaking win over the All Blacks in Melbourne last year and his absence is a major blow for the Wallabies, who can shoot to the top of the Tri-Nations table with a repeat victory.
New Australia coach Robbie Deans names his side this afternoon (12:30 Sydney time/14:30 NZT) with Cross expected to play at centre.
Cross has been in superb touch all season including making Western Force Player of the Year in the Super 14 then bagging a try-scoring double after coming off the bench against France in Sydney three weeks ago.
With Cross set for promotion, fellow rugby league convert Timana Tahu is also likely to be elevated from Australia's 30-man Tri-Nations squad into the Wallabies' match-day 22.
