By Nick Mulvenney
SYDNEY, July 9 (Reuters) - Australia's bid to bring lock Kane Douglas back from Ireland and into test reckoning this week reflects a deeply held concern Down Under that the Wallabies could be shunted out of the World Cup by the English and Welsh packs later this year.
The 2.02 metre-tall, 120-kg forward was a key member of the New South Wales Waratahs team that won the Super Rugby title last year under Michael Cheika, who has since taken over as Wallabies coach.
Douglas joined Leinster after that triumph but the Irish province revealed this week that they had received a formal request from the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) to release the 26-year-old for international duty.
With Sam Carter injured and James Horwill a shadow of the player who led Australia at the World Cup in 2011, Australia's stock of locks big enough to handle the pressure coming through the tighthead side of the scrum looks thin.
Given that England and Wales will fancy their chances of destroying the Wallabies front row in pool matches at the World Cup, Cheika will be out to get as much grunt into his front five as possible with plenty of extra muscle in reserve on the bench.
The colossal Will Skelton has improved his scrum work this season and Rob Simmons will always be valuable for his lineout leadership, but the other locks in the 41-strong training squad are Dean Mumm and the uncapped Rory Arnold.
Mumm played the last of his 33 tests back in 2012 and offers similar options to Dave Dennis, who prefers to play at blindside flanker but can move to lock and call the lineout if necessary.
Douglas showed at the Waratahs last year, however, that he belongs nowhere but among the big men of the second row and can be relied upon to shore up his side of the scrum, throw his body into ruck after ruck and carry the ball across the gainline.
With only 14 tests under his belt, however, he falls well short of the 60 caps that Australia set as the minimum requirement for overseas-based players to continue to represent their country in a groundbreaking decision early this year.
While most of the focus that day was on the potential return of Matt Giteau, Drew Mitchell and George Smith, ARU chief Bill Pulver also announced that players returning from abroad and signing up with a Super Rugby team would also be eligible.
CHEIKA HOPEFUL
Reports earlier this year said the Waratahs were keen to bring Douglas back to Australia, while the Queensland Reds are also in the market for a replacement for Harlequins-bound Horwill.
Leinster, however, have made it clear that they expect Douglas back to see out the last two years of his contract after his Australia duties are complete.
If that is the case, the cash-strapped ARU would either have to break their own new eligibility rules or help fund a buyout of his contract in Ireland.
Cheika, who led Leinster to a Heinken Cup triumph in 2009, knows what the rules are and was therefore diplomatically cautious when asked about Douglas's potential return this week.
"I'm hearing there's some noise he wants to come home," he told Fairfax media at the Wallabies training camp in Queensland.
"If he is coming back to Australia to play and signs with an Australian Super Rugby team, of course we'd be interested in providing a top-up.
"But I think he's still in contract in Europe."
There is still time to resolve the issue as Douglas had back surgery in April and is still on the road to recovery, although Cheika would clearly want him back in a gold shirt as soon as possible.
"Time is of the essence," Cheika added. "It's not like we can wait a couple of weeks and say 'come back when you feel like it'. But if he was fit and able, he'd be considered." (Editing by John O'Brien)