Berrick Barnes is expected to be among a raft of changes Wallabies coach Robbie Deans will make to his starting line up to face England this weekend as the Australians look to get their European tour back on track.

Last time Adam Ashley-Cooper played a Test at Stade de France, he walked off the ground with a mouthful of stitches looking like he just got mugged.

One is currently playing for the Wallabies and has been a mainstay at the Western Force since 2010. The other is a former All Black who has been lured to the Perth-based franchise as their marquee international player.

A contrite Quade Cooper has apologised for behaviour that fell below Wallabies standards after being fined at least $40,000 and handed a suspended three-match ban on Monday for two breaches of the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) code of conduct.

The Wallabies must lift against Argentina. Tatafu Polota-Nau says they will be looking to their pride in the gold jumper.

A sickening finger injury to rookie winger Dom Shipperley may save playmaker Quade Cooper from being the latest Wallabies star to feel the axe.

Wallabies coach Robbie Deans is hoping Saturday night’s breakthrough win over South Africa will give his playmakers the confidence to stop being kick-happy for the remainder of the Rugby Championship.

The Wallabies must win at their Eden Park graveyard on Saturday if they’re to keep alive hopes of stopping a 10-year Bledisloe Cup dynasty for New Zealand after falling 27-19 in the Rugby Championship opener at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night.

English Premiership team Sale Sharks have thrown former Wallabies utility back Cameron Shepherd a lifeline after his proposed move to Northampton collapsed on medical grounds.

Wallabies halfback Will Genia says Quade Cooper is fit and ready to go, but believes Berrick Barnes has earned the right to retain five-eighth duties for Saturday’s Test against New Zealand.

Australia selectors will stick with the tried and trusted and infuse just a little new blood into their squad for the inaugural Rugby Championship.

The Queensland Reds snuck into the Super Rugby finals to keep their championship defence alive after the ACT Brumbies stumbled at final hurdle.

During the four-week Super Rugby break in June, instead of freshening up, the Brumbies started another pre-season.

Queensland centre Anthony Faingaa has declared the Reds the hungriest team in Super Rugby and stressed they won’t be satisfied merely making the playoffs.

Wallabies players have thrown their support behind a proposed Anzac tour of the northern hemisphere in 2015, to commemorate the centenary of Australian and New Zealand troops landing at Gallipoli.

Australian Rugby Union boss John O’Neill is floating the idea of either an ANZAC or SANZAR composite side playing the British and Irish Lions in 2015.

Kurtley Beale appears to have overcome the first hurdle but an internal disciplinary inquiry could still stand between him and selection for Australia’s second Test against Wales.

Wallabies coach Deans has selected his strongest available team, in his eyes, for Saturday night’s clash with Wales by making eight changes to the side humiliated 9-6 by Scotland on Tuesday night.

Scotland rugby coach Andy Robinson has hailed the Wallabies’ improvement in scrummaging, declaring it is no longer a weakness.