The Wallabies lineout was worryingly shown up in the recent Bledisloe Cup series against the All Blacks.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But second-rower Rob Simmons is confident it can still prove to be a weapon at the World Cup.
After missing the two Bledisloe Cup Tests due to a fractured scaphoid which required surgery, Simmons hopes to return to the Wallabies side for its Test against the USA Eagles at Soldier Field, Chicago, on September 5.
Simmons has not played since the Wallabies' Rugby Championship win against Argentina in Mendoza on July 25.
"I've been making a quick recovery and hopefully I'll be back soon," said Simmons after training on Sunday.
Despite his injury, Simmons, 26, has been able to continue specific contact work while also maintaining his conditioning since his operation.
"There is nothing that can emulate a proper tackle," said Simmons who has been putting himself through conditioning drills with pad work on his uninjured side.
Simmons was sorely missed against the All Blacks though, as he is the Wallabies' lineout caller and key jumper.
The lineout had been working reasonably well until the two All Blacks Tests when fellow Queenslander, James Horwill, started in Simmons' place and they lost several of their own throws.
But Simmons, named as one of four locks in the World Cup squad on Friday, said the lineout issues were not due to Horwill, who along with Brumbies half-back Nic White, was a big omission from the World Cup squad.
"We went about it the right way. The calls and things like that were definitely all correct," Simmons said.
"There were just little things within our own team, of our drill and little cues and stuff we gave away.
"That's why a coupe of those balls got pinched."
Simmons also credited the All Blacks for exposing the Wallabies' lineout issues, and said: "The All Blacks are always going to be more difficult at that stage of the game.
"They defend a different way to most teams and they are very good at it.
"They would be one of the best defensive teams in the world. It's always going to be a harder test."
But Simmons believes the lessons learned from the All Blacks Tests will ensure the Wallabies sharpen up that area.
"I will be doing everything I can to make sure we improve in that," Simmons said.
"It's a weapon … our whole set-piece. That's what we are aiming for at lineout and on the back of that our maul and scrum.
"That is how we are trying to improve - especially as a forward pack - in that area; and to put the perception out there and make it reality … that this is what we are serious about.
"That is just the start. Before the backs do anything with the ball, you've got to win it first and make it dominant."
Simmons also dismissed the notion that being the lineout general would be made more difficult if, or when, Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has his two "shorties" - flankers in Michael Hooper and David Pocock - playing at the same time.
"That's my job. I've got to try and look at those things and see what the best way to run the lineout is," said Simmons.
"Sometimes it [the best way] is to actually use them which might surprise a few people, but it also surprises the defence ... mainly because I suppose defences probably think they are not going to jump. Then you throw it to them and it's a ball won."
