Former All Blacks coach Ian Foster has signed on as part of the staff for the historic Australia-New Zealand Invitational team that will face the British & Irish Lions in Adelaide -- and the Rugby World Cup runner-up already has some big names on his wish list.
Rugby Australia [RA] on Thursday announced Foster was on the staff "but not necessarily the head coach" of the AU/NZ outfit, while the governing body also confirmed the final nine-game schedule, with an Indigenous-Pasifika XV replacing the Melbourne Rebels for what is the final non-Test game of the tour.
That team may prove the final farewell to Australian rugby for veteran Kurtley Beale, while players from Super Rugby Pacific franchises Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika will also be widely considered.
But it was Foster's addition to the AU/NZ team that stole the headlines, with the Kiwi saying he wasted little time in accepting the offer to come onboard.
"It's a great opportunity, it's a Lions series, they're iconic, they're special, and this is a new innovation from Rugby Australia to bring this team in and to have a chance to be involved in it was awesome," Foster told reporters from Japan.
"So I was delighted to say yes to Ben [Whitaker] pretty quickly and bumped into [Wallabies coach] Joe [Schmidt] recently and had a good yarn to him too about the role of this game and his bigger program. So great to feel connected in that space."
The Adelaide Oval clash will serve as the Lions' final warm-up game for the first Test a week later in Brisbane, and also afford Schmidt the opportunity to see some of his wider Wallabies squad members -- or players on the periphery of it -- in action against world-class opposition.
While Foster was yet to be briefed on how RA wanted the AU/NZ squad split between Australia and New Zealand, his personal connections with multiple former All Blacks who now ply their trade in Japan - where Foster coaches -- suggests there could be some World Cup winners in the matchday 23.
"Yeah, I have [got a wish list]. I don't want to share it too early because, I mean, clearly this is a Rugby Australia selected team of which I will obviously help from this part of the world and from the New Zealand perspective," Foster said.
"But it's getting, it's making sure that it's experienced enough and strong enough to be really competitive. It's not a festival game. It's a chance to put on a, I guess, a new jersey that no one's worn before and to play in a, like I said, a very, very special series.
"I was involved in the 2017 Lions series. I know how big they are and how special they are. And there's no such thing as a dud game. So there'll be a lot of players that want to be involved. But I think there's a number of experienced [players].
"When you look at the New Zealand-based players in Japan you've got the likes of Aaron Smith, Richie Mo'unga, those type of guys that would be really, really good targets for this sort of game. And hopefully, we can work through things like that."
There is, of course, the issue of Japan-based players getting permission from their respective clubs; it is likely that RA will take out an insurance policy to cover the contract of any player who suffered an injury in the fixture.
Just who Foster might have available from an Australian perspective remains to be seen, but given the fact that Schmidt handed out no fewer than 19 Test debuts in 2024, it is likely that there will be at least a handful of Aussies who have had international experience in the AU/NZ squad.
It could also be used as a reward for those players who may miss out on the main Wallabies squad and offer Schmidt one final look at their 2025 Test credentials.
"I had initial talks to Joe. And in this case, you know, whatever they want, we'll do. And I anticipate that, you've got a whole Super Rugby campaign to go, so there'll be potential injuries, potential changes to squads, all sorts of stuff," Foster added of a potential Australian contingent.
"But I imagine that the Wallabies will, when they pick their squad, that they'll keep that squad together. Yeah, I imagine that because they'll have a lot of work to do.
"They've got three Tests to get ready for, three big ones in a row. So I'm anticipating this is more guys on the fringe of their wider squad. And in some ways, I reckon that's a really exciting thing to do because it opens a door maybe to some younger players, gives them a big occasion."
There is one alltime Wallabies great, whom Foster knows first-hand, that he admits he'd love to have in the squad come July.
"Well, I can't say too much because they might be in the Wallabies, you see, so I really don't know. [But] there's a young kid in Nagoya called Michael Hooper who's going pretty good at the moment; I wouldn't mind seeing him back having a bit of a sniff," Foster said of former Wallabies captain Hooper, whom he now coaches at Toyota Verblitz. "I haven't told him that yet either by the way, this will be a surprise to him."
"But I think you've got a number of young guys. You've got a lot of guys with a bit of speed on the wings, which is smaller rugby players but really elusive, really skilful, so you'll know the names, whether they're in the Wallabies or whether they've got a chance in this team.
"I think you've got some really fast, athletic, loose forwards coming through, like [Charlie] Cale at the Brumbies, for example, those sorts of people, whether they're in the Wallabies or whatever.
"We'll wait and see. I'll wait and see who Rugby Australia deliver, but certainly I'll be keen on having a conversation on that close to the time."