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Returning Melbourne Rebels fullback Dane Haylett-Petty insists a Wallabies Test fullback berth isn't playing on his mind.
Dane Haylett-Petty says playing fullback for the Wallabies hasn't entered his mind as he sets about mending a Melbourne Rebels Super Rugby campaign fraying around the edges.
Fit-again Haylett-Petty gets a chance on Saturday to push for a Test No.15 jersey which looks set to become vacant in World Cup year unless Israel Folau can pull off victory in his employment dispute with Rugby Australia and somehow regain the faith of Wallabies selectors.
An encounter with the second-placed Hurricanes in Wellington will test the mettle of a Rebels team who lost two on the trot heading into last week's bye yet remain top of the Australian Conference.
With fifth-placed Melbourne's record dipping to 5-4, Haylett-Petty simply wants to make a difference at Super Rugby level after being sidelined since March 17 with a toe problem.
While Kurtley Beale and Tom Banks are the only other realistic Wallabies fullback options, the Rebels custodian didn't want to contemplate his international prospects or even what might happen when Folau fronts a RA code of conduct hearing on Saturday.
"Obviously there's a lot still to go there. That's quite a big issue and they'll sort that out," he said.
"For me, my focus has been trying to get back to fitness and back on the field so I can do what I love."
Haylett-Petty said the last-start 23-20 loss to the Waratahs was proving to be a motivating force this week.
His teammates had acknowledged they didn't match the desire of their nearest Australian rivals and didn't feel good about it.
"I felt like the Tahs were a bit more resilient. It was a bit of a scrappy game and they probably hung in there that little bit longer," he said.
"We were in control for a long period and kind of let that one slip. We get a chance to fix that this week."
They'll need to defy recent history to upset a Hurricanes team coming off a rampaging 47-19 win over the Chiefs.
The Kiwi outfit has won their last six meetings by an average margin of 33 points, having clocked up 195 points in the last four clashes alone.
Along with Haylett-Petty, several other Wallabies contenders will want to make a statement.
Quade Cooper marks All Blacks five-eighth Beauden Barrett while Rebels loose forwards Isi Naisarani and Luke Jones will need to match the physicality of a muscular home pack led by the in-form Ardie Savea.
