SYDNEY (AP) — Veteran prop James Slipper says he is planning a comeback to international rugby and has made himself available for the Wallabies’ three Nations Championship matches in July, and possibly next year’s World Cup in Australia.

The 37-year-old Slipper, who is Australia’s most-capped international player with 151 test appearances, played Super Rugby for the ACT Brumbies this season and has signed on for 2027. In March, he became the most-capped Super Rugby player after his 203rd match in the southern hemisphere tournament. He played 104 games for the Queensland Reds from 2010 to 2018 before joining the Canberra-based Brumbies.

“At this stage, yeah, just for the July series and then there’s a few things again working out behind the scenes, like I want to keep playing next year,” Slipper told media in Sydney on Wednesday.

Slipper indicated he felt he wasn’t quite done at test level when he announced his international retirement last October.

“But I probably surprised myself a little bit with how well I played this year,” Slipper said. “I know I probably wasn’t the best prop running around, but I still felt like I was moving well, so it was just a matter of the circumstances of the year led me to this position.”

Injuries to frontrowers

Injuries to fellow loosehead props Tom Robertson, Tom Lambert and Blake Schoupp left Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt short of frontrowers, so the call went out to Slipper.

If he plays all three tests in July against Ireland, France and Italy, Slipper would surpass All Blacks lock Sam Whitelock as rugby’s second most-capped player with 153.

Retired lock Alun Wyn Jones holds the record at 170 tests — 158 for Wales and 12 for the British and Irish Lions.

If he makes it to next year’s global tournament, it would be Slipper’s fifth Rugby World Cup, highlighted by a run to the final in 2015.

“If there’s a reason for me to be available for the World Cup, then I’ll put my hand up,” he said. “I want to make myself probably playing the best rugby I can for the Brumbies . . . but a couple of things need to happen there.

“I need to earn that. I need to be playing well. I’ve got to be a better option than other looseheads in the country at the time. So at no stage am I sitting here thinking I’m going to be a certainty for the World Cup.”

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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby