This Wednesday the secret was out.
New Wallabies coach Robbie Deans had opted for Smith with the New South Wales Waratahs captain Phil Waugh covering the back three scrum positions on the bench.
It was a brave call by the New Zealander who admitted this week that there is a degree of anxiety in his camp as they face an Irish side that is determined not to leave the southern hemisphere shores without a victory to their credit. Deans brings in four new players at this level with Luke Burgess (scrum half) and Peter Hynes (right wing) starting and Ryan Cross and Dean Mumm on the bench.
According to the Australian coach all four deserve their call-ups on the back of good performances in the Super 14: "We said, when we selected our initial squad, that we saw all of the players as being ready to go, and our selection of four new caps today follows through on that philosophy," Dean said this Wednesday.
"We've been impressed with the attitude and the enthusiasm that all of the players have brought into camp. It wasn't an easy side to pick."
It will be interesting to see how Wallabies' new scrum-half Burgess fares against the recalled Peter Stringer. The 24-year-old has been impressive all season with his club, New South Wales Waratahs who reached this season's Super 14 final and Burgess played a role in 12 of his side's 14 games.

Two changes
Ireland coach Michael Bradley has made just two changes from the side that lost 21-11 to New Zealand in Wellington last Saturday. With Luke Fitzgerald and Alan Quinlan again ruled out with injuries, his options have been limited and starting roles for Rory Best in place of Jerry Flannery and Peter Stringer for Eoin Reddan are unlikely to dramatically improve Ireland's performance.
The Shannon and Munster scrum-half has been out of favour with the national side since World Cup 2007 and he now gets his chance to prove that he is still worthy of the number one spot on the national side. Stringer will be winning his 84th cap, extending his record as the most capped Ireland scrum-half of all time.

Steady improvement
Ireland have been showing steady improvement on visits to the Tri-Nations countries.
On three occasions (Dunedin 2002, Hamilton and Auckland in 2006), Ireland have threatened first ever defeats of the All Blacks but after 21 attempts that win has still eluded them.
Their record against Australia is much better, winning the last meeting between the sides in Dublin in 2006, 21-6, but the Wallabies still hold an eight test lead winning 18 of the 26 meetings between the two countries. Only six of Saturday's Australian were involved in Lansdowne Road two seasons ago.
Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll admitted after last Saturday's defeat that Ireland are still unable to put teams away at crucial periods of the game: "As much as we fought to the death (against the All Blacks), it's hugely disappointing to come so close again, but we don't seem to be able to finish these games," O'Driscoll conceded.
"In a game like that, one line break is the difference.
"We were three points down at that stage (before Nonu's try) so conceding a seven-pointer essentially killed the game off."

Resisted temptation
Australia have resisted the temptation for major change in their line-up with Stirling Mortlock of the ACT Brumbies skippering the side in the centre, Lote Tuqiri of the Brumbies on the left wing and Matt Giteau of Western Force at out-half.
According to the Wallabies coach Robbie Deans, Saturday night is a new beginning for his side: "It's an opportunity we're all looking forward too," Deans said.
"As they showed in Wellington last weekend, the Irish can be a difficult opponent to play against and they have historically troubled Australia.
"They're an experienced unit with some world class players in the likes of Brian O'Driscoll and Paul O'Connell, who are up there with the best individuals in the game."
With next Saturday's test being played under a closed roof at the Telstra Dome, Ireland will have a better chance to play a more fluent style of game. Their pack had a solid 60 minutes in Wellington and are certainly capable of getting the better of the Wallabies.
It was their lineout that cause most problems against the All Blacks and unless they can sort that out they will struggle at this crucial set-piece.
Rob Kearney was outstanding last Saturday. His left boot is something that Ireland has been sorely lacking in recent seasons and his ability to return the ball deep into opposition territory from defensive positions is a ploy that has proven to be successful in recent games.

Five star performance
This is a game that demands five star performances from Ireland's key players like O'Gara and O'Driscoll.
The Irish captain has been only a shadow of his 2000 form over the past few seasons and he needs a big game on Saturday to regenerate confidence.
O'Gara had a good game under difficult conditions in Wellington and the Telstra Dome will be better suited to his style of play.
A better performance is also expected from Shane Horgan who appears to be off the pace a the moment.
Paddy Wallace crowned his first start for Ireland in the centre last Saturday with a first half try against the All Blacks in Wellington. Now the Ulster player is keen for more action: "There are a lot of incentives going into this next game.
"There's a new coach taking over in the next few months and guys are going to be wanting to put their hand up for that," Wallace admitted.
"There is certainly a carrot to aim for next week in Melbourne and it will not be any trouble for us to get up for that game."


Ireland: Rob Kearney; Shane Horgan, Brian O'Driscoll, Paddy Wallace, Tommy Bowe; Ronan O'Gara, Peter Stringer; Marcus Horan, Rory Best, John Hayes; Donncha O'Callaghan, Paul O'Connell; Denis Leamy, David Wallace, Jamie Heaslip. Replacements: Jerry Flannery, Tony Buckley, Mick O'Driscoll, Shane Jennings, Eoin Reddan, Geordan Murphy, Girvan Dempsey.

Australia: Cameron Shepherd; Peter Hynes, Stirling Mortlock, captain; Berrick Barnes, Lote Tuqiri; Matt Giteau, Luke Burgess; Benn Robinson, Stephen Moore, Matt Dunning; James Horwill, Nathan Sharpe, Rocky Elsom, George Smith. Replacements: Adam Freier, Al Baxter, Dean Mumm, Phil Waugh, Sam Cordingley, Ryan Cross, Adam Ashley-Cooper.

The game kicks-off at 11.05am Irish time and is live on Sky Sports.