The 25-year-old had been one of the form front-rowers in Super Rugby Pacific and a key part of the Waratahs' resurgence before suffering a grade-three tear to the medial ligament in his right knee in May.

He and loosehead Angus Bell helped transform the Tahs scrum into a rock and he has also made an impact around the park.

The flamed-haired tighthead was sidelined for six weeks and made it back for the Waratahs' quarter-final loss to the Chiefs last month.

Underdone, the Wanderers junior missed out on Dave Rennie's Wallabies squad to take on England.

Instead, he gets the chance to regain match fitness and impress against Samoa, Tonga and Fiji.

Johnson-Holmes was part of a 40-man national train-on squad that attended a three-day training camp on the Gold Coast in April last month. His sole Test was against South Africa in 2019.

Australia A is comprised of nine players each from the Waratahs and Reds, six from the Western Force, three Brumbies and two Rebels.

Waratahs assistant coach Jason Gilmore will coach the side.

"The team has a good combination of experienced and young players and I think the team will get a lot out of the tournament in Fiji," Gilmore said in a statement. The group will assemble on Sunday 26 June in Sydney before travelling to Fiji for their first game on July 2 against Samoa in Suva.

They meet Fiji on July 9 in Lautoka, before completing their tournament against Tonga seven days later.

Meanwhile, Former Argentina captain Pablo Matera has been cleared to play for the Crusaders against the Blues in the Super Rugby Pacific final on Saturday after a judicial panel ruled the four yellow cards he has received this season showed "no pattern of concern."

Matera appeared before the SANZAAR panel on Tuesday night after receiving two yellow cards in the semi-final with the Chiefs.

The first yellow in the 20th minute was for team offending after the Crusaders conceded a series of penalties in defence. His second yellow in the 32nd minute was converted to a red by Australian referee Nic Berry and came when his shoulder contacted the head of Chiefs fly-half Bryn Gatland in a standing tackle.

The judicial panel found there were exceptional circumstances which meant no penalty against Matera was warranted.

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