The Australian rugby team will pay tribute to Signaller Sean McCarthy, the New Zealand-born, Australian soldier killed in Afghanistan, at its Tri-Nations match in Perth this weekend.
Former defence chief General Peter Cosgrove, now a board member of the Australian Rugby Union (ARU), said Signaller McCarthy's death had touched the rugby community.
"As members of the rugby family, we also recognise we have lost one of our own," he said in a statement.
"Sean was an avid supporter of the game." General Cosgrove said Signaller McCarthy would be remembered as Australia began its Tri-Nations campaign against South Africa in Perth on Saturday night.
"It will be a special moment when this international match kicks off in the city where he was based before his deployment."
Signaller McCarthy, a member of the SAS since January 2007, died on patrol in southern Afghanistan on July 8 when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near his vehicle.
A ramp ceremony and guard of honour greeted the arrival of the 25-year-old soldier's casket in Brisbane yesterday.
A funeral is expected to be held on Friday on the Gold Coast, where his family has lived after leaving New Zealand.
