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Brumbies face injury trouble ahead of Super Rugby playoffs

Corey Toole of ACT Brumbies runs the ball during the Super Rugby match between the NSW Waratahs and ACT Brumbies at Allianz Stadium on February 24, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Pete Dovgan/Speed Media/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The ACT Brumbies could head to their biggest test of the Super Rugby Pacific without some key personnel after a pair of Wallaby hopefuls were injured in their win against Melbourne on Friday night.

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Winger Corey Toole left the 33-17 triumph at GIO Stadium with a lower-leg injury while lock Nick Frost limped his way through a nasty knee hyperextension.

Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham confirmed one of his players would likely miss next Saturday’s quarter-final against the Hurricanes, but wouldn’t reveal who that was or if there were any other injuries.

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But it is likely to be explosive winger Toole, who limped down the tunnel in the hands of a team physio after appearing to hurt his ankle while scoring a try in the first half.

He’s likely to join captain Allan Alaalatoa in missing the knockout game, the prop still dealing with an ankle complaint that could even see him miss the Wallabies next match in July.

Speaking in a post-match press conference, Larkham admitted there were some players in the wars throughout the fixture.

“I haven’t actually had the chance to get back into the sheds yet (but) a few guys came off the field in a bit of pain,” he said.

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“From everything I’ve heard so far, there might be one guy that might struggle for next week, but outside of that we should be good.”

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Frost was in the hands of the trainers clutching his knee for a number of minutes before returning to play, leaving on-lookers anxious he could further hurt himself and even shatter his World Cup dream.

Larkham said that thought hadn’t crossed his mind as the hulking lock continued to play, instead backing the advice of his physios.

“There was a bit of concern, particularly the way he was holding his knee, very concerned something serious had happened,” he said.

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“The physios got to him pretty quickly … and said we’re going to push through as everything structurally looks good there.

“(There was) a bit of pain there and he managed it well through the game to do the job.”

The Brumbies are certain to have veteran prop James Slipper back in the lineup after he missed Friday’s game due to the birth of his first child.

And five-eighth Noah Lolesio is also expected to play, sitting out the Rebels match with mild concussion symptoms.

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F
Flankly 2 hours ago
There remains a culture of excuses in Australian rugby

One team has exceeded expectations in this series and the other has not. Hats off to a Wallabies team in rebuild mode for a smile-inducing effort in the second test (especially the first half).


Completely agree that a top ranked team finds ways to defend a big half-time lead, and they did not quite pull it off. The fact that Piardi did not run the Head Contact Process in the 79th minute Tizzano/Morgan incident is worth discussion. However, Schmidt will be pointing out to the team that avoiding a defensive breakdown on your own 5m line at that point in the game is the thing in their control. Equally, clarification 3-2022 says you cannot jump or dive as a means of avoiding a tackle, as Sheehan admits to have done, but the question for Australia is why and how they were facing a tap-and-go 5m from their line (again).


Where I disagree with this article is the suggestion that Australia are caught in an excuse-making trap of poor performance. For me they are on a steep curve of improvement, and from what we have seen of Schmidt, there is little reason to assume that this will end now. Granted Australia lacks player depth, and that’s a real problem against big teams and in major campaigns. But the Lions are a pretty good team, probably ranking in the top five in the world, and the rebuilding Wallabies were seconds (and a couple of 50/50 ref calls) away from beating them at the MCG.


In the end, the Wallabies are building to a home RWC, and were expected to lose the Lions series on the way to that goal. Success looks like being seriously competitive in the series loss, with good learnings about what needs to be fixed. A series win would have been a fantastic bonus, and humiliation for the UK/Ireland team.


I expect the Wallabies to be very credible in the 2025 RC, to be much better in 2026, and to be a very challenging opponent for any team in the 2027 RWC.

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