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Cooper, Higginbotham miss out on Wallabies selection
By Dejan Kalinic
Quade Cooper and Scott Higginbotham were left out of the Wallabies' train-on squad as coach Michael Cheika included 11 uncapped players.
Cooper, 29, and Higginbotham, 30, missed out on selection in a 38-man squad for intensive camps ahead of the Bledisloe Cup opener against New Zealand.
A veteran of 70 Tests, Cooper featured against Italy last month, while Higginbotham played against Scotland.
Kurtley Beale, 28, was included in an Australia squad for the first time since the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
There are 11 uncapped players, with Sef Fa'agase, Adam Korczyk, Izack Rodda, Jordan Uelese, Campbell Magnay, Billy Meakes and Curtis Rona in a Wallabies squad for the first time.
"We have a lot of work to get done between now and August 19 when we play New Zealand in Sydney," Cheika said.
"That work started in June, we tried to maintain some of that throughout the last rounds of Super Rugby and now we start to take it up a level.
"We want all of these guys to be very clear on what the trademarks are of the Wallabies game and then be equipped and ready to deliver it when asked to enter the arena for Australia, whether it’s for five minutes or the whole 80 minutes of every Test this season.
"That is what our objective will be over the next couple of weeks and I can’t wait to get stuck into it."
No Brumbies players were included in the squad due to their participation in the Super Rugby finals.
Australia: Jermaine Ainsley, Kurtley Beale, Adam Coleman, Pek Cowan, Jack Dempsey, Kane Douglas, Sef Fa'agase, Tetera Faulkner, Israel Folau, Bernard Foley, Will Genia, Ned Hanigan, Richard Hardwick, Dane Haylett-Petty, Reece Hodge, Michael Hooper, Karmichael Hunt, Sekope Kepu, Samu Kerevi, Adam Korczyk, Marika Koroibete, Tolu Latu, Campbell Magnay, Sean McMahon, Billy Meakes, Stephen Moore, Eto Nabuli, Sefa Naivalu, Izaia Perese, Nick Phipps, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Tom Robertson, Izack Rodda, Curtis Rona, Rob Simmons, Lopeti Timani, Taniela Tupou, Jordan Uelese.
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Latest Comments
Were you shocked by Sexton trying to rip Barrett's head off when he scored that final try in that return game?
Sexton once again the beneficiary of incredible double standards. Some of the rules simply didn't apply to him. The referee even watched that replay about 5 times in slow motion to see if he grounded the ball. If an NZ player had made that tackle it would have been a yellow card.
Ireland led by Sexton were the biggest bunch of whingers to ever play the game. NZ's dislike of Ireland was not caused by losing to them, it was caused by the Irish players, commentators and media being such giant crybabies.
I genuinely think Ireland are the best team in the world, and I think they will beat the ABs on Friday, but they are by some distance the team I like the least, and I know many people, not just from NZ, who feel the same.
Go to commentsThanks for the analysis Nick, thought provoking as usual. Couple of queries though, in the pic where you've circled Williams bind , I'm pretty sure it shows Stuart's knee on the ground, surely that's a NZ penalty? Also having had the chance to watch it again the All Black scrum seeems to improve after halftime, but before either England or the All Blacks replace their props. Not sure if that was the result of Tuipolutu coming on or some halftime tips. Either way this is only Williams second international season, so he'll be better for the experience.
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