1
Genia's replacement brought in for Wallabies must-win Test with Ireland
By Rob Lancaster
Australia have called up Jake Gordon as a replacement for fellow scrum-half Will Genia, who will be out of action for six weeks with a fractured arm.
Genia underwent surgery on Sunday after suffering the injury during the second Test against Ireland in Melbourne on Saturday, a match the tourists won 26-21 to level the three-match series.
His absence is not only a blow for the Wallabies ahead of a decider in Sydney but also the Melbourne Rebels, with the 30-year-old now likely to sit out the remainder of the Super Rugby season.
Gordon has flown back from Japan - where he had played in an exhibition match for the Waratahs - to join up with the squad.
The 24-year old is yet to earn his first Test cap, after his initial squad call-up a year ago during the 2017 June Series.
Head coach Michael Cheika is expected to promote Nick Phipps to the number nine shirt in Genia's absence.
Trending on RugbyPass
2
Jake White: Ireland, Australia and Wales have the same problem
3
David Campese names his Springbok world player of the year winner
4
Let's be real about these All Blacks
5
Latest Comments
There is nothing particularly significant about Ireland in this regard compared to other Tier 1 nations. To look at 'strategy' for illegal play its best to see what teams push boundaries with new laws. SA have milked two tries at ruck block downs. The strategy is to charge the first few before the ball is out at about 4 seconds but pull out and put up hands in reigned apology. The referees usually allow the scum half to clear without awarding a penalty in this scenario. The problem with that being that the scrumhalf is now taking over 5 seconds through no fault of his own. Having achieved a few slow balls > 5s , the SA forward can now pick a scrum to charge dead on 5s. Now if the scrum half waits, he will concede a penalty, as we saw against Scotland. With the new rule in place, any early charge should result in an immediate penalty.
SA also got an offside block against England which was pivotal again after a couple of 'apologetic' offside aborted charges forcing England to clear slowly.
Go to commentsYep, you're not the sharpest tool in the shed are you?
Go to comments