Injury toll rises with Max Jorgensen ruled out of Waratahs’ clash with Blues
Wallabies hopeful Max Jorgensen has been ruled out of the Waratahs Round Four clash with the Blues at Allianz Stadium, with coach Darren Coleman having to make multiple forced changes.
According to a Waratahs statement, Jorgensen has “likely succumbed to a niggling hip injury.” Mark Nawaqanitawase will shift to fullback in the absence of the injured 19-year-old.
Jorgensen joins the likes of David Porecki and Lalakai Foketi on the sidelines, with the Waratahs’ injury toll extending to a mammoth nine players.
Hooker Mahe Vailanu, who has been quite impressive in Porecki’s absence, has also been ruled out due to concussion and won’t return until next week at the earliest.
Julian Heaven has been named to debut in Super Rugby Pacific in the No. 2 jumper, while reserve hooker Jay Fonokalafi received a call-up from Coleman while working on a building site midweek.
In some good news, Dylan Pietsch has been named to start on the wing after recovering from an eye injury, and Lachlan Swinton is line for his first minutes this season after being named on the bench.
The Waratahs will be desperate to bounce back in Round Four after losing a heartbreaking thriller at home against the visiting Highlanders last time out.
Playmaker Tane Edmed missed a kick after the siren which would’ve seen the Tahs beat two New Zealand teams on the bounce – they defeated the Crusaders in Super Round.
“It was awesome to be back at Allianz last week and hopefully we can build on that crowd this Saturday,” wing Triston Reilly said.
“The support of our fans has such a big impact on us as players and you could really feel their support as the game went down to the wire against the Highlanders.”
The Waratahs take on the Blues at 7:35 pm AEDT at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium on Saturday evening.
Waratahs team to take on Blues
- Hayden Thompson-Stringer
- Julian Heaven
- Harry Johnson-Holmes
- Jed Holloway
- Fergus Lee-Warner
- Ned Hanigan
- Charlie Gamble
- Langi Gleeson
- Jake Gordon (c)
- Tane Edmed
- Dylan Pietsch
- Joey Walton
- Izaia Perese
- Triston Reilly
- Mark Nawaqanitawase
Reserves
- Jay Fonokalafi
- Angus Bell
- Tom Roos
- Miles Amatosero
- Hugh Sinclair
- Lachlan Swinton
- Jack Grant
- Harry Wilson
Players unavailable for selection: David Porecki (Achilles), Thomas Lambert (knee), Archer Holz (shoulder), Mesu Kunavula (knee), Lalakai Foketi (neck)< Max Jorgensen (hip_, Mahe Vailanu (concussion), Daniel Botha (concussion and neck), Theo Fourie (concussion)
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Brumbies are looking good and if they keep their home form up a final is not beyond the realms of possibility. They showed against the Hurricanes exactly how clinical they can be as they absorbed pressure in that contest while also scoring points and applying their own pressure. Reds are well placed as well but need to find consistency. They are building a longer term project with a young side and plenty of quality players. Been surprising to see the strength of Aussie sides this year after the debacle of the world cup. Have NZ sides gotten weaker? Have Aussie sides gotten stronger? A bit of both I would say. Whatever the case its good to see some actual competition between NZ and Aus sides again and thats exactly what the fans wanted and is probably driving better viewership numbers. All of this can only be healthy for Aus and Super Rugby and I hope the Brumbies go all the way.
Go to commentsDead time reductions are important as is ball in play time increases. Premiership leads the way in terms of ball in play and Northern refereeing standards around the breakdown has sped up the game significantly. Super Rugby is trying new things but its not leading the way in terms of making gains in reducing dead time and ball in play time. Northern administrators are also not against speeding up the game, on the contrary they want a faster game and have been trying things and are embracing increasing the speed of rugby. Super Rugby isnt providing a blueprint for anything, its just part the agreed upon blueprint that administrators across the world are moving to.
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