Report: Injury-plagued Wallabies star Jordan Petaia in doubt for Bledisloe Cup opener
Injury-plagued Wallabies youngster Jordan Petaia is reportedly in doubt for the opening match of the Bledisloe Cup in Wellington next month.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the 20-year-old Queensland Reds utility back sustained a grade two hip flexor injury during his side's 28-23 Super Rugby AU grand final loss to the Brumbies in Canberra on Saturday.
The Herald reports that the three-test youngster picked up the injury while assisting teammate and fellow Wallabies prospect Harry Wilson's try with a flick pass offload.
It is believed Petaia will be assessed by Wallabies staff on Monday, but if the initial prognosis is confirmed, then he will be hit with a sideline spell of between three and six weeks.
That would rule him out of the Bledisloe Cup opener at Sky Stadium on October 11 at the bare minimum in what would be the most recent of an unfortunate string of injury blows in his brief professional career.
Touted as one of the most promising young players on the planet, Petaia has already suffered serious shoulder and Lisfranc injuries, limiting his appearances for the Reds to just a handful of games since his Super Rugby debut two years ago.
Despite having missed almost the entire Super Rugby campaign last year, the then-19-year-old was included as the only uncapped member of Michael Cheika's 2019 World Cup squad in an acknowledgement of his prodigious talent.
The Herald report says it is believed that Petaia is believed to be the first-choice Wallabies centre, but this latest injury may force a backline re-shuffle from new head coach Dave Rennie.
Petaia's Reds teammate Hunter Paisami may be among those to come into consideration for the Bledisloe Cup opener, with the uncapped 22-year-old impressing for Queensland this season.
Fellow Queenslander James O'Connor may also come into the reckoning, as could Brumbies midfielder Irae Simone.
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Spot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in timeā¦ he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
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