1
Wallabies dealt another back-row blow
By Online Editors
The Wallabies have suffered another blow to their back row, losing Pete Samu for the next month after he hyper-extended his knee last weekend.
Samu is expected to be left out of the Wallabies squad for games against South Africa and Argentina, leaving Michael Cheika with a tough hole to fill.
Lukhan Tui may also be absent. It is unclear when the 22-year-old will next play for the Wallabies after declaring a desire to spend time with family following a post-match altercation in the stands.
Samu had scans on his knee in Canberra this week and it is hoped he will return in time for Australia's third Bledisloe Cup Test.
Without Samu and Tui, Cheika faces a forward-pack reshuffle. David Pocock and Michael Hooper are both expected to be fit, while Ned Hanigan and Caleb Timu shape as the next men up.
It's possible that Samu could make his return playing for the Canberra Vikings in the National Rugby Championship before the third Bledisloe Test on October 27.
Wallabies midfielder Tevita Kuridrani is also hoping to recover from a torn pectoral fast enough to take part in the End of Year tour.
Injuries to Kuridrani and young Reds star Samu Kerevi left Australia without two of their starting midfielders, but both could return for the final Bledisloe Test.
In other news:
Trending on RugbyPass
2
Shock contender emerges Wales head coach job
3
France change two for Ireland but stick with 7-1 bench tactic
4
Avoid a deal with Kalyn Ponga
5
Latest Comments
You’ve got to look forward to next weekend more than anything too.
They really use this sorta system? Much smaller pool of bonus points available, that would mean they have far less impact. Interestingly you must be withen winning range/chance in France’s Top 14 league, rather that just draw territory, so 6 points instead of 7. Fairly arbitrary and pointless (something the NRL would do to try and look cool), but kinda cool.
I said it Nick’s and other articles, I’m not sure about the fixed nature of matchups in these opening rounds. For instance, I would be interested in seeing an improved ranking/prediction/reflection ladder to what we had last year, were some author here game so rejigged list of teams purely based of ‘who had played who’ so far in the competition. It was designed to analyze the ladder and better predict what the real order would be after the full round robin had completed. It needed some improvement, like factoring in historical data as well, as it was a bit skiwif, but it is the sort of thing that would give a better depiction of what sort of contests weve had so far, because just using my intuition, the matchups have been very ‘level appropriate’ so far, and were jet to get the other end of the spectrum, season ranked bottom sides v top sides etc.
Go to commentsAs a former rugby player, I spent 20 years as a specialist tackling coach in the AFL, SANFL, and Southern Football League. During this time, I was fortunate to be part of teams winning seven premierships. I believe there is a valuable place for cross-code coaching in these sports. I made many lifelong friends and enjoyed sharing knowledge and skills from different sporting backgrounds, which is encouraged at many elite levels.
Go to comments