Deans hopeful about Pocock return

Updated November 24, 2012 20:55:20

Robbie Deans remains hopeful of getting champion flanker David Pocock on the paddock for the final game of the Wallabies' European tour against Wales in Cardiff next weekend.

Pocock has been struggling with a calf strain which has delayed his long-awaited comeback.

The number seven was expected to return in the second Test of the tour against England at Twickenham but suffered a setback training in Paris the week before.

Deans says it's so far so good for Pocock, who hasn't played since he suffered knee ligament damage in the Wallabies' opening Bledisloe Cup match with New Zealand in August. "He's been running this week and hopefully he'll be available to us next week," Deans said.

"We're just being precautionary and I guess we've got the luxury of being able to do that.

"We've got Hoops (Michael Hooper) and Gilly (Liam Gill) and they're both fully fit and so we see no reason to push David."

The Wallabies coach suspects if they didn't have so much cover in the No.7 spot Pocock could have played in the third game of the tour against Italy.

"I suspect if pressed he could have played this week, yes, but if he's not 100 (per cent) you won't see him in Cardiff," he said.

Being so close to making his return and having a late setback has been tough on the ultra-competitive Pocock but Deans said the flanker has handled himself with distinction and put the team first on the tour.

"It's not an easy role to play for him. Generally when he's been fit he's played but he's been great around the group and has been helping a lot with our preparation," Deans said.

In Pocock's absence, Michael Hooper has been outstanding with the New South Wales Waratahs recruit picking up the man-of-the-match award in Australia's 20-14 win over England.

Meanwhile the Wallabies have been busily mounting a case for reserve lock Rob Simmons, whose appeal against the extraordinary eight-week ban he copped for a lifting tackle against France will be heard in Bristol on Tuesday.

AAP

Tags: sport, rugby-union, wales, australia

First posted November 24, 2012 14:03:42

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Reds upset about underdog status

By Luke Pentony

Updated July 7, 2011 17:37:00

Queensland coach Ewen McKenzie says it is "disappointing" the Reds are not considered favourites in the Super Rugby final against the Crusaders.

The Reds, who will take an unchanged squad of 22 into the final at Lang Park, set the pace throughout the regular season, compiling a 13-3 record from their 16 matches to clinch the minor premiership.

Among their victories was a 17-16 triumph over the Crusaders at Lang Park in late May, while they progressed to the final with a solid 30-13 result against the Blues at home last Saturday night.

However, it is the Crusaders who bookmakers have installed as favourites to claim what would be an eighth Super Rugby title.

This is despite the fact the Christchurch-based franchise had to make the trip to Brisbane from Cape Town, where they beat the Stormers 29-10 in the second semi-final last Sunday morning (AEST).

This was the latest trek in what has been an entire season on the road for the Crusaders, who have been unable to play at their traditional home ground of Lancaster Park as a result of the earthquake that hit Christchurch in February.

It is customary in the lead-up to any season decider that rival coaches will vie for the right for their side to be labelled the underdogs, so as to avoid any added expectation.

But McKenzie has bucked the trend, as he feels the Reds have shown they deserve favouritism based on their performances this season.

"We're not favourites for this game, which I find disappointing," he said.

"We don't want to be the underdog going into a final. People talk about that, people want to grab the underdog status.

"We don't want to be the underdog, we would love to go into the game being the favourite. Bookmakers see it the other way and it's disappointing to us."

The Reds have been considered a 'Cinderella' story in some quarters, due to the fact that only two seasons ago they finished second last on the ladder following what was their seventh straight losing season.

It was after 2009 that McKenzie replaced Phil Mooney as head coach and in his maiden campaign last year he lifted the Reds to fifth position with an 8-5 record.

Talk that the Reds are enjoying a fairytale run ignores the hard work McKenzie put into building a player roster with depth, in addition to how well he has adapted his game plan to nullify the strengths of his opponents.

This was evident throughout the season, most notably when they beat the previously undefeated Stormers 19-6 in Cape Town in April.

McKenzie's desire for the Reds to be favourites has much to do with his troops being afforded the respect they deserve.

"For me it's a search for credibility," he said. "We've come a long way."

'Creative' genius

The journey the Reds have taken under McKenzie is perhaps best mirrored in the playing fortunes of star fly half Quade Cooper, who has enjoyed career-best form under the tutelage of the former Wallabies prop.

Cooper had often displayed flashes of brilliance when Eddie Jones and Mooney were in charge at Ballymore, but he struggled for consistency until last season.

McKenzie has refused to take any credit for Cooper becoming arguably the number one fly half in the world, saying the 23-year-old is best left to his own devices.

"I don't spend anytime telling Quade no," he said.

"We talk abut scenarios and options and decisions - saying no to creative people is not a very profitable way to coach, I figure."

Meanwhile, the Crusaders will take an unchanged line-up into Saturday's final, with half-back Andy Ellis passing a fitness test after sustaining knee and shoulder complaints against the Stormers.

Reserve forward Luke Romano has been cleared to play, despite being quarantined in South Africa with chicken pox.

Reds: Jono Lance, Rod Davies, Anthony Faingaa, Ben Tapuai, Digby Ioane, Quade Cooper, Will Genia, Radike Samo, Beau Robinson, Scott Higginbotham, James Horwill (c), Rob Simmons, Greg Holmes, Saia Faingaa, Ben Daley

Reserves: James Hanson, Guy Shepherdson, Adam Wallace-Harrison, Jake Schatz, Liam Gill, Ian Prior, Will Chambers

Crusaders: Tom Marshall, Sean Maitland, Robbie Fruean, Sonny Bill Williams, Zac Guildford, Dan Carter, Andy Ellis, Kieran Read, Richie McCaw (c), George Whitelock, Sam Whitelock, Brad Thorn, Owen Franks, Corey Flynn, Wyatt Crockett

Reserves: Quentin MacDonald, Ben Franks, Luke Romano, Matt Todd, Kahn Fotuali'i, Matt Berquist, Ryan Crotty

Tags: sport, rugby-union, super-14, qld, brisbane-4000, new-zealand

First posted July 7, 2011 09:43:00

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Waugh coy about his future

Updated June 10, 2011 15:46:00

Inspirational New South Wales captain Phil Waugh is refusing to say whether or not Saturday night will be his Sydney Football Stadium swansong.

The veteran flanker will make his eagerly-awaited Super Rugby comeback from a hamstring injury against the Highlanders in what will be the 31-year's 125th appearance in the sky blue jumper.

After a stop-start season battling injury after injury, Waugh is starting to field the inevitable questions about his playing future.

"I suppose the time will come where my future does need to be decided," Waugh said.

"But at the moment I'm just excited about getting back out on the field, getting some good game time and playing well.

"To be honest, I haven't thought too far down the road.

"It's been about getting back out there on the field and getting out there and performing and leading the guys well."

Waugh last year spurned big-money offers to finish his career offshore to recommit to the Waratahs, and coach Chris Hickey will not be rushing the 79-Test warrior into any further decisions.

"Those discussions are ongoing at this stage," Hickey said.

"Phil's always said he's going to assess his future as the season goes on, see what his body's telling him and he's earned the right to take his time in making that decision through what he's contributed to the club."

Hickey is happy enough, for now, just to have his experienced skipper back to help the Waratahs' finals push.

"It's not just his performances in the number seven that you value. That leadership in tight games like these count for a lot," Hickey said.

"Having strong leadership out on the field, making good decisions can be an important element in winning."

Waugh is only likely to play the first half against the Highlanders.

"These type of hamstring injuries can be vulnerable when fatigue sets in," Hickey said.

"We have to be careful."

- AAP

Tags: sport, rugby-union, super-14, sydney-2000

First posted June 10, 2011 15:39:00

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20 Things You Never Knew About Rugby

Rugby and football were essentially the same game until 1863. The split occurred when attempts were made to formalise the rules of football, whereupon the Blackheath club quit the new Football Association, wishing to protect players' right to kick one another on the shins.
Initially, the game of rugby was played by teams comprising 20 players.
Rugby is the oldest international team sport, with the first rugby test predating both the first cricket and football tests.
The International Rugby Board was created as the result of a disputed try, in a match between England and Scotland.
The 1895 split between rugby league and rugby union occurred along both class and geographic lines. Clubs in the working class North embraced a professional game, while the wealthier clubs in the South adhered to the ethic of amateur rugby.
The United States is the reigning Olympic rugby gold medallist, having won the last rugby event played at the Olympics, in 1924.
Japan boasts the largest playing pool of any rugby-playing nation, with 125,000 registered players.
Pope John Paul II played rugby for the Polish national team.
The first Gilbert rugby ball was manufactured in the late 1700s by William Gilbert, a cobbler whose business was positioned next to the Rugby school at which the modern game was first played.
The shape of the modern rugby ball is derived from the use of inflated pigs bladders, which were used during the early years of the game.
During the early days of the game only a single point was awarded for a try. A drop goal, however, earned 3 points.
The first test between Western Samoa and Fiji was played at 7am in the morning, on a pitch with a large tree growing in its centre.
The South African rugby team didn't lose a single test series between 1896 and 1956.
World War One had a significant impact on the game of rugby. 133 international players were killed in battles, which resulted in the development of the sport being set back by decades, and also gave football the opportunity to become the most popular game in the United Kingdom.
If Germany had not occupied France during World War Two, rugby league would have been the dominant convention in that country. During the Nazi occupation all the assets of the massive French Rugby League were handed over to the French Rugby Union, and for decades after the war rugby league clubs were not permitted to describe their game as 'rugby'.
The grave of William Webb Ellis, the man credited with inventing rugby, was only located in 1959.
Stellenbosch Rugby Club in South Africa is the largest rugby club in the world with over 7,000 registered players.
Rugby Union is an extremely popular spectator sport in Georgia and Madagascar.
Since turning professional, the popularity of rugby has soared around the globe, with the 2007 Rugby World Cup attracting a cumulative audience of 4 billion. The sport is currently considered the second most popular on the planet, the first being football.
Rugby union is gaining in popularity more rapidly than any other sport in the United States, and the country already boasts a player pool larger than any of the Celtic teams participating in the Six Nations Championship.


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Fiji Rugby Union board concerned about player sanctions

Last Updated: Tue, 24 May 2011 16:32:00 +1000

The Fiji Rugby Union has called on the International Rugby Board to relocate the Sevens World Series away from Australia and New Zealand.

The Fiji Rubgy Union (FRU) board has written to the world rugby body, voicing Fiji's concern about sanctions being placed on players with connections to the Fiji Military Force.

The FRU says the national side's performance in London over the weekend showed that when Fiji Rugby is able to select players on merit, they perform well.

Australia and New Zealand imposed heavy travel sanctions on Fiji following the coup in which Commodore Frank Bainimarama seized power in 2006.

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Cooper coy about tempting code switch

Published:Thursday, May 19, 2011 7:20 AESTExpires:Wednesday, August 17, 2011 7:20 AEST

Rugby union star Quade Cooper has signed a one-year contract with the Queensland Reds but will not rule out a possible move to the NRL.

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Tags: nrl, rugby-union, australia, qld

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