Barnes tips battle to regain Test spot

Updated November 01, 2012 14:29:01

Wallabies stalwart Berrick Barnes believes he might have to battle his way back into the team off the bench on the coming European tour.

Utility back Barnes started a personal-best 11 straight Tests before a punctured lung suffered against South Africa in late September put him out of Australia's last two games.

Unfortunately for 46-Test veteran Barnes, Australia produced two of its better performances of a patchy season in those matches.

The Wallabies won 25-19 against Argentina in Rosario and drew 18-18 with world champions New Zealand in Brisbane, ending the All Blacks' 16-match winning streak.

In both Tests, coach Robbie Deans opted for Kurtley Beale at five-eighth, Pat McCabe at inside centre and Mike Harris at full-back - in the three positions Barnes can fill.

"You've got to earn your spots back ... that's the way Robbie has always been. You get injured, you've got to work your way back into it again," Barnes said on Thursday.

"I'm under no illusions as to what probably I have to do to get back into it.

"In the three positions I play, you've got three guys playing well.

"Even if there's an opportunity to get back on the bench, I'd take it - that's for sure.

"I've always probably thought my best position was 12 but, in saying that, Pat McCabe is playing some of his best rugby and he's one of the leaders in the group, so I'm not expecting to get back in there ...

"I play 10 and 15 as well, so that gives me obviously a leg up for bench spots, but we'll just see what happens."

Recent captain David Pocock said it would come down to the team coaches and medical staff if he was ready to play the first match of the four-Test tour against France in Paris on November 11 (AEDT).

The champion openside flanker missed Australia's past six Tests after undergoing knee surgery.

"I feel pretty good, I've progressed through all the running and rehab stuff and I've done a fair bit of contact," Pocock said.

He lavished praise on his replacement Michael Hooper and felt they could start together in the team, probably as the two flankers.

"I'd love to play alongside him. It comes down to what the coaches want and what they think will work best," Pocock said.

He said it had been frustrating not playing, but good to see the development of younger forwards like Hooper and locks Sitaleki Timani and Kane Douglas.

"I think it's really important that we're continuing to improve from the Rugby Championship and guys who have got a taste of it really start to kick on," Pocock said.

"We've got to make the most of this opportunity. Four games against some of the best teams in the world is really important in our development."

Pocock captained Australia earlier in the season, but said he was not worried at having to play under veteran Nathan Sharpe on the tour.

AAP

Tags: rugby-union, sport, australia

First posted November 01, 2012 14:29:01

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Wallabies battle back to deny Pumas

Updated September 15, 2012 23:51:22

Argentina gave the Wallabies the fright of their lives before Australia amazingly survived with a 23-19 Rugby Championship victory at Skilled Park on Saturday night.

The Wallabies scored 17 unanswered points in the final 20 minutes to ensure under-pressure coach Robbie Deans will sleep somewhat easier this week.

It would have almost certainly ruled out an extra year in charge for Deans if the Pumas finished off the shock of the tournament.

At 19-6 down midway through the second half and with dazed skipper Nathan Sharpe appearing to have succumbed to the captain's curse, it looked like everything that could go wrong had for the Wallabies.

But centre Pat McCabe started the fightback by crashing over from a deft pass by Quade Cooper, who had endured a horror night until that point.

Then stand-in half-back Nick Phipps turned hero by darting to the blind and bursting past two defenders to put Digby Ioane over.

A cramping Berrick Barnes, who missed two easy first-half penalties, nailed the wide conversion and Australia was in the lead with 10 minutes left.

Kurtley Beale, after coming off the bench, landed a monster penalty with a minute left and the gallant Pumas were denied an historic first Rugby Championship victory.

Barnes felt Phipps, along with the Wallabies bench deserved most credit for the victory.

"Credit to Nick Phipps in his second start in Tests to set up that try for Digby," Barnes told Grandstand.

"They made it hard for us in every aspect of the game.

"They scrapped a couple of tries off us from silly turnover things but credit to the boys with injuries and everything that's gone on we managed to recover from 19-6 down.

"The bench gave us great input again. Guys like (Scott Higginbotham) and (Liam Gill) coming on gave us great impact and probably that straight line running that helped us."

The win moved the Wallabies (8) into second place on the tournament standings - eight points behind New Zealand (16) who have a vice-like grip on the series with just two rounds to play after a 21-11 win over South Africa.

Argentina had scared both the All Blacks and the Springboks in its opening three games but no more than the mighty fright they gave the mostly willing but off-key Wallabies outfit.

Barnes had just put the Wallabies back on level pegging at six-all in the 49th minute when the Test took a shock turn in three minutes of madness.

Cooper was charged down following the restart by replacement flanker Tomas Leonardi, who scored with his first touch of the ball.

Then stand-out playmaker Juan Martin Hernandez produced a brilliant kick-return from a poorly-chased Barnes high kick that saw Juan Imhoff ultimately put Julio Farais Cabello over for a 13-point lead.

It was a try dripping in controversy as Imhoff put his right foot into touch in the lead-up to the chagrin of most in the 22,278-strong Gold Coast crowd.

Hernandez kicked his third penalty of the match soon after and it looked like Australia was headed for another major boilover loss to go with the defeats to Scotland, Samoa and Ireland over the past 15 months.

The Wallabies had showed their intention to attack from the outset, spinning the ball wide and recycling the ball rapidly to pose plenty of questions of the Pumas' defence.

Five-eighth Cooper had a forgettable first half, fumbling several times and also throwing an early intercept pass, but did also have his moments and put Sharpe through a gap on half-time only for the captain to be held up.

Radike Samo also should have put Australia in front before the interval but dropped the ball when diving over the line.

Despite being delighted with victory, Barnes cautioned that the Wallabies must stop their habit of making slow starts.

"We can't be that poor in the first half," Barnes said.

"Our starts haven't been great and we need to improve them.

"We were probably going side-to-side too much and not looking to go through them - we did that in the second half which was credit too us."

Australia: 23 (P McCabe, D Ioane tries; B Barnes 2/2 cons; 2/4 pens, K Beale 1/1)

Argentina: 19 (T Leonardi, JM Hernandez tries; Hernandez 0/2 cons; 3/4 pens)

AAP/ABC

Tags: sport, rugby-union, australia, argentina

First posted September 15, 2012 21:53:18

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Former Wallaby in Saints battle

Updated August 18, 2012 22:00:16

Former Wallaby, Western Force and Waratahs utility back Cameron Shepherd has launched legal proceedings against UK rugby club Northampton Saints over a contract dispute.

Shepherd, who subsequently signed with another English club, Sale Sharks, signed a heads of agreement and later a full contract with the club in May.

Northampton later terminated the contract on grounds that Shepherd had failed a medical due to the condition of his left ankle.

Shepherd's Australian-based agent Nick Fordham said in a statement he was "appalled at the behaviour of Northampton in respect of the manner in which his client and family were treated."

"Expert medical reports from leading independent orthopaedic surgeons and Cameron's former club doctors at the Western Force have concluded that there is nothing wrong with Cameron's ankle," he said.

"Having subsequently passed a medical and signed with the Sale Sharks proves there are huge holes all through Northampton's action and position".

Fordham said Shepherd was only advised by Northampton of the medical results three days before his departure for the UK - and a month after he undertook the medical.

The gifted Shepherd debuted for the Waratahs as a 20-year-old and, after being picked for Australia two years later, he won the last of his nine caps for the Wallabies in 2010.

He has spent long periods on the sidelines in recent seasons, with groin and wrist injuries restricting him to just two games for the Force in 2012.

Saints director of rugby Jim Mallinder defended the decision to withdraw Shepherd's contract last week.

"We obviously monitored Cameron's condition between signing his contract and his scheduled arrival and, after great consideration, felt that on balance we needed more certainty about his ability to handle the tough demands of our long season for the duration of his three-year contract," Mallinder said.

AAP

Tags: sport, rugby-union

First posted August 16, 2012 12:54:04

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The Six Nations Battle it Out

Reds battle to hold off Rebels

Updated March 11, 2012 01:31:09

The Melbourne Rebels produced the best defensive performance of their short history but still could not topple the Queensland Reds in a torrid Super Rugby dogfight on Saturday night.

The competition's 2011 wooden-spooners delivered a major fright to the defending champions before the Reds wriggled free with an 11-6 victory.

Kurtley Beale's Rebels debut never hit any great heights for either side but the gutsy effort and tenacious defence of the visitors will please coach Damien Hill and defensive guru John Muggleton.

It was a sole 55th-minute try by winger Dom Shipperley which decided the match as Queensland overcame its first-half woes to control play after the break and take a 3-0 record into its two-match trip to South Africa.

The Rebels were awarded a penalty in front of the posts with three minutes left and went for a try but once again lost a crucial line-out which allowed Beau Robinson to hack the ball clear.

Coming off last season's dreadful tackling record, when they conceded an average four tries a game, as well as last week's disappointing 35-19 loss to New South Wales, Hill was extremely proud of the defensive effort and no-holds-barred effort at the fiercely-contested breakdown.

"We definitely stepped up," he said.

"We only conceded three missed tackles in the first 30 minutes and as a result we had 70 per cent of possession but we didn't turn it into any points."

Queensland's gritty win gives them 15 from its past 16 home games and also equals its best-ever start to a Super season, dating back to 1999.

"I thought the Rebels were quite industrious and it was a typical derby-type game with plenty of aggressive action," Reds coach Ewen McKenzie said.

"Both teams were good at getting stuck into each other and we were quite pleased to come out of the game without any injuries and a four-point haul."

McKenzie praised his bench for their second-half impact, highlighting the efforts of veteran lock Van Humphries, along with Ben Lucas and Robinson.

Set to fly out for South Africa early on Sunday morning, Queensland added front rower Albert Anae, back rower Ed Quirk, half-back Nick Frisby and utility back Dallan Murphy to their 26-man tour squad.

The Rebels dominated in both the possession (50-29 rucks and mauls) and field-position stakes and the ill-disciplined home side allowed James O'Connor to kick his side to a deserving 6-0 lead after 32 minutes.

They also lowered the colours of the Queensland scrum with a tight-head and constant pressure at the set-piece in the first half.

It was only just before half-time when radar-boot Mike Harris, who earlier missed with a 45 metre attempt to end his record streak at 24, put the Reds on the board following their own scrum penalty.

The injection of reserve Lucas into five-eighth, moving Harris to inside centre, with half an hour to go did plenty to spark the home side's attack and it was not long after when Shipperley crossed for his try.

Reds skipper and stand-out forward James Horwill stole a line-out on the line before the Rebels stout defence finally broke when Will Genia looped a wide pass to the unmarked winger in the right corner.

Harris missed the conversion but did slot a penalty eight minutes later - after Genia twice unsuccessfully took quick taps near the line instead of shooting for goal - for an 11-6 lead.

Beale, who was kept relatively quiet, looked on course to produce a heroic match-winning debut when he chased down a late dangerous kick into the Reds' 22 but replacement flanker Robinson somehow saved the day.

Like Lucas, Robinson was a key contributor in the dying stages as he worked in tandem with teenage ball scavenger Liam Gill.

Reds: 11 (D Shipperly try; M Harris 2/4 pens; 0/1 conv)

Rebels: 6 (J O'Connor 2/4 pens)

AAP

Tags: super-rugby, rugby-union, sport, qld, melbourne-3000

First posted March 10, 2012 22:03:39

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