Wallabies struck with injuries
Welcome back!
The Wallabies continue to struggle under the weight of injuries as two more front line players have fallen and will be unavailable for the upcoming Bledisloe Cup clash against New Zealand in Hong Kong.
Peter Kimlin strained his quad in training while luckless Hugh McMeniman rolled his ankle in a vigourous training session under the coaching of Robbie Deans.
Deans has been putting the Wallabies through a series of rigourous training sessions that has pushed the players to the limit in the aim of getting the players prepared for a tough european tour that will test the improvements of the Australian game in the last six months.
The Wallabies will depart for Hong Kong in less than two weeks time.
Wallabies get jump on All Blacks
The Wallabies entered training camp today as the first of four camps where Robbie Deans will assemble his team in the lead-up to the All Blacks clash and subsequent Spring tour in November and December.
Deans ran his 34 man squad through their paces as they prepare for an end of season defining tour that will shape the likely future of Australian Rugby under Dean’s leadership.
The All Blacks on tbe other hand while still playing out the final weeks of the Air New Zealand Cup will not go into camp until one week before the Bledisloe Cup clash in Hong Kong.
The Air New Zealand Cup final will not be played until 25 October and the All Blacks team will be named the next day before they depart for Hong Kong on Monday. The All Blacks will only have that week to prepare before they commence their tour with the Bledisloe Cup match against the Wallabies.
The Wallabies however will go into the tour perhaps better prepared than anytime in recent memory with all key players except Lote Tuqiri on deck and keen to show what they all offer the Wallabies for the future.
The tour will showcase the full squad and will likely allow future stars like Ben Alexander, David Pocock, Quade Cooper and James O’Connor to establish their claims for long term considerations for the Wallabies.
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Deans names Wallabies 34 man squad
Robbie Deans today announced the Wallabies team to play on the Spring tour of Europe during November and early December.
Deans unveiled a side with 4 debutants in James O’Connor, the bolter from the Western Force at just 18. Quade Cooper from the Queensland Reds, Sekope Kepu from the Waratahs and David Pocock from the Western Force all make their first Australian squad.
A number of domestic players who have played little part for the Wallabies throughout the year will also make their appearance in the squad such as Digby Ioane, Mark Chisholm and Lachlan Turner.
Several notable absentees from the squad are Brumbies trio Mark Gerrard, Stephen Hoiles and Clyde Rathbone, all can wonder why they have been overlooked and what they have to do to win back favour.
Nathan Sharpe dodged a bullet will tour with the Wallabies, it may be his last chance to salvage a test career that only a few weeks ago looked over.
The Wallabies squad is;
Forwards:
Ben Alexander (Brumbies)
Alastair Baxter (Waratahs)
Richard Brown (Western Force)
Mark Chisholm (Brumbies)
Matt Dunning (Waratahs)
Adam Freier (Waratahs)
James Horwill (Reds)
Sekope Kepu (Waratahs)
Hugh McMeniman (Reds)
Dean Mumm (Waratahs)
Stephen Moore (Reds)
Wycliff Palu (Waratahs)
David Pocock (Western Force)
Tatafu Polota-Nau (Waratahs)
Benn Robinson (Waratahs)
Nathan Sharpe (Western Force)
George Smith (Brumbies)
Phil Waugh (Waratahs)
Backs:
Adam Ashley-Cooper (Brumbies)
Berrick Barnes (Reds)
Luke Burgess (Waratahs)
Quade Cooper (Reds)
Sam Cordingley (Reds)
Ryan Cross (Western Force)
Matt Giteau (Western Force)
Peter Hynes (Reds)
Digby Ioane (Reds)
Drew Mitchell (Western Force)
Stirling Mortlock (Brumbies)
James O’Connor (Western Force)
Brett Sheehan (Waratahs)
Timana Tahu (Waratahs)
Lote Tuqiri (Waratahs)
Lachlan Turner (Waratahs)
Philips walk away from All Blacks Sponsorship
Philips will end their sponsorship deal with the New Zealand All Blacks on 31 January 2009 after 15 years as an All Blacks sponsor. The departure of Philips from the All Blacks sponsorship is a blow to New Zealand Rugby as Philips have been a huge supporter of the All Blacks.
Philips will focus their attention on larger markets such as the emerging developing nations of Brazil, Russia and China.
All Blacks accuse Wallabies of spying
One of the more farcical things to come out of the afterwash from the Tri-Nations final was the claims by Steve Hansen that the Wallabies were spying on the All Blacks training session on Thursday last week.
Hansen claimed that Channel Seven, the local free to air provider of Rugby in Australia were spying on their training session and provided this to the Wallabies. Hansen said we know this because the Wallabies told us. The Wallabies have denied this but Channel Seven were indeed kicked out by All Blacks security for filming as this footage was shown on Channel Seven news.
I think this is typical of Steve Hansen, the guy is paranoid and if the Wallabies did see and use the footage, perhaps they would have won the match. Plus what is so special about training runs and drills. We know all the solid tactics are determined behind closed doors. Just paranoia from the All Blacks.
What do you think, are the All Blacks paranoide or right to protect their training from prying eyes?
All Blacks retain Tri-Nations & Bledisloe Cup: Video Highlights
The All Blacks were too good for the Wallabies 28-24 last night reclaiming the Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup. The Wallabies who have not won the Tri-Nations in 7 years has their chances but were unable to seal the victory with the All Blacks surging home and the Wallabies employing inferior tactics when they were leading 17-7.
Watch the match highlights from Fox Sports below.
Tri-Nations - New Zealand 28 Australia 24
The All Blacks came from a 17-7 deficit early in the second half to storm home to win 28-24 in a sensational Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup decider.
The All Blacks were near dead and buried with the Wallabies leading 17-7 until coach Graham Henry inspired the All Blacks with three key positional changes bringing on Weepu, Donald and Mealamu. The masterstroke changed the tide of the match as the All Blacks through fresh legs scored three tries in a row through sheer weight of possession and dominating the breakdown.
The All Blacks were dominating and the Wallabies had no answers only bringing on fresh legs in the last 10 minutes. at this stage the match was virtually gone. The Wallabies scored a late Ryan Cross try and with less than two minutes remaining the Wallabies trailed 28-24. The Wallabies were deep in attack but the ball was turned over at the breakdown and the match was lost.
The All Blacks had recliamed the Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup for 2008.
The match started promisingly for the All Blacks with an early lead 7-0 through a Mils Mulieana try. The Wallabies dominated possession in the first half as Carter and McCaw were neutralised. It was not until just before half-time that the Wallabies scored with a fantastic try to Adam Ashley-Cooper. The Wallabies went into the break 10-7 leaders.
Apart from the first few minutes of the second half where the Wallabies looked like they could have runaway with the match the All Blacks soon upped a few gears and eventually took the match out with a greater degree of tactical nous and determination at the breakdown.
On a losing side George Smith did everything to nullify McCaw and did but ended up on the losing side. The Wallaby forwards were sensational, Sharpe and Horwill were exceptional and Richard Brown who replaced Palu in the first half has a long future with a great performance off the bench with a high workrate and hard running. Ryan Cross and Adam Ashley-Cooper constantly challenged the defence with direct running and evasive skills.
The All Blacks were well served by the replacements Weepu, Donald and Mealamu who added zest off the bench. Kaino was also strong with some massive hits and constant involvement. It was hard not to be impressed with the team effort from the All Blacks, what makes them different to other teams is they know how to dig deep and play for each other. The All Blacks were deserving winners on the night.
The less said about the pathetic effort from the referee Kaplan the better.
New Zealand 28
Tries: Mils Mulieana, Tony Woodcock, Piri Weepu, Dan Carter
Goals: Dan Carter 4 conversions
Australia 24
Tries: Adam Ashley-Cooper, James Horwill, Ryan Cross
Goals: Matt Giteau 3 conversions, penalty
Tri-Nations: Australia vs New Zealand Preview
Brisbane will stage the final of the Tri-Nations tomorrow in a match that will decide the winner of the 2008 Tri-Nations series between the Wallabies and All Blacks.
Brisbane has been a bit a fortress for the Wallabies but the last team to beat them here was a Richie McCaw inspired All Blacks in 2006 that triumphed 13-9. The match will be a tough uncompromsing encounter with the All Blacks keen to retain their silverware and the Wallabies wanting to claim it.
The Wallabies have been critised heavily after their defeat to the Springboks 53-8 and the critism has stung them, they will not repeat the disaster at Ellis Park. Robbie Deans has worked on the mental issues within the team and will have them primed for the match.
Graham Henry knows all about pressure, he has been under it since before the World Cup loss in 2007. Henry has a team that on their day can blow anyone of the park and they have McCaw. McCaw is the best player in the game and is always virtually unstoppable. If McCaw and Carter the next best player in the game get on a roll then the All Blacks will win.
The Wallabies will need to shape up in the forwards, without a solid platform the Wallabies will be beaten. The battle of the backrow will be perhaps the highlight, the winner will take the Tri-Nations Trophy. THe big battle is Smith vs McCaw. McCaw can’t be stopped but his influence can be reduced.
If the Wallabies run continually at McCaw and get him involved in alot of tackles they have a chance to stop his involvement through fatigue. This has worked against McCaw in the past, it will not stop him but the more tackles he has to make then the less his involvement at the breakdown will be.
The All Blacks will look to dominate the scrum hoping to dent the Wallabies front row. If they dominate early the Wallabies will not have a platform to go forward. The Giteau, Mortlock, Cross combination is another area that will have plenty of runners heading their way. The All Blacks will aim to exploit this new combination and will heavily pressure Giteau’s kick all night.
The Ruck and Maul Verdict: Maybe I am crazy but I reckon the Wallabies will win by 5. George Smith will play the game of his life and will control McCaw as best as possible and Ryan Cross will do all the damage.
Australia
Adam Ashley-Cooper, Peter Hynes, Ryan Cross, Stirling Mortlock, Lote Tuqiri, Matt Giteau, Sam Cordingley, Wycliff Palu, George Smith, Rocky Elsom, Nathan Sharpe, James Horwill, Al Baxter, Stephen Moore, Benn Robinson.
Reserves: Adam Freier, Matt Dunning, Hugh McMeniman, Phil Waugh, Richard Brown, Brett Sheehan, Drew Mitchell.
New Zealand
Mils Muliaina; Richard Kahui, Conrad Smith, Ma’a Nonu, Sitiveni Sivivatu; Dan Carter, Jimmy Cowan; Rodney So’oialo, Richie McCaw, Jerome Kaino; Ali Williams, Brad Thorn; Greg Somerville, Andrew Hore, Tony Woodcock.
Reserves: Keven Mealamu, John Afoa/Neemia Tialata, Anthony Boric, Adam Thomson, Piri Weepu, Stephen Donald, Isaia Toeava.
Elsom sits out Wallabies training
Rocky Elsom sat out training today after being hit with a virus. Instead of Elsom training he spent his time back at the hotel but team management assure that he will be ready to take his place at the side of the scrum for the Wallabies in his 39th test on Saturday.
Hugh McMeniman took his place but come game time it will be Elsom back in action in what will be his final appearance for the Wallabies in the near future as he will move to Leinster after the match.