Monday’s rugby news has the strong Wallaby scrum, missing outside centres, Australia looking for three in a row and a concussion assessment by the IRB.
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Wallaby scrum silences critics
Wallaby coach Ewen McKenzie was ecstatic with the performance of the Australian scrum during the team’s convincing four try victory against Ireland. ‘Everyone lambasts our scrum – I’ve been reading about it all week … It’s just a matter of opinion, people get hysterical,’ he said following the match. The Australian scrum won penalties at key times, while providing a strong attacking platform throughout the game, most evident in Quade Cooper’s second-half try.
Captain Ben Mowen said it was pleasing that the 32-15 victory planted a ‘seed of doubt’ in the negative perceptions of the Australian pack, which he said was not ‘rated’ by their northern hemisphere opponents. ‘We haven’t been happy about a lot of the criticism that gets slung our way because we’ve got a very good scrum,’ the Australian captain said. [/one_half]
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Wallabies face issues at No.13
Australia may be struggling at the outside centre position as starting No.13 Tevita Kuridrani was sent off late in the match for a dangerous tip tackle on Irish flanker Peter O’Mahoney. Kuridrani will be banned for at least one week unless Australia can lodge a successful challenge at a judicial hearing, but based on the IRB’s strict stance on the practice the outlook is not good.
Adam Ashley-Cooper is also at risk of missing next week’s match against Scotland, replaced in the 54th minute with a shoulder injury. While emphasising that missing both players would be ‘disappointing,’ Link also said, ‘We’ve got other guys who can play there. That’s life.’ The 90-Test utility back’s loss would likely force McKenzie to bank on Queensland youngster Chris Feauai-Sautia stepping up to play outside centre in his run-on debut. [/one_half]
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Aussie side looks to Scotland
The Australian side have immediately turned their attention to their next game, with hooker Stephen Moore asserting that turning around the Wallabies’ recent dismal record against Scotland is the ‘only thing that matters’ now. Although Moore was pleased with the pack’s performance against Ireland, he kept the victory in perspective, emphasising ‘We’re not getting carried away at all with that; we should be beating these teams below us, so we have to move on now with Scotland and recover well so we can back it up again.’
Coach Ewen McKenzie says the win against Ireland was the culmination of a period of rebuilding, emphasising, ‘there had been lots of changes and lots of work on and off the pitch and it takes time for those to come to fruition and to blend in.’ [/one_half]
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IRB recognises concussion risk
In the wake of a $765 million payout to the families of ex-gridiron stars who had either died or are suffering early onset dementia caused by repeated concussions, sports governing bodies are urgently reviewing their protocols surrounding head injuries. And last night the IRB finally accepted a link exists between repeated concussions and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) — a disease associated with the early onset of dementia.
‘CTE is a form of dementia, and there are studies about boxers and American football players who have suffered repetitive head injuries, so we recognise that there might be a potential link,’ said the IRB’s chief medical officer Martin Raftery. Similar to the reforms of the NFL, the financial pressure may force a tighter system for dealing with on-field concussions, with Raftery adding, ‘our duty is to ensure that the sport implements the very best standards of care to protect our players.’ [/one_half]
