Wycliff Palu was back in full contact mode this morning after a couple of months of boxing training and skills work—and he is raring to go.
All the Wallabies were back at training today except for Folau, Hooper and Ashley-Cooper, who have an extended break, and Cliffy was tired of sitting around.
The big line-bender hasn’t played a game since the third test against the British and Irish Lions, because he has been recovering from a knee operation.
His right knee was heavily strapped at training today but the cartilage repair surgery didn’t seem bother the big fella on the training field and he pronounced it as “pretty good”.
Palu said that missing most of the tests in 2013 was frustrating, but it wasn’t the worst thing in the world.
I think it was the best thing to happen to me to stay back and do a full pre-season.
Palu started the three tests against the Lions as No. 8 and racked up his 49th test match. After his injury his position was taken over by Ben Mowen who ended up captaining the Wallabies a few tests later.
When it was announced today that Mowen had vacated the national captaincy and would play in France next season, it was clear that his chances of being selected for the Wallabies in 2014 had nose-dived and Palu’s chances of getting his 5oth cap were improved.
Palu was also more likely to be chosen for the 2015 Rugby World Cup, but he said he wasn’t thinking that far ahead and was more interested in having a good year with the Waratahs in 2014.
After training today Palu said about Mowen’s decision:
It must be be a pretty big decision to walk away from captaining your country—If I was captain of Australia, I wouldn’t be walking away like that.
When he was asked if it felt different for 2014 with the back line the Waratahs had [including Wallabies Israel Folau, Kurtley Beale, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Nick Phipps, Rob Horne and Bernard Foley] Palu told it how it was: “Yeah, but the forwards have to give them the ball.”
And how was Kurtley Beale fitting in, back in Sydney? “Like he never left, really. He’s been really good: just the spark he has around the group is awesome, so it’s good to have him back.”
Nathan Grey has been impressive coaching the Tahs in the last couple of months.
The ex-Waratah and ex-Wallaby left the Tahs to player-coach in Japan, then he returned to Australia to coach defence in his first year at the Melbourne Rebels, and attack and attacking breakdown in the second and third years.
On the Mowen matter he said:
I was very surprised; I didn’t think that something like that would happen[…]but he’s got his reasons and I’ll support him in doing that.
When asked about if he had any better idea now about who would play where in the back line he said no, but they were all talented players and they would pick themselves, in how they trained. Then the coaches would put the chess pieces together according to how they wanted to play. And he added,
I’m not complaining about the chess pieces we’ve got.
Michael Cheika spoke in detail to me about the NSW Colts Under 20 team that was being put together and the strong coaching team they had for skills work¹.
But when I asked him off-handedly about the trainers wearing new part-orange shirts, and the orange trim on everybody’s training gear, he replied with gusto. He said that orange was the NSW Country’s colours—the Waratahs were the NSW team, they weren’t just about the city.
Cheika said there was a “country feel” about the Waratahs’ programme in 2014 and the players would even be involved in their bye week in March when there would be “the big country blitz…where all the players are going out to country centres for skills work and appearances.”
Maybe Pat McCutcheon can spend some time at his hometown of Narromine, Paddy Ryan in Tamworth, Kane Douglas in Maclean, Matt Carraro in Gosford, Jed Holloway in Wollongong—and Jeremy Tilse could be Ambassador to Newcastle.
Cheika said:
You can see what we think about the Country by the way we’re managing the first trial [against the Melbourne Rebels] with the road trip down to Albury; stopping at places on the way perhaps in some places that are traditionally Brumbieland, and we feel they’re in NSW and should be supporting NSW.
There was also the third trial [against the Highlanders] in Newcastle. He said “I’ve been up there a couple of times myself in pre-season to a few events and they’re very passionate about rugby up there and also about the Waratahs.”
Well done to the Waratahs’ roadies: keep it truckin’ guys.
¹ See New Aussie Competitions: Part II — National Under 20 Competition.
Photos by Lee Grant
