BUGGER

[formeropenside]

Horwill to have foot surgery

Horwill may miss start of 09 QR Reds season
Friday, 3 October 2008

QR Reds lock James Horwill has been ruled out of the Wallabies Spring Tour and may miss the early rounds of next year's Investec Super 14 tournament.

The 23-year-old was today forced to withdraw from the trip due to an on-going problem with an injury to a ligament in his foot.

No decision as to a replacement has yet been made.

Horwill has been troubled since the Wallabies? 16-9 win over South Africa at Perth in July by pain emanating from the lisfranc ligament in his left foot.

While he has been able to play on, investigation of the recurrent pain revealed a tear of the ligament which requires surgery to correct.

This diagnosis was confirmed after Horwill was seen by a specialist in Brisbane this afternoon.

?Unfortunately the verdict of the specialist was that James is going to require surgery immediately to get the ligament repaired,? said Qantas Wallabies coach Robbie Deans.

?And that means having to forgo the opportunity to participate on our tour.?

Horwill is facing a rehabilitation period following the surgery that could last for up to six months, meaning that he won?t be available to return to the playing field for the Reds until possibly the midway point of next year?s Investec Super 14.

?It?s disappointing news, but playing on wasn?t an option,? Deans said.

?The injury had been given plenty of opportunity to settle but hasn?t. While we?ve managed James through the back half of the Bundaberg Rum Rugby Series, the improvement to the ligament that was expected hasn?t materialized. In that circumstance, there really wasn?t any choice but to get the operation done, and get it done now.?

It is a testament to Horwill?s development in 2008 that he was one of just four players to start in every Test match for the Qantas Wallabies, in what was effectively his first full season as a Test player, following a one-off Test appearance last year against Fiji. Such was the level of his work load, he has only been absent from the field for 44 minutes of the Wallabies? Test campaign so far.

?It?s probably of small comfort to James at the moment, but he?s made an excellent start to his Test career, and one we all know that he is going to build on,? Deans said.

In addition to experiencing 676 minutes of Test duty this winter, Horwill also ended the domestic Test programme as the joint-top try-scorer with four, alongside centre Ryan Cross, which highlights the level of energy he brought to the Wallabies.

This followed on from an excellent Investec Super 14 campaign for the Reds, where he carried his sequence of consecutive appearances for the side to 39, while also taking on the captaincy arm-band a few weeks before his 23rd birthday.

?It?s a big blow for ?Kev? (Horwill) and I know he?s desperately disappointed, but the key thing now is to get the surgery done, get in the break that he needs, and then go through the recovery stages without forcing anything,? said QR Reds coach Phil Mooney.

?He certainly won?t be rushed back. His body will tell us through the rehab period when the time is right. While he will obviously be missed by the Reds at the start of next season, there?s no way we?ll compromise his ability to contribute to both Queensland and Australia in the future by taking any unnecessary risks to try to get him back on the field any earlier than when he is ready.?

I had not realised he was the joint top tryscorer.

I wonder who will start in the second row for the Reds at the start of next season next to Van H?

 

[Lee Grant]

Double bugger.

 

[Sully]

SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT Bad luck for the Wallabies. Devastating for Queenslands 2009 S14! Shit

 

[RugbyReg]

What was it that Graham Kennedy use to say? FAAAARRRK!!!

Hmmm. Do they change the rules and pick Vickers? The only fit candidates must be him, Van and Al Campbell. Perhaps Timani???

For the Reds? We need a bit of muscle. Good chance for Simmons or Byrne. MMM a chance I guess with Higginbottham at 6.

 

[fatprop]

It is only October, it says up to 6 months at worst, so really early March is pessimistic and that only means 3 S14 matches.

 

[naza]

Better they have him take care of it now than do a Tommy Bowman.

Quite a worrying trend that we get tight forwards looking promising in their first year of test rugby, then not kicking on due to injury -> Shepherdson, Blake, Holmes, Horwill, Darwin. I suppose you could even go back to Bowman & Dyson who I thought would be stalwarts. Al Baxter deserves some credit for durability.

 

[Sully]

Shit

 

[Scotty]

I would expect him to be back for the start of the S14, the docs normally estimate recovery times for normal people, with normal amounts of time to spend on getting better - most of these guys recover 25% or more faster than the normal person (except Mat Rogers or MMM).

Big blow for the Wallaby tour, losing their next skipper..... and probably in the position where we have the least depth.

 

[RugbyReg]

Why do I keep forgetting Peter Kimlin? Some good could come from this.

Unless we pick Ezra Taylor.

 

[Lee Grant]

Yeah - Kimlin Nod - for sure.

I was watching the Currie Cup today and noticed that Matfield, FdP and Habana are all playing for the Blue Bulls.

We may have to use inexperienced guys like Kimlin who haven't played rugby for a while and nothing at the S14 level since May - not that Kimlin got a lot of game time for the Brumbies.

If the inexperienced guys manage to get onto the park they'll be struggling big time no matter how big their hearts are. Even the experienced Wallabies have struggled in prior EOYTs and taken 2-3 games to hit their straps because they hadn't played since 3N. Often the Wallabies took their best form onto the plane home.

It's another reason why the demise of the ARC is such a negative. If it ever comes back I'd like to see likely Wallaby tourists play in the last couple of games in a comp and risk the injuries.

Maybe cottonwool a few guys where our depth is worst but let the others take their chances.

 

[TOCC]

CRAP

 

[Spook]

FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARK

 

[Pfitzy]

Quite a worrying trend that we get tight forwards looking promising in their first year of test rugby, then not kicking on due to injury -> ... Blake

Blake's fall was bugger all about injury - more about allergy. To training.

Al Baxter deserves some credit for durability.

:nta: Are you feeling OK?

 

[TOCC]

Quite a worrying trend that we get tight forwards looking promising in their first year of test rugby, then not kicking on due to injury -> ... Blake

Blake's fall was bugger all about injury - more about allergy. To training.

Al Baxter deserves some credit for durability.

:nta: Are you feeling OK?

with Blake, i partially put his fall down to the injury and another part down to laziness.

It definetly didnt help him when he was injured for the majority of the off-season, and on top of the that i think it was then his fault because he was to lazy to find other ways to keep fit.

 

[Ash]

:'(

Just can't take a trick this year. Especially if you're a Reds fan.

 

[TOCC]

i would be worried except i believe Big Kev will be ready to go for the start of the S14 season, if not then QLD does seem to be constantly quality locks, young blokes like Rod Simmons will be handy gap fillers until Kev comes back at least.

 

[Pfitzy]

Its a shame we're all so worried about the loss of one player - shows how low we've come in terms of our second row stocks....

 

[TOCC]

well in terms of quality Aus locks this year, we have had one move overseas, another retire due to injury, another one out injured

I would be happy if it was sharpe out injured, his past his date anyway

 

[fatprop]

Recalled Sharpe filling the breach

By Jon Geddes
October 07, 2008

JUST six weeks ago, Nathan Sharpe faced an uncertain international rugby future when dropped for two Tests against the South Africa.

Now the 200cm, 115kg forward has re-emerged as a key figure on Australia's spring tour after the loss of second-rowers Dan Vickerman and James Horwill.


Fox Sports Travel: Want to go to the Bledisloe Cup?


Before a gruelling hill-running session at Moore Park, Sharpe admitted that losing his spot in the pack for the Tri-Nations Tests in South Africa had provided him with a wake-up call.

"I think things like that always do, for sure," he said.

"In the same instance, everyone who plays this sport is competitive and you want to get back into that position, so it's no different for me. It was disappointing, but I guess from here I can only control what I can do and hope it doesn't happen again."

Sharpe is prepared to step up and take on greater responsibility in the wake of the big holes left in the Wallabies' engine room.

"It's not new for me, I've been around for a few years now, he said.

"Whether or not it falls on your shoulders, you never know until the week of a game."

Sharpe said Mark Chisholm had been around for a long time and Waratahs forward Dean Mumm had gained a lot of experience this season.

Sharpe's fightback after his demotion has impressed assistant Wallabies coach Michael Foley. "Any player goes through those sort of disappointments and setbacks at times in their career," Foley said.

"He came back into the squad and contributed well the week he was in South Africa.

"When he got his opportunity in the next Test (against New Zealand in Brisbane), I thought some significant things went our way as a result of him being part of the team. He was a dominant force in the lineout, which was a very positive thing."

The spring tour - which includes Tests against Italy, England, France and Wales - will provide a huge challenge for the Wallabies pack and that is where a player of Sharpe's experience becomes so important.

"Northern hemisphere teams have traditionally been more confrontational and like to go through the middle right from the outset," Sharpe said. "That is something we are going to have to counter and employ strategies to get on top of.

"Against any opposition, but against the northern hemisphere teams in particular, it's a good litmus test for us."

A replacement for Horwill has yet to be named but Stephen Hoiles trained with the squad last week, while Julian Salvi and Peter Kimlin are doing the same this week along with halfback Josh Holmes (??????).

Whatever happens, Sharpe has no excuses for what lies ahead.

"I definitely remember going on end-of-season tours feeling flat and fatigued, but I don't think that will be the case this year," he said.

 

[RugbyReg]

and yet, from rugbyheaven:

Recalled Wallabies lock Mark Chisholm admitted he needed the shock of being dropped after becoming too comfortable and doubted he would get a better opportunity to win his Test spot back than the coming spring tour.

With Dan Vickerman and James Horwill unavailable, Chisholm has a chance to re-establish his international credentials after missing out on Australia's first nine Tests of the year.

Named in the first squad under new coach Robbie Deans, Chisholm was chosen in the A team rather than the Test side.

He was subsequently sidelined by a bout of chickenpox and had to rejig his game in club rugby after being overlooked for the Tri-Nations program.

The Brumbies forward had been a near permanent squad member over the three previous seasons, during which he won 34 of his 35 Test caps.

With Vickerman opting out of Australia to study in England and Horwill injured, Chisholm will vie for the vacant spots with veteran lock Nathan Sharpe and second/back rowers Hugh McMeniman and Dean Mumm.

"I don't think you get a much better opportunity than this, the two number one locks not being on the tour," Chisholm told AAP at the start of the squad's second pre-tour camp in Sydney.

"Really the door is wide open for a bunch of our blokes. If we take that lightly, you really shouldn't be here."

His demotion came as a shock to the powerfully built Brumby, who entered the year genuinely believing it would be the season he finally established himself as a starter, after backing up Sharpe and Vickerman for most of the last three campaigns.

"I really do think looking back on it now, I was probably a little bit too comfortable with where I stood," Chisholm said.

"In saying that, previous coaches have said to me it's all about time, you've got to do your apprenticeship first.

"To tell you the truth, at the start of this year, I thought this was my time, time for me to step up, but I'm glad it's worked out this way.

"It's given me a new inspiration to get where I want to go.

"I really needed that shake-up to say `look mate, you're not as good as you (think you) are, you really need to work on these areas," so I'm grateful with how it's gone."

With instruction from the Wallabies brains trust and the help of Brumbies coaches Andy Friend and Owen Finegan, Chisholm modified his approach in a three-month stint with Sydney club Randwick.

"It was more the aggressiveness at the breakdown, getting more involved in defensive rucks, as well as being pretty much a pest around the field," Chisholm said.

"Also working more on being a dominant forward."

Used occasionally as a blindside flanker, Chisholm would prefer to stay at lock permanently unless given an extended run as a back rower. No replacement for Horwill has been named, though lock Peter Kimlin joined the squad this week along with fellow Brumbies, halfback Josh Holmes and flanker Julian Salvi, to help make the numbers up at training.

In one positive fitness development, No.8 Wycliff Palu re-entered camp without the knee brace he needed last week.