Turner to the 7s

[fatprop]

Lachlan Turner picked in 14-man Australia rugby sevens squad

By Jim Morton
June 30, 2010

Wallabies winger Lachlan Turner is poised for a berth at the Delhi Commonwealth Games after being picked to bolster Australia's rugby sevens squad.

Turner, surprisingly overlooked by coach Robbie Deans for all four Tests this month, has been included in a 14-man sevens training squad for a four-day camp in Canberra next week.

The New South Wales Waratahs flyer has received the green light by Deans to prepare with Michael O'Connor's team at the Australian Institute of Sport but will still be considered for the Wallabies' 30-man Tri-Nations squad to be announced on July 8th.

O'Connor is keen to boost his rising sevens squad, which finished third behind Samoa and New Zealand in this year's IRB Sevens World Series, with a couple of fringe Wallabies.

The coach early this year identified the likes of Matt Giteau, James O'Connor, Digby Ioane and David Pocock as preferred candidates but was aware their importance to the Test team would determine their availability.

Turner, capped 11 times, has limited sevens experience but his pure speed and finishing ability would make him a tailor-made inclusion.

The 23-year-old's inability to crack a Test start in June - where he was overlooked in favour of Ioane, Drew Mitchell, Adam Ashley-Cooper and fullback James O'Connor - also suggests he will remain on the fringes and have more time to adapt to the sevens program.

Defending gold-medallists New Zealand have also tapped into their Test squad with All Blacks duo Hosea Gear and Adam Thomson picked in their sevens team.

O'Connor's Australian team will have a final 10-day training camp in Darwin before the Delhi Games in early October.

Queensland winger and 2009 Wallabies tourist Luke Morahan has also been included in the 14-man squad for the July 4-7 camp along with fellow Reds and Australian Under-20 players Ed Quirk, Liam Gill and Kimami Sitauti.

Bernard Foley, Liam Gill, Brackin Karauria-Henry, Patrick McCutcheon, Luke Morahan, Nicholas Phipps, Edward Quirk, Brian Sefanaia, Clinton Sills, Kimami Sitauti, James Stannard, Jacob Taylor, Lachie Turner, Daniel Yakapo.

 

[MrTimms]

definitely can't hurt him, I think more fringeys should be used like this.

 

[fatprop]

The next sevens tournament is the Comm Games in Oct.

I assume that it just means that O'Conner wants Turner for that and a few "camps" beforehand.

 

[#1 Tah]

Turner is possibly the fastest man in aussie rugby as well as the best defender.

Imagine him in a 7s team with McCutcheon, Stannard, Kuraria-Henrey, Vanderglas......

 

[HG]

Turner is possibly the fastest man in aussie rugby as well as the best defender.

Imagine him in a 7s team with McCutcheon, Stannard, Kuraria-Henrey, Vanderglas......

Have you forgotten Rod Davies from the Reds! Turner may well be the fastest player in the Tahs but that is it.

 

[DPK]

He probably is the best defending winger, though.

 

[HG]

He probably is the best defending winger, though.

Agree!!!!
And a great selection for the 7's team.

 

[chief]

He probably is the best defending winger, though.

Wouldn't go that far either. Would rather Diggers and Hynes haven't seen much escape them.

Turner is a perfect 7's player. I'm guessing we won't see Turner picked in the Tri-Nations squad either judging by this.

 

[HG]

Wouldn't go that far either. Would rather Diggers and Hynes haven't seen much escape them.

Turner is a perfect 7's player. I'm guessing we won't see Turner picked in the Tri-Nations squad either judging by this.

Naw Diggers can tend to over read the defensive situation and miss tackles in traffic.

 

[DPK]

Wouldn't go that far either. Would rather Diggers and Hynes haven't seen much escape them.

Turner is a perfect 7's player. I'm guessing we won't see Turner picked in the Tri-Nations squad either judging by this.

Yeah, they're definetely class defenders too, but defense is more than just tackling, its safety under the high ball and positioning (when the opposition are kicking etc). These elements of Turner's game have really impressed me this year.

 

[Groucho]

Wouldn't go that far either. Would rather Diggers and Hynes haven't seen much escape them.

Turner is a perfect 7's player. I'm guessing we won't see Turner picked in the Tri-Nations squad either judging by this.

Turner had a 100% tackle conversion rate in the Super 14. It is hard to see Diggers or Hynes bettering that.

And that's before you take into account his work off the ball. Turner and Hynes are in a different class to Ioane in that regard. Diggers is a good tackler, admittedly, but nowhere near the other two as a defender.

 

[Reddy!]

I can't wait for the comm games, rugby sevens. Do you think any other Wallabies will want to try their luck at a gold medal? Or should the current crop of players who are performing well be the men to go for gold?

 

[tranquility]

Turner has become such a negative winger, which is a shame considering that he has / had the potential to be the most electric winger in Australia. It's ridiculous that we are talking about our best 'defensive' wingers. What the hell is that?

The 7s can only be a good thing for Lachie, help him get back some of that spark.

 

[Moses]

Is Fiji still out of the commonwealth?

 

[spectator]

The current squad was good enough to win a World Sevens leg, and came third overall, so I reckon they deserve the chance to play at the Games.

 

[JimboJoe1006]

Have you forgotten Rod Davies from the Reds! Turner may well be the fastest player in the Tahs but that is it.

From my knowledge, he is the fastest player in Australia over 40.

 

[liquor box]

From my knowledge, he is the fastest player in Australia over 40.

surely he is not that old?

 

[#1 Tah]

From my knowledge, he is the fastest player in Australia over 40.

Welcome to the forum JJ.

This 7s camp finishes a day b4 the tri nations squad is announced. I assume that Lachie will be doing the same as Pat McCutcheon. Training with the woodies, 7s and wobs.

 

[tranquility]

Rod Davies is the fastest man in Aus rugby by a long way.

 

[#1 Tah]

Rod Davies is the fastest man in Aus rugby by a long way.

Cool. Lachie Turner is my favorite player in Aus rugby by a long way.