NSW Waratahs unlikely to risk Wallabies prop Benn Robinson in trial match against Fiji on Friday
* By Wayne Smith
* The Australian
* February 01, 2011 6:17AM
Robinson, who re-energised his Wallabies career when he came off the bench in the Test against France in Paris last November and helped to stabilise a wobbly Australia scrum, has strained a calf muscle in training and may be rested as a precaution.
"He still ran OK today, but we'll want to make sure he's completely OK before we risk him," Waratahs coach Chris Hickey said.
Of the Waratahs' dozen or so Test players, only centre Rob Horne is a definite non-starter against Fiji even though his injured elbow has improved sufficiently for him to resume contact training, while Wallabies spring tourist Pat McCutcheon is not likely to appear before NSW's second trial, against Western Force in Nowra on February 10.
"We made the decision to have only two trials because of the longer season so we have to make the most of them," said Hickey. "That means putting potential starting combinations on the field and giving them time to jell."
Berrick Barnes, who finished the 2010 international season as the Wallabies' starting inside centre, will be given first crack at the five-eighth position against Fiji, working in tandem with Test halfback Luke Burgess.
Daniel Halangahu, the other leading contender for the sky blue 10 jersey, might have to wait until the Force trial before being given a run in the playmaking position.
Hickey caused a minor surprise by revealing he still was considering Test fullback Kurtley Beale as a back-up five-eighth.
After being shuttled from five-eighth to inside centre and then back again early in his professional career, Beale finally looked to have found his position last season when deployed at fullback, so much so that he ultimately was named one of the half-dozen finalists for IRB International Player of the Year.
Hickey has no plans to disrupt him but neither is he closing out any possible options.
There was heightened speculation on Monday that Toulouse would step up its pressure to sign Burgess after the president of the French club, Rene Bouscatel, confirmed to 34-year-old former All Black halfback Byron Kelleher that his contract would not be extended beyond June.
The Waratahs had been hoping that Toulouse coach Guy Noves would try to squeeze one last campaign out of the NZ veteran to give them time to lock Burgess into a contract, but Monday's announcement that Kelleher is leaving surely means the clock is ticking for NSW.
The same applies to Wallabies winger Drew Mitchell, who is high on the Biarritz recruitment list, although Waratahs CEO Jason Allen told The Australian he is quietly confident NSW will retain Australia's leading Test tryscorer last year.
The Force will warm up for their trial against NSW by taking on an Australian Barbarians side in Sydney on Saturday when former Brumbies and Reds centre Gene Fairbanks will make his debut for the Perth franchise.
Sydney-based SANZAR boss Greg Peters, meanwhile, has announced the appointment of last year's Wallabies manager, Brendan Morris, as the organisation's operations manager to oversee the Super Rugby and Tri Nations tournaments.
