Friday’s Rugby News has the Wallabies squad for the Argentina game, Aaron Smith in hijinks, Will Genia talking about composure, and some nice words from Eddie Jones
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Wallabies Squad
Michael Cheika and co. have announced the Wallabies squad for Saturday night/Sunday morning’s test against the Argies in London.
There are two changes to the starting XV from last week, with Lopeti Timani coming in for Sean McMahon at 8, and Rory Arnold tagging in for Rob Simmons. With Arnold and Adam Coleman at lock, it’s not only another pairing there this year (the seventh so far), but also a really really tall one – together they come in at 4.09m.
One name from the bench is to be struck out, and Allan Alaalatoa has come in for James Slipper, and Leroy Houston is a chance to make his first Wallabies bench.
Wallabies Squad: 1. Scott Sio 2. Stephen Moore (c) 3. Sekope Kepu 4. Rory Arnold 5. Adam Coleman 6. Dean Mumm 7. Michael Hooper 8. Lopeti Timani 9. Will Genia 10. Quade Cooper 11. Reece Hodge 12. Bernard Foley 13. Samu Kerevi 14. Dane Haylett-Petty 15. Israel Folau
Reserves (one to be omitted) James Hanson, Tom Robertson, Allan Alaalatoa, Kane Douglas, Scott Fardy, Leroy Houston Nick Phipps, Tevita Kuridrani, Sefa Naivalu
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Take Chances – Genia
Will Genia says the Wallabies gotta start take their chances. Yeah it’s not much of an opinion to be honest. Phew, Genia (talking to SMH) realises that.
“It sounds simple but we just have to look to take points when we’re inside their 22,” the Stade Francais scrumhalf said. “If you look back at that game in that first 10-15 minutes when we had that possession in their 22, we came away with points. If we can take our points when they’re on offer, we know that we can trust our defence to shut them out. The onus is on us as a backline to execute a little bit better. If we can do that we give ourselves every chance of winning and winning well.”
Genia went on, really he could have saved us some time and just copied this speech from Frank in Old School.
“At certain times in games we haven’t been executing our skills well enough and that takes away from putting us into scoring positions or scoring plays,” Genia said. “If we can concentrate well on the process, and do that right throughout the 80 minutes consistently, I think the result will take care of itself more often than not. We’ll come out on the right side of the score.”
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Awww No Bro
Unless you’ve been living under a lemon-shaped rock for the past day, you would have heard about Aaron Smith being sent home from the Springboks game, after he was caught having a rumble in the Christchurch toilets.
Smith has been suspended for one-match because of the incident, and has since apologised for his “huge mistake”. This isn’t the first indiscretion by Smith, as a nude of his went “viral” (not my words) a few years ago.
As stuff.co.nz tells it, a husband and wife and young child were waiting outside the disabled toilet in the Christchurch Airport, where the All Blacks had all gathered to take a flight to South Africa. A woman, who the report notes the husband “initially noticed because of her attractive appearance” (don’t tell your mrs that) entered the toilet, not followed too long after by Smith himself.
Then, as you do, “the husband pulled out his phone and started recording from outside the cubicle.” Hmm righto. “Smith and the woman were in the bathroom for about 10 minutes and ‘rhythmic tapping noises’ could be heard,” the report continues. “The rugby star then returned to his teammates like nothing had happened and proceeded to greet fans at the airport.”
It gets better. “Initially, [the couple] thought the whole incident was ‘strange but kinda funny’ and were reluctant to report what they’d seen.”
“The husband said he went back to his seat at the airport and Googled Smith, searching to see if the woman was Smith’s partner,” says Stuff. “He said he found it quite amusing and wasn’t too worried about what Smith had done. ‘I almost feel bad for putting the poor bloke in it now,’ the husband said in a subsequent email.
“But the wife wanted to speak out, saying the more she thought about it the angrier she became. ‘We don’t want to convey the fact that we’re gossiping…however, the All Blacks were put on a pedestal and were role models for young Kiwis’, she said.”
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Jones Backs Cheika
Eddie Jones has come out in support of Michael Cheika, reckoning that the Wallabies coach should be able to get Australia out of their hump and back to winning ways.
Talking to the Daily Telegraph, Jones says he backs Cheika’s “strong change agenda” and “Australian” running rugby style, which Jones further believes will be the undoing of the All Blacks one day.
“In any Test year, if you are bringing in 10 or more players, it’s going to be a difficult season,” Jones said. “You’ll be treading water at times but you’ve got to battle your way through.”
Jones, the article adds, blooded 14 new players in his first year in charge of the Wallabies in 2005. “He’s doing that and there’s no doubt Will Genia and Quade Cooper have made the Wallabies play better.”
Speaking of that time, Jones said: “I didn’t manage my relationship with Australian Rugby Union executive very well, I made some poor decisions on my coaching staff and was probably too aggressive at changing our game without the players to do it.”
“Cheik is very resilient, singleminded and has a great relationship with his players and those three things will stand him in good stead. I want to see him do well.”
Specifically on the “Australian” way of playing rugby – up the guts n’ into ’em – Jones said this: “Just as we are trying to have our English style, what Cheik is doing is right … the Wallabies just have to get better at playing it. Will Genia has got his running game back and he is making a helluva a difference. You can’t beat the All Blacks by copying their style, you’ve got to back the Australian way as Cheik calls it.”
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Toothy Memorial
This Saturday, 8 October, the Quirindi Rugby Club in northern New South Wales will play host to the Toothy Tens Rugby Memorial Day in honour of local man, Nick “Toothy” Tooth.
Founded and organised by a bunch of Toothy’s peers, the rugby tournament is a celebration of Nick’s life, after he passed away from sustaining a head injury during a local rugby union match in Quirindi in April 2015. The event will aim to raise funds and awareness of sports-related head injuries and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service.
Nick played for the Quirindi Lions since the under 6s, and was a team favourite throughout his time playing for the Shore School, the Eastern Suburbs Colts and premiership winning player for Woollahra Colleagues Rugby Club.
The tournament, now in its second year, will kick off at 10am and run through to the early evening, featuring 16 teams from all around NSW. Other than rugby games, there will also be a live auction where things such as an Enforcer Pro scrum machine, a stud Hereford bull, signed international jerseys and Australian open tickets will be all up for grabs.
For more information, visit this site.
