Thursday’s Rugby News has Tupou cleared, Folau searching inside, Haylett-Petty ruled out and more on Pocock.
[one_half last=”no”]
Surviving the music
Reds fans can breathe a sigh of relief: the Tongan Thor has escaped suspension.
Tupou was potentially in line for a suspension under law 9.13: ‘A player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously’ for a late tackle on winger Craig Barry during the Stormers match. Instead, he was found guilty of law 9.11: ‘Players must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others.’
However, after reviewing multiple angles of the hit and a statement from Barry and the Stormers’ team doctor, the panel deemed his tackle fell short of the red card threshold required for a suspension.
The panel concluded that Tupou was attempting to use his hands in the tackle, but the force of his hit and inability to grapple Barry was the reason him being found guilty of law 9.11.
“The Judicial Committee concluded that the Player, whilst attempting to use his arms, failed to properly grasp his opponent in the tackle, which resulted in the point of contact being between the Player’s right shoulder and his opponent’s upper chest area, causing the opponent to bounce off the Player,” judicial committee chairman Robert Stelzner SC said in an official statement.
So yeah. He was bounced.
“An inadequate attempt to grasp his opponent immediately before the point of impact resulted in the action being reckless as to the consequences thereof,” the statement continued.
“This was in contravention of Law 9.11, and close to, but not crossing, the Red Card threshold. As a result the Judicial Committee issued the Player with a warning.
“The player is therefore free to play.”
[/one_half]
[one_half last=”yes”]
Scratching the Surface
Waratahs fans can get excited: we might have not yet seen the best of Izzy Folau.
Since 2013, Folau has consistently been regarded as one of the best fullbacks in the world, with his skills over the high ball particularly noteworthy. However, after the wing experiment proved successful, NSW attack coach Chris Malone threw open the idea that Izzy may have a lot more skills up his sleeve.
“I think the reality is you could pick him anywhere in the back line and he’s probably going to be the best player on the field and I was really pleased for the performance that he had, he embraced the move to the wing and obviously as you saw he was a huge difference in the two teams,” he said to rugby.com.au.
“The ability to get on the front foot through what he can do in the air was phenomenal.”
“The great strengths that he has have probably not been used enough over the last five years and we want him to get his hands on the ball,” he added.
“If that’s good work inside him and passing it to him or kicking it to him or – there’s a number of different ways we can ensure we do that.
“He’s a huge threat and he had a good game last week and we’ll be looking for him to have another one this week.”
The win against the Rebels was a much-needed shot in the arm for Tahs fans, as it finally showed to them what they already knew: that with all this potential, this side should have the best bloody attack in the competition.
“The change was just a little bit of composure,” Malone said.
“The reality was we’d already created a lot in that game as we have in the games prior to that in the season.
“For us, it’s about believing that we’re going to get the outcome that we want, we don’t have to get it straight away on the first phase every time.
“We had a golden patch in the game on the weekend, (but) the Brumbies, they have the best defence in the Australian conference, so you know we’re going to have to maintain possession for a lot longer than we have so far.
“I think the belief and the potential in this team, the boys have seen that now, so it’ll be our intention to continue to play good rugby, we don’t want to stop playing, we’re just finding a nice balance there keeping the pressure on the opposition as opposed to ourselves.”
The other good news for Tahs fans is that Jake Gordon is expected to return, after recovering from concussion. Nick Phipps is a maybe…
[/one_half]
[one_half last=”no”]
Stick on the Cotton wool
Rebels fans have a bit to worry about: one of their star players, Dayne Haylett-Petty, has been ruled out of the Canes match.
Haylett-Petty has been MIA for the Stockade ever since he got badly concussed against the Waratahs, and Dave Wessels confirmed today that the docs decided to give him another week to recover.
Concussion is something you certainly can’t try to rush back from, so fair enough.
In his place, Jack Maddocks will retain his spot in the backline, while Tom English will come into the starting lineup, while Sefa Naivalu drops to the bench.
Anaru Rangi has kept his spot as hooker, with Lopeti Timani coming into the scrum. Geoff Parling has been removed from the starting 23, with Matt Phillip starting.
So yeah, there’s a lot of changes to this Rebel squad.
“I can honestly say this week has been the toughest selection I’ve ever had to make,” Dave Wessels said to rugby.com.au.
“We are very fortunate to have so many players fit, it’s been incredibly hard and I’ve had a few sleepless nights.
“In our coaches’ discussion, I’ve never had less of a consensus than we had this week. It’s a great problem to have.”
The Rebels will be looking to break the 0-26 streak from last year against the Hurricanes, who named their squad yesterday. Ardie Savea and Matt Proctor have been ruled out due to injury, with Sam Henwood, Vaea Fifita and Vince Aso the three changes to the starting 23.
In his typical poker-face fashion, Wessels didn’t harp on much about the ugly losing streak.
“They’re a good side and you obviously have to respect that. But our focus has been – as it is every week – on playing in a way that makes the people of Melbourne proud.”
Check out the Rebels squad here.
[/one_half]
[one_half last=”yes”]
Just bloody tell us!
Brumbies fans are frustrated. Really, really frustrated.
Why? Because now, as of Wednesday night, nothing has been confirmed about whether David Pocock is back. I know Dan McKellar is playing his cards close to his chest, but come on mate! You’re killing me.
“If Poey’s fit and available, he’ll be playing and at this point in time all the signs are leading towards that,” he said.
“If I was to make a decision now, he’ll have some involvement on Saturday night.”
Brumbies fans could also potentially be welcoming back co-captain Sam Carter and also Robbie Abel, who is reportedly close to full recovery.
“Last week he just had a few lingering signs,” McKellar added on Carter.
“He just didn’t feel 100 per cent, so I’ll just go off the advice of the medical team there and he’s just going to get through his return to play protocols and then get through a heavy unit session this morning.
“So, if he pulls up well, you’d imagine that Carts will be involved.”
This derby match comes at a critical time for both teams, after both got important wins in round five to get their season back on track. If there was ever a match that would put wind in their sails, this is it.
Add to that as well, that it’s this match. I’d argue, probably this is one of the most fiery rivalries in Super Rugby.
McKellar played down the emotional element of the game, highlighting that the team has a job to do this weekend.
“In the past it’s been quite emotional and we’ve made a point of not going down the emotional path too early,” he said.
“It’s another game of footy.
“Obviously, both teams know each other really well and we had some progression with our performance against the Sharks and we’re just focusing on us and making sure we’re better again on Saturday night and start to build some momentum at home. ”
Personally, I think from an Aussie perspective, this derby match, along with the first Trans-Tasman clash, is probably going to be the most important round of the year. It’ll either be awesome…. or not.
[/one_half]
