Thursdays Rugby News sees Big names re-sign with Wallabies, Wright move for the Brumbies, Rugby Court Cases and more changes to the All Blacks
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WALLABIES LOCK DOWN SOME BIG NAMES
Melbourne Rebels Flying Fijian Marika Koroibete and Queensland Reds man mountain Izack Rodda have re-signed with Rugby Australia and their clubs.
Koroibete, the 26 year old ex Melbourne Storm player, has signed a one-year contractextension keeping him in line for a World Cup appearance.
Michael Cheika recruited Koroibete from Rugby League with the intention of playing him at the World Cup in Japan, but with him out of contract at the end of this year, this signature is a strong statement, keeping Koroibete in Australia and away from Rugby League for at least another year.
Koroibete wants to repay the support the Rebels have shown him since coming across from the Storm.
“I am very happy to be continuing with the Rebels in 2019. I joined the Club when I first came to professional Rugby and they have supported me to become a Wallaby. Now I want to repay their belief in me and be the best winger in the world. Melbourne is where I believe I can achieve that.”
He is now eyeing a chance for glory at next year’s World Cup.
“Then hopefully go from there, get picked for the World Cup. It really would be a dream come true.”
Izack Rodda has ignored offers from other clubs after he put pen to paper, keeping him in a Reds jersey for another two years.
“I’m very excited to re-sign for the two more years and I’m really looking forward to sticking in with the Reds and the Wallabies,” Rodda said.
“The Reds gave me my first crack and my first contract. I was one year out of school and I haven’t really looked back since.
Coming off a strong 2019 for the Reds, Rodda has started in all six Wallabies test this season as he develops a strong lock combination of Adam Coleman. Rodda definitely looks to be fitting into Cheika’s World Cup plans nicely, filling in a spot that only a few years ago was struggling to find strong stand out performers.
Now that he has locked in his place with Rugby Australia, Rodda wants to continue to push for select and cement a place in the match day squad.
“I want to try get in the World Cup squad then cement a spot in the 23, and hopefully win a World Cup.”
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WRIGHT CALL FOR THE BRUMBIES
The Brumbies have bolstered their playmaker stocks with the addition of Manly Sea Eagle Tom Wrightfor the 2019 season on a two-year deal.
Raised in Randwick and a highly sought after schoolboy star, Wright had previously been tipped to play sevens at Rio in the 2016 Olympic games.
Wright has spent three years playing Rugby League after he took up a deal to play U20s for Manly. He went on to make five appearances for the senior team.
The Brumbies have gotten the win for Rugby by recruiting back a young talent from League as they hope to play him in the 10/12 jersey along side Christian Lealiifano.
“We are extremely excited to welcome Tom to the Plus500 Brumbies,” CEO Michael Thomson said
“Tom is a very exciting prospect and is exactly the kind of young, enthusiastic talent, that thrives in the Brumbies environment. His pace and electrifying running are sure to get fans on the edge of their seats. We are looking forward to welcoming Tom to Canberra and the Brumbies.”
The Brumbies will need to hope for fans to get into those seats before they should worry about putting them on the edge, but a player of Wrights calibre could be an enticing factor.
Brumbies Head Coach Dan McKellar is excited by what Wright can bring to Brumbies back line, with Wright being able to offer something in a position that Australian Rugby lacks depth.
“Tom has genuine X factor in attack with ability to create something out of nothing,”
“He also possesses very good skill. We have said for some time now that to play our style of rugby we need to recruit players with good skill and Tom has that.”
Statistics
Name: Tom Wright
Position: Inside Back
Date of Birth: 21/07/97
Place of Birth: Randwick, New South Wales
Height: 1.86m
Weight: 97kg
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NOT GUILTY
It was a big day for news regarding court cases and Rugby Players with the man accused of allegedly king hitting former Aussie Sevens captain James Stannard being found not guilty.
Englishman Sam Oliver, 23, claimed he acted in self-defence when he hit Stannard outside a kebab shop in Coogee in the early hours of the morning back in March.
“Nothing good happens after 2 o’clock,
“I’m pretty relieved. I need to let my mum know straight away. She’s worried sick.” Oliver told reporters outside the court.
Magistrate Richard Funston found Oliver not guilty of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm.
“I have come to the view that I’m not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that this very serious charge can be made out,” Mr Funston said.
The magistrate believed that the injuries sustained by Oliver were as a result of a fight before the alleged king hit and not from when Stannard’s teammates tackled him into a car.
“This unfortunate incident had the potential to end with even more tragic circumstances,” Mr Funston said.
“We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the fact that alcohol was such a huge issue.”
Stannard said he was disappointed with the outcome of the trial.
“I feel like the truth didn’t come out in the hearing. There is no excuse for violence in this community and I don’t condone it,” he said.
In another case of Rugby player related violence, former Rebels player Amanaki Mafi has plead not guilty to assaulting former team mate Lopeti Timani, claiming he acted in self-defence.
Mafi was charged with intent to injure, after he an Timani went out drinking after the team loss to the Highlanders in Dunedin at the end of the Super Rugby Season.
Mafi is seeking a trial by jury as he pleads self-defence. The court was told Mafi and Timani would try and meet for a restorative justice conference, however.
The judge remanded Mafi on bail until the case is heard in November.
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ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER AB SQUAD
Beauden Barrett is back for another outing as fly half for the All Blacks on the weekend, with Aaron Smith return as half back. The pair’s return is amongst several changes made by coach Steve Hanson from the squad he picked last week.
1/5 the starting line up with week for the All Blacks this week is made up of Barretts as all three brothers start together, Scott in the second row and Jordie at Full back.
SBW returns from injury via the bench, with Ryan Crotty and Rieko Ioane also returning from injury though the starting line up.
Veteran Sam Whitelock comes back into the starting team as replacement for the injured Brodie Retallick, with Liam Squire and Sam Cane taking back the 6 and 7 spots respectively.
Speaking to the media this is what Steve Hansen had to say: “We’ve had a good week’s preparation here in the Capital focussing on what we need to bring to the game through our skillsets, the intensity of our play and our energy. We know that we’ll have to be at our very best in all these areas to counter an opposition we know will be desperate following their back-to-back losses. That means we’ll have to respond with a quality performance and a real hunger to be better. You just have to look at our last encounter in Cape Town to understand what kind of beast we will be facing.”
The squad to face the Springboks
1. Karl Tu’inukuafe (6)2. Codie Taylor (35)3. Owen Franks (101)4. Samuel Whitelock (102)5. Scott Barrett (22)6. Liam Squire (19) 7. Sam Cane (57)8. Kieran Read – captain (112)9. Aaron Smith (76) 10. Beauden Barrett (66)11. Rieko Ioane (17)12. Ryan Crotty (38)13. Anton Lienert-Brown (27)14. Ben Smith (71)15. Jordie Barrett (6)
16. Liam Coltman (2) 17. Tim Perry (2) 18. Ofa Tuungafasi (19) 19. Patrick Tuipulotu (16) 20. Ardie Savea (28) 21. TJ Perenara (48) 22. Sonny Bill Williams (47) 23. Damian McKenzie (18)
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