Thursday’s rugby news has the Reds suffering some key injuries while worrying about South African sharpshooters, Pocock aiming for RWC 2015 and Warburton to undergo shoulder surgery.
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Reds suffer setback
Reds outside centre Chris Feauai-Sautia has been sent home from the team’s tour of South Africa after complaining of hamstring soreness. Although coach Richard Graham has emphasised that CFS returning to Brisbane to undergo scans is merely a precautionary measure, the two-test Wallaby has had a history of hamstring issues, prompting concern that he may need an extended stint on the sideline.
Queensland are in a relatively good position though, with two former Wallabies filling the void. Ben Tapuai will start at outside centre with Anthony Fainga’a moving on to the reserves bench. The Reds will also be without prop Ben Daley though, who is out for six weeks after suffering a grade two medial ligament strain in the team’s 35-20 loss to the Sharks. [/one_half]
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Pocock vows to make 2015 RWC
Speaking publically for the first time since his season-ending knee surgery, David Pocock has revealed his desire to make a Wallabies comeback at next year’s World Cup. The star flanker signed a lucrative three-year contract at the start of 2013 but will now effectively miss his second consecutive season with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. At the outset of a nine-month rehabilitation stint, Pocock has emphasised, ‘I hope to be back better than before … there are no sure things in sport but I’ll do everything I can to get back there.’
Pocock has also looked to some inspirational recoveries, such as that of Tim Horan to play the 1995 World Cup as well as the Canberra Raider Terry Campese’s return from two knee reconstructions, saying, ‘I don’t see it as career-ending, that’s for sure.’ [/one_half]
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Reds address discipline
Staying with the Reds, the team has identified their ill-discipline as a much-needed area of improvement for Sunday’s match against the Lions. The Reds are conceding 14.5 penalties per game and face the leading pointscorer in the competition this week, Lions sharpshooter Marnitz Boshoff. ‘Obviously he (Boshoff) is a threat,’ said Mike Harris. ‘If we are going to be as ill-disciplined as we were on the weekend, we’re going to be punished from anywhere from 60m out.’
Queensland effectively penalised themselves out of the game against the Sharks, with goalkickers Pat Lambie and Frans Steyn slotting three-pointers from six of the first seven penalties the Reds conceded and building a 25-6 lead before the half. [/one_half]
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Warburton injured again
Wales captain Sam Warburton is set to undergo shoulder surgery next week and will likely be out of action for ‘several months’, including Wales’ summer tour of South Africa and the rest of the RaboDirect Pro12 season. The British and Irish Lions forward suffered a dislocated shoulder against Scotland during the closing stages of Wales’ 51-3 win in the final match of their Six Nations campaign.
Warburton will now join fellow Welsh star Leigh Halfpenny on the sidelines, after the Lions fullback suffered an almost identical shoulder dislocation last week against England. ‘That’s just the way international rugby is nowadays,’ Warburton said after the match. ‘I don’t think you’ll go more than three years without picking up a decent injury [with] a month or two lay-off at this level.'[/one_half]
