Thursday’s rugby news has Speight missing the finals, Cooper suffering more shoulder issues, AAC riding into the sunset and Ireland ready for the World Cup.
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Speight suspended
Henry Speight has been suspended for five weeks up to Saturday 25 July 2015 for a lifting tackle which occurred in the 74th minute of last week’s match between the Stormers and Brumbies.This would mean that Speight will miss Saturday’s semi-final against the Hurricanes in Wellington and the final if the Brumbies progress, as well as the first two Rugby Championship games.
Speight was given a red-card during the match and judicial officer Robert Stelzner SC emphasised, “An aggravating factor is the ongoing need for a deterrent for dangerous play such as this which carries with it the real risk of serious injury.”
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Cooper injured
Quade Cooper’s future with the Wallabies has been set back yet again as the flyhalf is battling another shoulder injury ahead of the Rugby Championship. The ARU is confident that Cooper will be fit for the Rugby Championships although the Reds playmaker hasn’t been present at the Wallaby training camps as he has been consulting medical staff over the last couple of days.
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AAC nearing the end
Wallabies veteran Adam Ashley-Cooper has played-down the opportunity to continue his Test run after the World Cup, despite the new ARU policy which sees that overseas-based players will be eligible for selection with the national team as long as they have played more than 60 Tests for Australia.
AAC said he had faith in the next generation of Wallaby representatives after signing a two-year deal with the French Top 14 club Bordeaux Begles last December. “They’re not going to need an old bull with a few hundred Test caps under his belt coming back, so I’ll be looking to just kind of settle in over there,” he said
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Ireland squad named
Ireland’s Rhys Ruddock will miss the World Cup after a second broken arm in six months cost the Leinster flank a place in coach Joe Schmidt’s 45-man training squad announced Wednesday. Veteran lock Paul O’Connell captains a squad where the only uncapped players are Leinster forwards Jack Conan and Tadhg Furlong.
Ireland have four warm-up matches in August and September, with home and away internationals against Wales either side of a Dublin date with Scotland. They conclude their World Cup preparations against England at Twickenham on September 5.
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