Tuesday’s rugby news has Folau possibly rested, Beale possibly on the bench, Hunt praised and some Springboks stuck in France.
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Wallabies to give Folau a break
After a sub-par performance from Israel Folau during the team’s recent loss to France, Wallabies coach Michael Chieka will closely monitor the star fullback to assess whether he needs to be put under a lightened workload after a hectic year of rugby. Folau has played 26 games in five countries this year, missing hardly any minutes for the Wallabies and Waratahs.
“I need to talk to [Folau], … he made a couple of uncharacteristic errors under the high ball and he took a knock early,” Cheika said, adding “I’m sure he’ll bounce back.”
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Beale confirmed for Irish Test
A shock call-up could fall into Kurtley Beale’s lap if Folau is rested, with the Waratahs centre being slated to be placed on the bench as a reserve fullback if this occurs. Cheika emphasised that he would not would not want to promote Beale ahead of the rest of the squad that have been training together.
The Wallabies coach once again emphasised his plan to shuffle the team, saying, “If I’m going to do it (have a look at other players), now is the time,” adding to the previous contenders for a spot young Rebels flanker Luke Jones.
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Hunt praised by former Biarritz boss
Former Biarritz boss Jack Isaac has said that Karmichael Hunt could be a key part of Michael Chieka’s World Cup bid next year. “His transition to rugby was relatively quick,” said Isaac, going as far as emphasising, “He was such a complete player, he was very versatile.”
Even if Hunt can recreate his influence in France at the Reds, there will be the difficulty of his place in the Wallabies backline. While the former league star played in the centres at Biarritz, Richard Graham has earmarked him for fullback role at Ballymore.
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French clubs holding onto Springboks
Demonstrating a major flaw in the flexible Test inclusion policy, the Springboks are reportedly being denied the play of five members of the international squad by Top 14 clubs.
Bakkies Botha and Bryan Habana of Toulon, Jano Vermaak and Gurthö Steenkamp at Toulouse and Stade Français’ Morné Steyn will all be missing for the 29 November game against Wales which falls outside the international window. This match conflicts with a scheduled domestic championship round, where Toulon host leaders Clermont and Toulouse welcome play-off rivals Brive.
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