Tuesday’s rugby news has Cheika cleared of wrongdoing, a lengthy injury stint for key Brumbies, McCalman earning a flexible contract and New Zealand sharing the pain of a player exodus.
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No evidence against Cheika
SANZAR boss Greg Peters has roundly dismissed cheating claims against Waratahs coach Michael Cheika after an investigation into an illegal half-time chat between Cheika and referee Jaco Peyper. SANZAR found no evidence that the Australian coach was trying to cheat when he inquired about scrum interpretations during the round seven clash with the Blues last month.
Peters has been forced to answer claims out of New Zealand that Cheika manipulated the match referee, as reflected in the wildly swinging penalty count. “We absolutely refute that there was any evidence available of that action or intent,” the SANZAR boss said. “We stand by the evidence provided by both Jaco Peyper and Michael Cheika about the nature, tone and timing of the exchange.”
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Lengthy diagnoses for Toomua and Sio
Brumbies five-eighth Matt Toomua faces 4-6 weeks on the sidelines with an ankle syndesmosis injury suffered during their 16-14 loss to the Blues in Auckland. The ACT team will also be without five-Test Wallabies prop Scott Sio for an extended period of time, after the front-rower was shown to have suffered a knee medial ligament strain which will likely keep him on the sidelines for 6-8 weeks.
Inside centre Christian Lealiifano is likely to play five-eighth against the Melbourne Rebels in Canberra on Saturday night, while JP Smith is set to replace Sio. Replacement utility back James Dargaville was today diagnosed with a Lisfranc foot injury and will be sidelined for 2-4 weeks.
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McCalman staying with Force
Ben McCalman is reportedly set to reject an offer from the Waratahs and will instead sign a flexible contract that will see him remain at the Western Force while playing in Japan during the Super Rugby off-season. McCalman will join Top League side Panasonic Wild Knights, led by former Wallabies coach Robbie Deans.
In other Tahs-related news, it appears that winger Taqele Naiyaravoro will be left out of this weekend’s match. Naiyaravoro was sidelined when NSW travelled to Dunedin to play the Highlanders last month because of visa restrictions and those issues are reportedly yet to be resolved, preventing a matchup with All Black winger Julian Savea.
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Slade leaving NZRU
All Blacks playmaker Colin Slade will join the All-Blacks post-World Cup overseas exodus, joining newly promoted PROD2 side Pau on a three-year €500,000-a-year deal. Slade has been in excellent form for the Crusaders this season, so much so that coach Todd Blackadder has shifted veteran playmaker Dan Carter to inside-centre to accommodate Slade at No.10.
His departure adds to a growing list of All Blacks set to leave, with Daniel Carter, Conrad Smith, Charles Piutau, Francis Saili, Ben Franks and Jeremy Thrush all confirming their departures. All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has emphasised the difficulties that 2016 will bring, saying, “We could lose up to 15 players out of our current 31-man squad, which is massive.”
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