Wednesday’s Rugby News: Gold Coast 7’s Team, S15 Roadtrips from Hell, Shaun the Sheep at RWC15 and Lachie Turner to 15.
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Gold Coast sevens team named
After catching the selectors’ attention during the Oceania Sevens tournament in Fiji, Alex Gibbon and Tom Lucas make their debut in the 12-man squad selected for the opening round of the Sevens series on the Gold Coast this weekend.
Australia are in Group D alongside Argentina, Samoa, and Scotland. The Australian team for the tournament is: Asquith, Clark, Foley, Gibbon, Jenkins (capt), Junior Laloifi, Lucas, Malouf, McMahon, Parahi, Stannard, Walker.
Super Rugby roadtrips
There is a side competition running this year to determine who has got the rough end of the pineapple when it comes to the S15 home and away games. While both the Reds and Waratahs face some hardship, the Reds playing five of their first six games on the road, and the Waratahs facing the Sharks, Stormers and Force during three weeks on the road, the award goes to the Stormers.
Starting with a Round one bye, they go on the road in Round three to play (in order) the Crusaders, Chiefs, Brumbies and Reds before returning to Cape Town to play the Waratahs, who will fancy their chances at Newlands after four of last year’s finalists have taken the edge off the Stormers.
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RWC15 – Shaun the Sheep
No, it’s not a joke. In a marketing coup designed to subliminally entrench the All Blacks as cuddly characters who would never do such things as fall on the wrong side of the ruck and roll into the opposing halfback, loiter in offside positions and so on, the IRB has announced that Shaun the Sheep will be joining the RWC 2015 flock (groan).
The possibilities opened up by this decision are endless, and should provide fertile ground for a number of limited edition G&GR T-Shirts as the RWC draws closer.
Lachie Turner to 15 for Reds?
Reds coach Richard Graham will trial Lachie Turner at fullback for the Reds in 2014 in an attempt to repair the side’s poor try scoring performance over the last two years.
Turner played at both wing and fullback for the Waratahs before moving north this year to sign a two-year contract with the Reds. Competition for the No. 15 jersey will be spirited, with Mike Harris, Aidan Toua and Ben Lucas all having spent time at fullback over recent seasons. Graham stated ‘The Reds want to play an exciting brand and Lachie with his skill set – he’s a big man, he’s tall, he’s quick and loves being involved in the game – will really suit our game in that outside channel.’
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