Wednesday’s rugby news has a massive change to the Tahs starters, another Wallaby overseas, disarray in the Sevens and a French star dropped.
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McMeniman to Japan
Western Force second-rower Hugh McMeniman will leave Australian Rugby at the end of the Super Rugby season to play for the Honda Heat in Japan. The news, just weeks after Ben Mowen’s announced departure, may intensify an inquiry into the ARU’s eligibility rules. Although the switch may just be an understandable crash-grab by McCmeniman after he underwent a ‘pretty ruthless’ shoulder surgery.
As for the rest of the Force, back-rower Ben McCalman believes that the team’s defence can be improved quickly. After letting in six tries to the Waratahs, McCalman said, ‘We just have to work on spacing and trusting the player either side of you. It’s not a huge problem for us.’ [/one_half]
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Cheika to start Potgieter
NSW coach Michael Cheika has cited a ‘gut-feeling’ prompting him to promote Jacques Potgieter into the starting side ahead of huge second-rower Will Skelton. ‘Jacques came on and had a really good impact on the weekend and I’d like Willie to learn how to do the same, play in both situations,’ Cheika said. The switch is the only change to the Waratah’s starting line-up, although captain Dave Dennis did not train Tuesday with a knee injury and will be monitored throughout the week.
As for the backs, NSW will retain the playmaking partnership of Bernard Foley and Kurtley Beale. Foley said that the inside-back pair was in good shape, but with much room for improvement in order to be consistently threatening. [/one_half]
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Sevens coach quits
The Australian sevens team has been rocked by the news that coach Michael O’Connor is quitting after six years in charge. In January the ARU changed the Sevens to a fulltime program based at Narrabeen on Sydney’s northern beaches. While O’Connor thought that the intensifying professionalism will help the team, he said the shift would mean too much time away from his family in Queensland.
Australia are ranked fifth on the IRB Sevens table but O’Connor believes that the team is steadily catching up with the world leaders. ‘You’ll see big improvements for these boys in the next couple of years,’ he said. ‘The team work is starting to come together, the game understanding and just living together (in Sydney) will make a massive difference.’ [/one_half]
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France drops star for disrespect
France coach Philippe Saint-Andre has made the bold step of dropping Toulouse No 8 Louis Picamoles for showing a lack of respect towards the referee during the team’s loss to Wales. Picamoles mock-applauded Alain Rolland after being sin-binned, with Saint-Andre asserted, ‘Respect is the foundation of our values. It is vital to send a signal to all players and remind them having the privilege of wearing the jersey imposes duties and obligations.’
In an interesting twist though, the squad will now see the return of Clermont scrum-half Morgan Parra, despite being sent off for head-butting a Montpellier opponent on Saturday. The other squad changes include Wesley Fofana and Yannick Nyanga being left out due to rib and groin injuries while Marc Andreu and Ibrahim Diarra have been dropped. [/one_half]
