Wednesday’s rugby news has Speight almost in a gold jersey, Ben Lucas wearing no.10 for the Reds, the Waratahs New-Zealand baggage and another South African player unavailable.
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Speight starts Wallaby audition
Fijian-born Henry Speight says he faces a three-game Wallaby audition after being named in Ewen McKenzie’s French squad despite being ineligible for Test honours until September. Speight has missed a large portion of 2014 with a broken jaw but was electrifying in seemingly every match before the setback.
The next three games will also be vital for the Brumbies’ finals hopes, sitting one spot outside the top six, with their remaining matches against the Rebels, Waratahs and the Force. “I’ve missed a lot of games and hopefully I can pick it up this last three games and I’ll see if they like it or not, but my focus is on the Brumbies,” Speight said. [/one_half]
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Lucas promoted to 10
After the shoulder injury to Wallabies five-eighth Quade Cooper, versatile Reds back Ben Lucas is looking forward to having an extended run in the no. 10 jersey. Although Lucas has filled in for the Reds at fullback, winger and halfback, his junior rugby was primarily at 10, emphasising, “I’ve played it my whole life so anytime I do have to go back to 10 things come pretty naturally.”
While Lucas admitted that his selection will mean “subtle” changes for the Reds style of play, he was confident in his abilities, also citing the positive effect that his pre-existing schoolboy rugby relationship with Will Genia will have in the transition. [/one_half]
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Tahs to exercise NZ demons
After moving up to second on the Super Rugby ladder, and first in the Australian conference, the Waratahs are preparing for possibly their biggest challenge of the season- facing up to play the Chiefs away from home. The Waratahs have lost their past eight games in New Zealand and have not won there in four years.
Waratahs assistant coach Daryl Gibson saw the New Zealand match as an important hurdle for the team to overcome and shed their mental baggage. “For us, as part of our transformation process, becoming the team that we want to become, winning in New Zealand is part of that,” he said. [/one_half]
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More pain for South Africa
The South African Test team has suffered another setback, with hooker Adriaan Strauss being ruled out of the June internationals. Strauss was banned for three weeks after a dangerous tackle on Western Stormers wing Kobus van Wyk last weekend.
Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer was previously dealt the misfortune of losing Springboks captain Jean de Villiers with a knee injury. The Stormers centre underwent surgery last weekend and will be out of action for eight weeks. Veteran lock Victor Matfield, Bismarck du Plessis and flanker Francois Louw are the current front-runners for the stand-in captaincy role. [/one_half]
