Wednesday’s rugby news has the Wallabies down in the world rankings, Kuridrani officially re-signing, Larkham confident in his 7 and Wales with two big changes.
[one_half last=”no”]
Wallabies fall to sixth
The Wallabies have slipped to their lowest position since international rankings were introduced more than a decade ago, dropping to to sixth in the world on Tuesday. Wales climbed above Australia following their Six Nations victory over Ireland last Saturday, while the Wallabies have remained stagnant with poor 2014 results.
The Wallabies won only two Rugby Championship Tests, while suffering a loss to Argentina. With Michael Cheika taking over for the Spring Tour of Europe, the Wallabies were only able to come away with one win over Wales.
[/one_half]
[one_half last=”yes”]
Kuridrani re-signs
Wallabies centre Tevita Kuridrani has confirmed his commitment to the ARU and the Brumbies, re-signing with both for another two years. The long-expected move comes on the back of last week’s announcements that fellow Wallabies Scott Fardy, Sam Carter and Josh Mann-Rea had also penned new deals.
ACT coach Stephen Larkham heaped praise on his 13, comparing Kuridrani to Wallabies great Stirling Mortlock before saying, “He’s certainly the best centre in Australia, if not the world, at the moment.”
[/one_half]
[one_half last=”no”]
Larkham backs Pocock
Stephen Larkham has said that he is 99% sure that David Pocock will be fit for Sunday’s match against the Waratahs. The Brumbies coach seemed to be tossing up whether to put Pocock directly into the starting lineup.
“It is (a selection dilemma), considering the way the backrow have been playing…Certainly Poey adds another element,” said Larkham, referring to Pocock’s disruptive presence at the breakdown. The former Wallabies captain previously achieved a man-of-the-match performance in his comeback from a second knee reconstruction
[/one_half]
[one_half last=”yes”]
Gatland changes front-row
Welsh coach Warran Gatland has been forced to make two changes for the final game of the team’s Six Nations campaign. Props Samson Lee (Achilles) and Gethin Jenkins (hamstring) suffered injuries in the first half of the 23-16 victory over Ireland in Cardiff on Saturday and will be replaced by Aaron Jarvis and Rob Evans.
While Wales are tied at the top of the competition ladder, they face a significant points differential gap. “The challenge to us is to go to Italy and win, and try to win by a significant margin, but we know that’s an extremely tough ask and the first job will be to simply get the result,” said Gatland.
[/one_half]
