Wallaby coach Robbie Deans is set to call up and handful of players from Australia after his squad was further depleted by injuries in Pretoria.
Deans was in a sombre mood after Saturday's heavy loss to the Springboks at Loftus Versfeld and admitted that he would likely be forced to shuffle his injury-ravaged team once again for next weekend's clash with the Pumas in Argentina.
Deans was not yet in position to give a full update on the injury list at the post-match press conference but did say that centre Adam Ashley-Cooper had undergone a CT scan after being knocked out cold while performing a try-saving tackle on Zane Kirchner.
"[Ashley-Cooper] is up and about, which is encouraging for him because it didn't look good," said Deans.
"Berrick Barnes is having an x-ray (on his chest) and there are a couple of other blokes in the shed that will need some follow up.
"We are going to have to bring some players across from Australia which is going to be challenging because we've already delved so deep into our resources that there will be a couple of players who won't yet have visas organised.
"Organising a visa for Argentina is not straight forward so it is possible that some of the blokes won't get there in time for training."
Digby Ioane (knee), Radike Samo (shoulder) and Tatafu Polota Nau (shoulder) were all forced off during the course of the game.
The visitors were forced to finish the game with just 14-men, and with uncontested scrums, as the injury toll meant all of their substitutions had been used and Polota Nau could not be replaced.
"I have never seen anything like that in terms of carnage," said Deans.
"We were down to 13 men at one point and not being able to make that last replacement put us under the pump."
"It could have blow out even more," he, praising the pride shown in the closing stages.
"We were severely compromised in terms of the line-up, but they hung on."
Captain Nathan Sharpe gave credit to the Springboks.
"The Boks played well in the middle 40 [minutes]. From there we just gave them too many points," he said.
Comments
GoWalesGo says...
@Sharpster
Your statement didn't deserve a serious comment.
If you seriously believe that "Unfortunately even Russia would have beaten that Wobblies team by at least 20 points so please don't think you are out of the woods by any stretch." then please don't bother ever posting again on this forum, for your sake.
You are now officially in the planet rugby noob section, well done brother.
Posted 05:05 03rd October 2012
GoWalesGo says...
@Sharpster
Your statement didn't deserve a serious comment.
If you seriously believe that "Unfortunately even Russia would have beaten that Wobblies team by at least 20 points so please don't think you are out of the woods by any stretch." then please don't bother ever posting again on this forum, for your sake.
You are now officially in the planet rugby noob section, well done brother.
Posted 16:31 02nd October 2012
melkdave says...
@Georgesmith
It may have escaped your notice,But it isnt R.Deans job to develop talant its the ARUs and S15 teams.,his job is to bring on such talant as is available into the national team set up ,and see if they can do the job.As to what players his .brought into the national team .Well JOC,W.Genia K.Beale,M.Hooper, D.Pocock,D.Ioane,S.Timarani,K.Douglas,D.Shippley,and of course Q.Cooper To name a few all i think blooded by R.Deans ,and all at the top or showing potential to be imo.Think before spouting nonsense please ,it just shows your lack of understanding..No offence intended,but i am sick of misinformed posters just venting without understanding.Just what a coaches job is ,and their role. .
Posted 16:06 02nd October 2012
Sharpster says...
@GoWalesGo...."shut the hell up noob"...classy. Last time I checked this was a public forum therefore if you disagree with something try writing an intelligent comment if your pea brain allows you.
Posted 00:51 02nd October 2012
scrumpoacher says...
three6three6 says "Well if you were to read the popular newspapers in Australia you might believe thet they were all playing AFL, cricket or the other rugby code. But this response is far too simple - what has heppened is that Australian rugby union has failed to idenrtify an develop such talent"
The simplest answer is usually the correct one, the last statement is directly related to the first quoted here-there isnt enough talent in our Union to develop in the first place. Im not saying there isnt any, just not enough...Start paying a lot more is the silver bullet and they will come from all the other codes-and kids will see the dollar signs too...Grassroots in the suburbs is where its at- but the ARU cant (or wont) see it...Cheers
Posted 00:24 02nd October 2012
georgesmith says...
So R. Deans is a Test rugby coach who has run out of players. May I ask what did he do in terms of player development in the last five years. Instead he has been having a love-affair with veterans like N. Sharpe, R. Samo, B.Barnes and S. Moore. This guy has destroyed Wallabies and is a failed coach. Losses to Scotland, Samoa and Ireland. If it was Fiji next, then even Fiji would beaten R. Deans. Just go back to the hole you came from. Bloody loser coach. Lets sack him right now.
Posted 00:15 02nd October 2012
GoWalesGo says...
"Unfortunately even Russia would have beaten that Wobblies team by at least 20 points so please don't think you are out of the woods by any stretch."
- Sharpster
Shut the hell up noob.
Posted 17:24 01st October 2012
melkdave says...
@Three6Three6
Couldnt agree more with your post here,ive been posting about the failure of the ARU to put in place a player development structure for sometime.I also menioned the weaknesses in Australias age group teams aswell,only last year the U18s where whitewashed and thrashed by EnglandU18s on home soil.Its one reason ive prdicted that in 5yrs Australia will be fighting to survie as a top 10 team in the IRB rankings.Unless drastic action is taken,J.O;Neil has ruined Australian rugby union imho.He should have ben sacked much sooner,and never returned,his done more harm than any admiestrator anywhere ever in sports history
Posted 16:43 01st October 2012
Sharpster says...
Well done SA you won the game. Unfortunately even Russia would have beaten that Wobblies team by at least 20 points so please don't think you are out of the woods by any stretch. An improvement? Yes but no where near ABs. SA did play Rolland well as he was not calling for releasing of tackled players or offside.etc. RD is a great coach, with an extremely limited player pool.
Posted 14:21 01st October 2012
three6three6 says...
It is the same old story no matter how one looks at it.... Australia has not built a conveyor belt producing good international quality rugby players. The reasons for this are multi faceted... there is not a silver bullet that will solve this particular problem.
Australia were very poor at U20 level, in the most recent Junior World Cup. There were many teams that have now surpassed them at this level - i.e. including Ireland, Wales, France and Argentina (not mentioning South Africa, England & New Zealand). This means at this level Australia is struggling to break into the top six teams in the world. But more worrying is that Australia at junior level is exhibiting similar weaknesses of the senior Wallaby team. (e.g. poor set peice play, poor tight forward play, lack of continuity etc.)
What we can see from other leading nations is that the ITM Cup and the Currie Cup competitions are extremely useful stepping stones for good quality younger players. Without a similar competition in Australia there is a missing link in the development infrastructure to developing world class rugby players. It is not surprising that Australia has not turned out many truly world class players over the last 10 years - where are the Horans, Lynaghs, Littles, Ellas of this current generation. Well if you were to read the popular newspapers in Australia you might believe thet they were all playing AFL, cricket or the other rugby code. But this response is far too simple - what has heppened is that Australian rugby union has failed to idenrtify an develop such talent. It is now time for drastic action to be taken!
Posted 07:16 01st October 2012
Trinats2 says...
KiwiLad:
No not Giteau, just an attacking game plan. Even just a plan !!
startledwombat:
I was gobsmacked when I saw Shipperley take the ball to the line, he looked confused and lost and not sure what he should be doing. Turn it back to the Reds and he would have taken out two defenders and creating an over lap for the extra men out wide. This comes from him been told by Deans "dont try anything, keep it safe, run back into the pack for suopport" !!!
Ramage:
"NZers still remember John O'Neill and the way he shafted NZ over the 2003 RWC"
Funny because WE (rest of the world) know NZ wouldn't back down with their Adidas advertising, which is why they could not host any RWC games in NZ in 03 !!!
Or maybe it was because of your hostile spitting fans !!!
Posted 00:16 01st October 2012
ManWarrior says...
PR: I'm just wondering why there is no current article posted about the Springboks performance? After all, they have subdued the critics (I am one of them) somewhat with their performance Saturday. Habana deserves a mention..?
Anyways, I feel for the Wallabies, it's not nice to have so many injuries, especially when you're gonna play a physical side like Argentina. I's gonna be a dead rubber game. One that might see the Le Pumas get there first win...Go Bokke!
Posted 21:38 30th September 2012
SACanuck says...
When you Look at NZ, Australia and SA one thing becomes very obvious. Player management. The NZRU manage their players well. You very seldom see the likes of Carter or McCaw play every game of the year. They always develop an injury. Fake or fact we will never know but the point is they NZRU do not end up with as many injury issues as the other 2. Look at Steyn as an example for SA. The guy has played non stop for something like 3 years, and is now struggleing and MN finally rested him. I don't think it is as much about the coaches but hoe the unions manage their players. The NZRU do a better job than the others and therefore do not get themselves into this position.
Posted 15:47 30th September 2012
Ramage says...
@ waz4before yes you do need to build a second tier competition for your country so that it can build some depth.Hey but dont think you can piggy back in on another country's competition. Seems something you Aussies are good at suggesting. Do your own graft set up your own competition and be professional in your operations. Please dont think you can just glide in on the work NZ has done.We NZers still remember John O'Neill and the way he shafted NZ over the 2003 RWC .It is he who dropped the year old second tier competition when he returned as CEO from running football. OZalready does this in Super Rugby and the old conference system is all because of Australian belief it would suit their situation.unfortunately it has not and now we see even more NZers being selected for the OZ conference teams. So waz4before yes do it but dont expect to ride in on NZ coat tails.
Posted 10:30 30th September 2012
KiwiLad says...
Robbie, pack your bags and come home, no one could turn the donkey that is Aus rugby into a racehorse..
Posted 08:31 30th September 2012
KiwiLad says...
Sirtidychris, Trinats, are either of you suggesting Gitteau could remedy this shambles???
Posted 08:09 30th September 2012
scrumpoacher says...
@waz4before Its been done (Aust Rugby Championship in 2007) but it didnt get the right support either from the public or sponsors (hell it was broadcast on the ABC!). AFL League and soccer are taking the shrinking (Oz has the highest per capita childhood obesity rate in the world) sporting talent and there is little to stop it. I also hope we stop the islander/NZ imports too. Our population base is too small to support all these sports to the financial levels expected these days. While we hold our own at the moment, I think we are punching above our own weight (no pun intended children of Oz) and it will get just that little bit worse-until the public realise our game is far superior to League! Cheers
Posted 06:16 30th September 2012
Ripzy007 says...
What depth? Any coach will struggle with the Wallabies team at the moment. I hope they will have Ewen in ASAP so we don't have to hear about them blaming their faults on 1 person. I wish QC played in this game or RD knew the Boks would eat him alive as he cant tackle? Just saying
Posted 05:05 30th September 2012
costa says...
across australia players turn their cellphones off and go into hiding, for fear of being called up.
Posted 03:41 30th September 2012
startledwombat says...
The Wallabies backline is improving. The arrival time of the first silly grubber kick was able to be measured in minutes, not seconds, after the kick-off whistle.
Developing rugby intelligence suitable for test level in these guys continues to be a work in progress. I wince at the hideous lack of vision and defensive anticipation that led to Habana's third try from his (brilliantly-done) short lineout call.
@Trinats2
if Giteau's absence is for the reason you explain, then the tradition of Wallaby backline players thinking they are brighter than the coach is a long one.
The evidence of intelligence among the backline players continues to be scanty. Their collective IQ seems not far above a tennis doubles pairing.
Personally, the day the backline players play a match without grubber kicks, chip kicks, running across the field, having their kicks charged down, or getting tangled in the forward attacking pods they've called up into position, that's the day when I will start listening to what comes out of the mouth of a Wallaby back.
And as for believing what they say after they say it, that's another step. (One step at a time here, I'm afraid). The intelligence checklist for the next step is yet to be finalised but will probably involve the absence of laptops of uncertain provenance nor fisticuffs with security guards, and being able to spell two-syllable words correctly while on twitter.
I was intrigued to see the bottom-of-the-barrel replacements playing to Deans' game plan and some interesting signs to come in the latter stages of the game. I can only put it down to players trying to execute without their egos getting in the way.
Posted 03:21 30th September 2012