More woes for the Wallabies as star front-row’s World Cup dream ended through injury
Wallabies front-row Allan Alaalatoa is carted off the field after sustaining an Achilles injury in the Bledisloe Cup Test against the All Blacks in Melbourne.
The Wallabies’ woes went from bad to worse when it was confirmed that star front-row Allan Alaalatoa has been ruled out of the upcoming Rugby World Cup in France due to a ruptured Achilles.
Alaalatoa, who was the Wallabies’ stand-in captain in Saturday’s Rugby Championship loss to the All Blacks at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), sustained the injury at a scrum during the latter stages of the first half.
Replacements set to answer Wallabies SOS
He is set for a lengthy stint on the sidelines with Tom Lambert and Zane Nonggorr set to join Australia’s squad as they head to Dunedin for their second Bledisloe Cup Test.
The Wallabies found themselves on the back foot of a strong All Blacks scrum in the 38th minute at the MCG and tighthead prop Alaalatoa buckled under the pressure from his opponents.
It left him in agonising pain on the pitch and he was unable to continue as he was carted off the field.
“He’s got a fairly serious injury I would suggest,” said Wallabies head coach Eddie Jones after the match, with scans confirming his fears.
Alaalatoa was initially replaced by Taniela Tupou but his stint on the field did not last too long as he sustained a rib injury after being on the field for about 10 minutes.
Tupou did not leave the pitch immediately and battled on through the pain but was eventually replaced in the 57th minute.
To make matters worse for the Wallabies, who were under the cosh for most of the second half, Tupou also received a yellow card from the replacements bench after a television review from the match officials for a high tackle before his departure from the field.
“He’s got a rib injury but we’re not sure how serious it is at this stage…When it rains, it pours mate,” added Jones.
Tupou will be pushing to be prove his fitness for Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup rematch at the Forsyth Barr Stadium.
Uncertainty over co-captain
Meanwhile, there is still uncertainty about Wallabies openside flanker and co-captain Michael Hooper who has not made the trip to Dunedin as he is still dealing with an with an ongoing calf injury.
“We’ll have to wait and see,” Jones added on Hooper.
“He’s got a serious injury and when you have a serious injury there are deadlines and we need to find out the deadline.”
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