QANTAS WALLABIES ANNOUNCE SQUAD FOR TOUR OF SOUTH AFRICA AND ARGENTINA

Sep 17 • General News, International, Rugby Championship News, The Rugby Championship • 4138 Views • Comments Off on QANTAS WALLABIES ANNOUNCE SQUAD FOR TOUR OF SOUTH AFRICA AND ARGENTINA

Photo: Werner Nysschenn Photography

The Qantas Wallabies have announced a 28-man touring squad for the next stage of their 2014 Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship campaign in South Africa and Argentina.

The Wallabies will assemble in Sydney on Friday before flying to South Africa on Monday ahead of matches against the Springboks in Cape Town on Saturday 27 September and Argentina in Mendoza on Saturday 4 October.

Vice-captain Adam Ashley-Cooper has recovered from a nerve compression injury and will return to the squad after missing Australia’s victory over Argentina on the Gold Coast at the weekend.

He will be joined by three further additions in scrumhalf Will Genia, prop Benn Robinson and hooker Saia Fainga’a. All three return as official members of the 28-man squad, after being used as additional training squad players in the lead-up to the Gold Coast Test.

The squad will also see the fairytale story of 33-year-old ACT Brumbies hooker Josh Mann-Rea continue, as he gets another chance to earn his first Test cap with three specialist hookers selected for the two-game tour.

“It’s pleasing to be able to bring in some experienced guys for what will be an extremely challenging tour of South Africa and Argentina,” coach Ewen McKenzie said.

“We took a conservative approach with Adam’s injury in our most recent Test against Argentina, and we’re confident the additional week off will serve him well going into the next stage of our campaign.

“Collectively, we add almost 250 games of Test experience to our squad through the inclusion of Adam, Will, Benn and Saia. They’ve all had good exposure to our program this year, so we expect them to be able to contribute immediately when we get into camp.”

McKenzie said the squad was looking forward to the challenges on tour.

“While pleased to have finished ahead on the scoreboard over the past two weeks, we understand there is still a lot of improvement left in this group and we’ll be working hard to ensure we see that over the next fortnight,” McKenzie said.

“The Springboks and Argentina always lift to another level when they are playing at home and so we are under no illusions as to the challenges which are ahead.

“We’ll look forward to that, and to the opportunity to continue evolving and improving our game over the next period.”

Players who have not been considered for selection due to injury include, but is not limited to, hookers Stephen Moore (knee), Tatafu Polota-Nau (ankle), Nathan Charles (pectoral), Tolu Latu (arm) and Heath Tessman (ankle); prop Scott Sio (ankle); backrowers Wycliff Palu (head), David Pocock (knee) and Dave Dennis (knee); flyhalf Quade Cooper (shoulder); and outside backs Henry Speight (hamstring); Peter Betham (ankle); and Chris Feauai-Sautia (shoulder).

The Qantas Wallabies squad for the next stage of the 2014 Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship is:

Player State Age Test Caps
PROP
Ben Alexander ACT Brumbies 29 66
Pek Cowan Western Force 28 10
Sekope Kepu NSW Waratahs 28 45
Benn Robinson NSW Waratahs 30 66
James Slipper Queensland Reds 25 56
HOOKER
Saia Fainga’a Queensland Reds 27 29
James Hanson Queensland Reds 26 4
Josh Mann-Rea ACT Brumbies 33 Uncapped
LOCK
Sam Carter ACT Brumbies 25 5
James Horwill Queensland Reds 29 53
Rob Simmons Queensland Reds 25 44
BACKROW
Scott Fardy ACT Brumbies 30 17
Scott Higginbotham Melbourne Rebels 27 28
Matt Hodgson Western Force 33 8
Michael Hooper (c) NSW Waratahs 22 35
Ben McCalman Western Force 26 33
SCRUMHALF
Will Genia Queensland Reds 26 55
Nick Phipps NSW Waratahs 25 21
Nic White ACT Brumbies 24 16
FLYHALF
Kurtley Beale NSW Waratahs 25 46
Bernard Foley NSW Waratahs 25 11
CENTRE
Tevita Kuridrani ACT Brumbies 23 14
Christian Leali’ifano ACT Brumbies 26 13
Matt Toomua ACT Brumbies 24 17
BACK-THREE
Adam Ashley-Cooper NSW Waratahs 30 97
Israel Folau NSW Waratahs 25 22
Rob Horne NSW Waratahs 25 20
Joe Tomane ACT Brumbies 24 9
The remaining Qantas Wallabies schedule for the 2014 Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship is:

Date Opponent Venue
Saturday 27 September (Sun 28 Sept. AEST at 1:05am) South Africa Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
Saturday 4 October
(Sun 5 Oct. AEST at 9:40am) Argentina Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza