Giteau ruled out of Force match by quad strain
Matt Giteau - Australia 2007 World Cup
CA Brumbies playmaker Matt Giteau has been ruled out of the CA Brumbies’ opening Investec Super 14 fixture against the Western Force in Perth tomorrow night.
Giteau sustained a quad strain almost three weeks ago and has been racing the clock to be available for selection to play against his former side.
The 27-year-old says the opening fixutre was one he had been excited about throughout the pre-season.
“I’m obviously very disappointed as it was a game I was really looking forward to,” he said. “You want to be available for the first game of the season and when you’ve got history [with the Force] like I do, it was a match I was really keen to be a part of.
“But I said from the outset that I wouldn’t play if my injury was going to jeopardise the performance of the team. As it happens, that decision has now been made and I’ll now start my preparation for the Bulls.
“Matty [Toomua] and Christian [Lealiifano] were impressive at 10 and 12 last week. They’ve trained well again in those positions this week and they’re forming a strong combination there.”
Friend says coaching and medical staff eventually opted to err of the side of caution.
“Matt’s one of the best flyhalves in the world so we were keen to give him every opportunity to play,” he said. “While he did respond well to his rehabilitation, the decision was made not to risk aggravating the injury and sidelining him for an extended period.
“It was always going to be touch-and-go. When he originally strained his quad we were told it was a 21-day recovery and he had 19 days to the Force match. As it turns out, he’ll now receive an additional eight days before his first match of the season in Pretoria.”
CA Brumbies v Western Force
Members Equity Stadium, Perth
Friday, 12 February 2010
Kick-off: 7.05pm local time (10.05pm AEDST)
1. Ben Alexander
2. Stephen Moore
3. Guy Shepherdson
4. Mark Chisholm
5. Justin Harrison
6. Rocky Elsom
7. George Smith
8. Stephen Hoiles (c)
9. Josh Valentine
10. Matt Toomua
11. Francis Fainifo
12. Christian Lealiifano
13. Stirling Mortlock
14. Pat McCabe
15. Adam Ashley-Cooper
Reserves
16. Huia Edmonds
17. Salesi Ma’afu
18. Ben Hand
19. Mitchell Chapman
20. Patrick Phibbs
21. Tyrone Smith
22. Alfi Mafi
23. Afusipa Taumoepeau
[Brumbies Media Unit]
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