QANTAS WALLABIES SQUAD FOR SPRING TOUR OF JAPAN AND UNITED KINGDOM
Squad for Spring Tour of Japan and United Kingdom (with Test caps, NRC side and age in brackets)
Forwards:
Allan Alaalatoa (19 Tests, Canberra Vikings, 23)
Adam Coleman (18 Tests, Perth Spirit, 26)
Blake Enever* (uncapped, Canberra Vikings, 26)
Tetera Faulkner (3 Tests, Perth Spirit, 29)
Ned Hanigan (9 Tests, NSW Country Eagles, 22)
Michael Hooper (c) (75 Tests, Sydney Rays, 26)
Sekope Kepu (87 Tests, NSW Country Eagles, 31)
Ben McCalman (49 Tests, Perth Spirit, 29)
Sean McMahon (22 Tests, Melbourne Rising, 23)
Stephen Moore (125 Tests, Queensland Country, 34)
Matt Philip* (uncapped, Perth Spirit, 23)
Tatafu Polota-Nau (78 Tests, Perth Spirit, 32)
Tom Robertson (15 Tests, NSW Country Eagles, 23)
Rob Simmons (78 Tests, Queensland Country, 28)
Scott Sio (39 Tests, Canberra Vikings, 26)
Lopeti Timani (9 Tests, Melbourne Rising, 27)
Lukhan Tui (3 Tests, Brisbane City, 21)
Jordan Uelese (2 Tests, Melbourne Rising, 20)
Backs :
Kurtley Beale (67 Tests, NSW Country Eagles, 28)
Bernard Foley (vc) (52 Tests, NSW Country Eagles, 28)
Will Genia (vc) (85 Tests, Melbourne Rising, 29)
Reece Hodge (20 Tests, Melbourne Rising, 23)
Karmichael Hunt (3 Tests, Brisbane City, 30)
Samu Kerevi (14 Tests, Brisbane City, 24)
Marika Koroibete (4 Tests, Melbourne Rising, 25)
Tevita Kuridrani (54 Tests, Canberra Vikings, 26)
Billy Meakes* (uncapped, Perth Spirit, 26)
Izaia Perese* (uncapped, Queensland Country, 20)
Nick Phipps (58 Tests, Greater Sydney Rams, 28)
Joe Powell (2 Tests, Canberra Vikings, 23)
Curtis Rona (2 Tests, Perth Spirit, 25)
Henry Speight (17 Tests, Canberra Vikings, 29)
Development Players
Jack Maddocks* (uncapped, Melbourne Rising, 20)
Liam Wright* (uncapped, Queensland Country, 19)
*denotes uncapped player
Cheika confirms squad for tour of Japan and United Kingdom
Qantas Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has confirmed his 32-man squad for the upcoming Spring Tour of Japan and the United Kingdom.
The Wallabies will also take two Development Players on the four-match tour with Rebels young gun Jack Maddocks and Queensland backrower Liam Wright earmarked by Michael Cheika and the Wallabies selectors.
A cruel triple injury blow has ruled out rising stars Jack Dempsey (hamstring) and Jermaine Ainsley (ankle) while a persistent knee complaint has sidelined lock Rory Arnold.
Arnold’s injury has opened the door for Matt Philip and Blake Enever, with the pair earning a call-up following some impressive form in the National Rugby Championship for Perth Spirit and Canberra Vikings respectively.
Meanwhile, number 8 Ben McCalman grabbed his chance in his classy 55 minute cameo in the Wallabies 31-28 win over the Barbarians, to ensure a seat on the plane to Japan.
The squad has six uncapped players in total (including Development Players) with an average age of just 25.
Qantas Wallabies coach Michael Cheika said: “Lukhan (Tui) won’t be available for the first two games of the tour because of his hamstring but we feel he will be ready for games three and four so it’s worth bringing him.
“I wanted to give to the opportunity to two new younger guys (at lock) who have had good Super Rugby seasons, and I think Matt Philip has improved out of sight from game one to the final round.
“Rory (Arnold) has a tear in his muscle and it’s come away from the quad so he will have an operation to fix that and he will be out for about four to five weeks.
“Jack has torn two tendons in his hamstring so he will have an operation to re-attach those and it’s a three to four month return so he will be back next year for Super Rugby.
“We’ll be looking to pick our best side for every Test of the tour. These are important matches and we want to be build a consistent, winning mindset and that’s something we want to pass onto next year’s team,” Cheika said.
The Qantas Wallabies will depart for Yokohama on Tuesday night ahead of their first-ever Test match on Japanese soil.
2017 Spring Tour
Japan v Qantas Wallabies at International Stadium, Yokohama, 4th November 4.40pm AEDT
Wales v Qantas Wallabies at Millennium Stadium, Wales, 12th November 4.15am AEDT
England v Qantas Wallabies at Twickenham, London, 19th November, 2.00am AEDT
Scotland v Qantas Wallabies at Murrayfield, Edinburgh, 26th November, 1.30am AEDT
Players currently unavailable due to injury
Dane Haylett-Petty (bicep)
Rory Arnold (knee)
Jack Dempsey (hamstring)
Izack Rodda (shoulder)
Richard Hardwick (shoulder)
Tolu Latu (shoulder)
Sefa Naivalu (shoulder)
Jermaine Ainsley (ankle)
Adam Korczyk (ribs)
Related Posts
-
THE BEST OF AUSSIE RUGBY CROWNED AT 2024 RUGBY AUSTRALIA AWARDS
-
SLIPPER TO BECOME MOST CAPPED WALLABY OF ALL TIME IN BLEDISLOE ONE
-
« DHL WP crowned 2017 Currie Cup champions Combined Abalone Processors win SA Fish Industries title »
