RWC latest – Horwill to lead Wallabies
18 Aug 2011
Keo.co.za brings you news related to the World Cup.
Horwill to lead Wallabies – Robbie Deans dropped another bombshell by naming James Horwill as his World Cup captain instead of Rocky Elsom.
Elsom still made the 30-man squad, but after captaining the side for the past two years, Horwill was the surprise selection as skipper of the team. As expected, Matt Giteau is left out of the squad after falling out of favour with Deans since the shock defeat to Samoa last month. The Brumbies veteran, who leaves for Toulon in November, will effectively retire from Test rugby after 92 appearances for the Wallabies.
Berrick Barnes, who has been suffering from serious concussions since Super Rugby, will back up Quade Cooper in the flyhalf berth. Other injured players included in the squad are No 8 Wycliff Palu (shoulder and knee), hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau (knee), prop James Slipper (ankle), wing Drew Mitchell (ankle) and centre Rob Horne (elbow) as they all passed fitness tests.
Another surprise pick is Reds hardman Radike Samo, who missed out on the 2003 and 2007 World Cups when he was based at the Brumbies.
Wallabies World Cup squad:
Backs - Kurtley Beale, James O’Connor, Drew Mitchell, Digby Ioane, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Rob Horne, Pat McCabe, Anthony Faingaa, Berrick Barnes, Quade Cooper, Nick Phipps, Luke Burgess, Will Genia.
Forwards – Ben McCalman, Radike Samo, Wycliff Palu, David Pocock, Rocky Elsom, Scott Higginbotham, James Horwill (captain), Rob Simmons, Nathan Sharpe, Dan Vickerman, Ben Alexander, Sekope Kepu, James Slipper, Salesi Ma’afu, Stephen Moore, Saia Faingaa, Tatafu Polota-Nau.
Burger to lead Namibia – Saracens flank Jacques Burger has been confirmed as skipper of the 30-man Namibian World Cup squad.
WP flank Ruan Kitshoff has also made the final cut.
‘We have blended youth and experience and must not be compared with other Namibian World Cup squads as we are the first to spend more than two years preparing for the tournament,’ said coach Johan Diergaardt.
Namibia will play in the same pool as South Africa at the World Cup.
Namibia World Cup squad:
Backs: Johannes Bock, Chrysander Botha, Hendirk Dames, Darryl de la Harpe, Ryan de la Harpe, Eugene Janjties, Theuns Kotze, Tertius Losper, Conrad Marais, David Philander, Llelwellyn Winkler, Daniel van Wyk, Mcgrath van Wyk, Willem van Zyl
Forwards: Jacques Burger (c), Egbertus O’Callerghan, Nico Esterhuyse, Hendrik Franken, Hugo Horn, Uakazuvara Kazombiaze, Rohan Kitshoff, Heinze Koll, Raol Larson, Pieters van Lill, Jacques Nieuwenhuis, Reaud van Neel, Tinus du Plessis, Johannes Redelinghuys, Johannes du Toit, Marius Visser
Care out of World Cup – England scrumhalf Danny Care has been ruled out of the World Cup after sustaining a toe injury.
Scans confirmed the worst and Care has been advised by medial specialists not to participate in the tournament. He will undergo surgery later in the week.
Manager Martin Johnson said Care will be missed, but is confident in England’s depth.
‘In terms of our selection options we are fortunate to have depth at 9 with Ben Youngs, now back into full training, Joe Simpson and Richard Wigglesworth,’ Johnson said.
‘These guys have all been part of the Rugby World Cup camp and will be considered ahead of the final 30 man squad announced on Monday.’
BOD returns – Brian O’Driscoll has been named in a strong Ireland team to play France in a World Cup warm-up against France.
Coach Declan Kidney has made 10 changes, recalling the likes of O’Driscoll, Jonny Sexton and Paul O’Connell. The game will serve as the final trial before Kidney makes the final World Cup call on Monday.
Ireland - 15-Felix Jones, 14-Andrew Trimble, 13-Brian O’Driscoll (c) , 12-Gordon D’Arcy, 11-Keith Earls, 10-Jonathan Sexton, 9-Tomas O’Leary, 8-Jamie Heaslip, 7-David Wallace, 6-Sean O’Brien, 5-Paul O’Connell, 4-Donncha O’Callaghan, 3-Mike Ross, 2-Rory Best, 1-Cian Healy
Subs: 16-Jerry Flannery, 17-Tom Court, 18-Mike McCarthy, 19-Stephen Ferris, 20-Eoin Reddan, 21-Ronan O’Gara, 22-Luke Fitzgerald
17 Comments
18 Aug 2011, 06:33 am
There is the potential for this squad to make a team that is far superior to the one we played on the weekend.
Just a case of whether or not it all falls into place.
And something to do with Dragons etc.
18 Aug 2011, 06:39 am
So Deans, just days after I called it(Sat.), sees it the way it should be and duly makes Horwill his captain and in so doing opens the opportunity for him to play his very best loose-trio which may not always include Elsom.
Pity about Matty G. though. Deans may still regret that come the RWC Final where his team should be one of the finalist.
18 Aug 2011, 06:40 am
how SA needs a Deans…..a no nonsense hard assed approach….every aussie knows who is Boss in this set up…..
Now compare this to the weak kneed player power situation that exists with the Boks 3 stooges and Plod.
Night and day.
Poms also hard core with M jOHNSON….NO RESTING ON LAURELS, NO ACCOMODATION, NO PASSENGERS…..
Roll on 2012.
18 Aug 2011, 06:43 am
@ET.(ET.)-2: i would have also taken Gits…..but again, there were talks of a bit of personality issues…..and Deans handled it …….our coach has sadly shown a lack of ballas since 2008….we now sit with a fat and lazy squad of so called veterans who rule the roost for all to see.
18 Aug 2011, 06:54 am
As you guys well know, it can be a real problem for a Coach when his “Captain” is not the best in his position. So, Deans makes the right call, and doesn’t lock himself into the embarrassing position of dropping his captain, or worse, diminishing the overall team effectiveness by playing a 2nd-string player.
However, it could be argued that PDivvy is not actually a Coach, so he doesn’t need to worry about this situation
18 Aug 2011, 07:14 am
i rate this guy!
18 Aug 2011, 07:49 am
This is a decision Deans could come to rue in the long run.
Especially if they struggle at some point
This is not the Saders where one chops and changes and still has a chance next year especially looking at leadership.Lack of planning from Deans???so last minute…
18 Aug 2011, 08:15 am
thing is, this could go wrong in the way it did for mallet….this close in to a wc and you play musical chairs with your captain could either work for the coach as well the team dynamic or against it. i guess we’ll see at the world cup.
18 Aug 2011, 08:22 am
@we have it on good authority that on september 11, a legend will rise…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-8:
Its a big call. Will be interesting to see if it was the right call in two months time.
Could be inspired or it could come back to bite them badly like it did the Boks in ’99. The difference though is Elsom is still going to the WC and Teich didn’t. Also I don’t think Elsom was as entrenched a captain in the team as Teich was.
18 Aug 2011, 09:19 am
@grant10(grant10)-3: MJ is willing to pick a half-fit Moody who has played about 3 games in 2011 as captain, hardly indicative of a hard-assed approach.
Deans is playing with fire and could alienate his team. Still can’t believe they’ve renewed his contract already, I think Ireland have a decent shot at bowling them over in their group clash.
18 Aug 2011, 09:45 am
It’s an interesting call all right. It shows boldness. Inevitably it raises the question of whether PDV should have asked Smit to step down. Simply because Mallett misjudged things with Teichmann, does not mean Deans is making the wrong call, or that asking Smit to give up the captaincy would be. Smit at tighthead doesn’t work. Is he so indispensable as a captain and player that absurd accommodations should be made? It’s hard to know whether anyone has seriously addressed this question.
18 Aug 2011, 09:47 am
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-7: Deans denies Giteau rift
Thursday, 18 August 2011 5.49 p.m.
Wallabies coach Robbie Deans says reports he has fallen out with dumped playmaker Matt Giteau are ‘nonsense’, insisting he still has a good working relationship with the veteran.
Giteau’s omission from Deans’ 30-man Rugby World Cup squad brought an abrupt and painful end to a seemingly tumultuous coach-player relationship.
Speculation the pair don’t see eye to eye has been rife ever since the 28-year-old was overlooked for the Wallabies vice-captaincy two years ago.
Deans flatly refused to explain the reasons for Giteau’s non-selection at the official squad announcement at Sydney airport on Thursday morning, but he’s adamant he doesn’t have a problem with the Toulon-bound back.
“It’s nonsense,” Deans said of the alleged friction.
“I don’t want to get into specific details. It’s tough enough for him to swallow without picking over that as well.”
“(His attitude) is exceptional. You don’t get to play 92 Tests and have that sort of longevity in the game without having a good attitude.”
Deans delivered the bad news two hours after touching down from South Africa on Wednesday afternoon.
“He took it well,” Deans said.
“There’s no easy way to deliver that sort of news.”
“We met down at Coogee and I wanted to be able to talk to him face to face.”
“I didn’t want to impart the message via a text or a phone call, he’s earnt that respect.”
Giteau spilled the beans on his omission via Twitter several hours before the squad was unveiled.
The coach insists he has no issue with the premature tweet.
“Players are entitled to choice now,” Deans said.
“It’s like in the game – we support them through their preparation and so forth but ultimately they make their own decisions not only in the game but in life.”
The former Force and Brumbies star is one of 10 players who will form a shadow squad to cover injuries throughout the six-week tournament.
He is also expected to line up for the Australian Barbarians against Canada next Friday on the Gold Coast.
Deans refused to divulge whether Giteau is the ‘next cab off the rank’ but warned all of his fringe players not to drop their heads.
“It’s a long road, there’s a long way to go,” he said.
“We’ve got a 17-13 (forwards-backs) split so the likelihood of us needing someone beyond the existing group is high.”
“But obviously it’s a tough call for players like Matt and Hodgo (Matt Hodgson) and Lachie Turner, among others, Ben Daley … it’s a tough thing to swallow.”
“But they’ll get the opportunity to play next Friday against Canada in what is an international fixture, and the wheel turns.”
The 30-man Wallabies squad will assemble in Brisbane on Sunday ahead of their Tri Nations finale against the All Blacks at Suncorp Stadium on August 27.
18 Aug 2011, 10:12 am
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-7: What are you talking about, When the going gets touch Elsom says nothing, when the going gets tough Horwill is screaming at his forwards to pick their game up, Best decision Deans has made and as for Gits, that man has cost us 3 tests by himself, he runs more side ways these days, I would rather have Barns has a 12 and back up 10 any day.
@Big Hit(Big Hit)-10: HI Big Hit, hows the prep going now with a big loss to Wales, ouch that must hurt/!, i’m not worried about Ireland or England for that matter.
18 Aug 2011, 11:11 am
@SAussie/QldRed(SAussie)-13: England’s scrum will obliterate the Wallabies scrum, should they meet in the semi final and Jonny Wilkinson will kick the kicks. Wallabies can still win even if that were to be the case, but I bet you would rather face the Frogs instead.
18 Aug 2011, 11:16 am
@HongKongSlong(HongKongSlong)-14: Thats my prediction too. Poms and Boks to meet in the final again.
18 Aug 2011, 11:30 am
@HongKongSlong(HongKongSlong)-14: I think the AB scrum is the bench mark, This is a very different Wallabie team with a very different front row that the English beat last time, Things are moving the right direction, i can understand why you think that, the poms did us last time, It will be interesting
18 Aug 2011, 11:35 am
Huge decision by Deans, the criticism is that it didn’t happen sooner.
Elsom is a great player when on form, but he is yet to show the same form in Super and Test rugby that he did for Leinster. And he is definitely not a captain.
No real surprises in the squad, except for Rob Horne (sicknote, but a Deans favourite), and the lack of a backup openside (either Beau Robinson or Hodgson). If Pocock gets injured, McCalman is the closest thing they have to another opensider.
@HongKongSlong(HongKongSlong)-14: Wallabies will handle the Poms easily if they can hold onto the ball.
Sadly if their last 2 Tri Nations games (vz NZ in Auck, then Boks in Durban) are anything to go by, the Wallabies are going to struggle badly again in this regard (both handling and breakdown security), and England’s scrum will make them pay in a way the Boks could not – especially after Smit moved to TH in the 2nd half.
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