Wallabies out of Super Rugby
28 Feb 2013
Robbie Deans’s squad of 25 to play the British and Irish Lions won’t play Super Rugby in June.
ARU CEO Bill Pulver confirmed at a media conference the priority in Australian rugby in 2013 was to win the series against the Lions and that Deans had to be given three weeks to prepare his squad for the three-Test series.
The nominated players will also be unavailable for their Super Rugby teams’ matches against the Lions.
Decisions on which players, if any, will be available for Super Rugby local derbies on June 7 and June 9 will be made closer to the time.
‘If those Super Rugby matches have significant bearing on the competition standings, and finals spots are at stake, ARU will take that under serious consideration,’ said Pulver.
The decision is consistent with what the Australian Rugby Union did in 2001 when the Lions last toured Australia.
26 Comments
28 Feb 2013, 11:28 am
So that may even out point spread in Aussie conference, best teams will have more stars taken out.
Can’t see them getting home semi anyway.
28 Feb 2013, 11:28 am
“Humdinger of the Weekend” time! The Sharks vs. the Stormers, Get your read on
http://wp.me/P2QxT1-5x
28 Feb 2013, 11:45 am
Poops, where art thou to ***** and moan about the diluting of the Super? You’d be all over here if SA did similar…
28 Feb 2013, 11:49 am
@Scorp1o-2: Ahem. Last week it was supposed to be Bulls-Stormers, turned out a bunch of elephants giving birth to mice.
Let’s see how Tank derby goes, sofar any humdingers have come from hobitland.
28 Feb 2013, 11:55 am
Makes complete rugby sense
28 Feb 2013, 12:08 pm
The idea was to allow the convicts to start their conference 1 week early so that they coulld have an extra week to prepare come June – now this weak Deans is kak-in his pants because he knows he is facing a 3 zip whitewash. Well Robbie my boy you are still going to be rogered 3 zip regardless.
28 Feb 2013, 12:29 pm
25 is not a big number
think opens chance next generation to stepup
28 Feb 2013, 12:32 pm
Should be a great Series. Gatland v Deans.
28 Feb 2013, 13:49 pm
And JW just signed a world class 7 for the Brumbies who almost definitely won’t be in that squad… Almost like he was preparing for this all along.
28 Feb 2013, 13:57 pm
@Tartan-9: ja, but, you forget:
In JW’s teams there are always 22 fetchers …
I guess like Keynes he is entitled to change his opinion when circumstances change
28 Feb 2013, 13:57 pm
@RL-6:
Mr RL
The week early was to be able to fit the Lions tour in and play all the Super Franchises as well as the wallabies. it was always to remove the wallabies from the super games in the two weeks prior. I dont know why this is news. Yes the CEO of aru needed to tell each franchise this but is not news.
3-0 I know that is what you would like but there is a difference between smoking malawi cabbage and oxygen!
28 Feb 2013, 13:59 pm
@Tartan-9:
He also has another world class young 7 in Colby Faingaa (ex U20 captain) who is Pocock’s understudy and was behind Hooper last year due to injury…
28 Feb 2013, 14:22 pm
Colby Faingaa is a future wallaby blindside flanker.
28 Feb 2013, 14:40 pm
Will be backing the lions to skin the Woblies.
Anyone guessing who the captain of the lions will be?
28 Feb 2013, 14:56 pm
@CSI:Rugby-13:
Open-sider…
Stiff competition there with Pocock and the other youngsters in Hooper and Gill (and no Smith back for the season and one last attempt at the Lions tour)…
28 Feb 2013, 14:59 pm
@goodstuff-14:
Chris Robshaw…
28 Feb 2013, 17:09 pm
@goodstuff-14: John Smit, without a doubt. The day he joined Saracens it became quite clear what the Poms had in mind.
28 Feb 2013, 21:06 pm
Imagine if the Boks did this.
1) Our administrators rather shaft our players and moerr them with fatigue.
2) Sanzar would have heart failure if Bokkies did this!
28 Feb 2013, 21:24 pm
@RL-6:
Well if you think Ozzies will get done 3-0, then you would have to say the same about the Boks if they played the lions…..you do realise how close your 2 teams are?
28 Feb 2013, 21:25 pm
@BULLET-18:
Seems like you think this has not already been done by SA.
28 Feb 2013, 22:00 pm
@Hurricane-20: both jake & pdv have pulled players from SANZAR competitions. GH did it in 2007 too.
28 Feb 2013, 22:06 pm
@BULLET-18: short memory neh?
remember pdv declaring 23 players ‘injured’? hehehe
in 2007 the bulls & sharks played in the final, there were two incoming tests vs england & samoa then the tri-nations, jake only played full strength bok teams @ home & then sent p.isswilly teams to australasia which annoyed o’neill immensely.
remember?
28 Feb 2013, 22:28 pm
@Cane & Transie,
They were genuinely injured!-)
Im more complimenting the Aussies. I agree 100% with what they did. No complaints my side.
When the Bokkies pretended to do the similar thing, was there not a massive outcry from the other SANZAR nations about cheating the fans blah blah.
I just like the way that the Aus management came out and said – were doing it. No mess no fuss. Deal with it everyone else. Test series & RWC’s trump trivial tests & S15.
28 Feb 2013, 23:20 pm
It’s one weekend when the NZ and SA teams aren’t playing so who cares if they release their players. If they didn’t, we’d all be complaining that they are devaluing the Lions series by letting super rugby take priority.
The real news is that they won’t let the wallabies play for their franchises vs the Lions. That’s a pity as it’d be great to see QLD/NSW/ACT at full strength or at least have a few fringe wallabies. But in Robbie’s shoes, I also wouldn’t allow it
1 Mar 2013, 06:28 am
Never write the Aussies off!
1 Mar 2013, 06:44 am
@gonzo-24: pdv also didn’t allow his 25 selected Boks to play for their franchises which caused a lot of consternation with the unions & some of the players who knew they weren’t Bok starters resented the decision as they felt it was once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play the lions.
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