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September 28, 2009 - 9:20am
Story by: ARU
Ten uncapped players have today been named in the Qantas Wallabies Training Squad that will assemble in Sydney on 5 October.
The newcomers include Western Force winger Nick Cummins, NSW Waratahs midfield back Rob Horne, Queensland Reds and Australian Sevens halfback Richard Kingi, Brumbies blindside flanker Mitchell Chapman, NSW Waratahs lock Dave Dennis, NSW Waratahs and Australia Under-20 hooker Damien Fitzpatrick, ACT Brumbies prop Salesi Ma’afu and the as yet uncapped at state level Sydney University utility forward Ben McCalman, who has been signed by the Western Force for 2010.
NSW Waratahs utility back Kurtley Beale and Western Force blindside flanker Matt Hodgson are also included.
While he was a member of the Qantas Wallabies squad for the Bundaberg Rum Tri Nations, and travelled to the final game in Wellington as the squad’s 23rd man, Beale has yet to appear for Australia in a Test match.
Neither has Hodgson, although he did feature in the non-cap 55-7 win over the Barbarians which opened this year’s Bundaberg Rum Rugby Series, and has trained as a full member of the Wallabies squad all season.
Other features see props Matt Dunning and Sekope Kepu return to the fold, after missing the start of the season due to injuries sustained in the final game of last year’s Spring Tour against the Barbarians at Wembley.
Winger Digby Ioane is also back after being forced out of the Bundaberg Rum Rugby Series due to the need for a shoulder reconstruction following an injury he sustained playing for the Queensland Reds in the Investec Super 14.
The players are all part of an extended 43-man group that will assemble at Coogee next Monday in preparation for the Qantas Wallabies’ historic tour of Japan, Great Britain and Ireland.
The squad will undergo four days of training in Sydney before the announcement of the final 35-man party on 9 October.
The Spring Tour includes Australia’s first bid for a Grand Slam of the four Home Unions of the UK and Ireland since the 1984 side successfully beat Wales, Ireland, England and Scotland – the first Wallabies side to achieve this feat.
The trip kicks off with the final Bledisloe Cup Test of the season, when Australia and New Zealand play an historic match at the National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan, on 31 October.
This game, which is just the second Bledisloe Cup Test to be staged outside of Australia or New Zealand, follows on from last year’s successful Bledisloe Cup Test in Hong Kong.
In announcing the extended 43-man squad, Qantas Wallabies coach Robbie Deans said: “It’s a starting point.
“The four-day training camp gives us the opportunity to bring the group together, assess where the guys are at, and also look at some new options.”
With Australia’s Northern Hemisphere itinerary likely to include two mid-week matches, alongside the scheduled five Tests, Deans says the four days together will be an important opportunity to lay down a foundation ahead of the tour.
“It’s an important tour for us as a group, and for Australian Rugby as a whole. While not all of the players who come into camp with us next week will go on the tour, those who get left behind will still have the knowledge of our processes, and have spent some time in the environment, which will be invaluable should we have injuries and require reinforcements.”
Deans says the uncapped players had all been on the selectors’ radar for a while, having kicked on from their Super Rugby seasons with their various involvements in other representative teams, and in club rugby.
The selectors and the Qantas Wallabies coaching staff all attended yesterday’s (NSW) Shute Shield club rugby grand final at the Sydney Football Stadium, prior to finalising the make-up of the training squad.
The Qantas Wallabies squad departs for its Spring Tour on 24 October, tackling the All Blacks in the final Bledisloe Cup Test of the year, prior to playing England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales on consecutive weekends through November.
The Qantas Wallabies Training Squad is:
James O’Connor (Western Force), Lachie Turner (NSW Waratahs), Kurtley Beale (NSW Waratahs), Drew Mitchell (Western Force), Digby Ioane (Queensland Reds), Nick Cummins (Western Force), Peter Hynes (Queensland Reds), Ryan Cross (Western Force), Stirling Mortlock (Brumbies), Rob Horne (NSW Waratahs), Adam Ashley-Cooper (Brumbies), Matt Giteau (Western Force), Quade Cooper (Queensland Reds), Berrick Barnes (Queensland Reds), Josh Valentine (Western Force), Will Genia (Queensland Reds), Luke Burgess (NSW Waratahs), Richard Kingi (Queensland Reds), Wycliff Palu (NSW Waratahs), George Smith (Brumbies), David Pocock (Western Force), Phil Waugh (NSW Waratahs), Stephen Hoiles (Brumbies), Matt Hodgson (Western Force), Rocky Elsom (Brumbies), Dean Mumm (NSW Waratahs), Richard Brown (Western Force), Mitchell Chapman (Brumbies), Ben McCalman (Western Force), Mark Chisholm (Brumbies), James Horwill (Queensland Reds), Nathan Sharpe (Western Force), Dave Dennis (NSW Waratahs), Al Baxter (NSW Waratahs), Matt Dunning (NSW Waratahs), Pekahou Cowan (Western Force), Sekope Kepu (NSW Waratahs), Salesi Ma’afu (Brumbies), Ben Alexander (Brumbies), Benn Robinson (NSW Waratahs), Damien Fitzpatrick (NSW Waratahs), Stephen Moore (Brumbies), Tatafu Polota-Nau (NSW Waratahs).
http://www.rugby.com.au/news/wallabi.../section/21893