Australia v Canada, preview

[Jehna]

Australia v Canada, preview
26/09/2007 11:11:45 AM
Steve Orme

Venue and time
Chaban Delmas Stadium, Bordeaux. Saturday, September 29. 23:00 (AEST)

Head to head
Played 5: Australia 5 – Canada 0

Last time
Ballymore Oval (Brisbane), 1996. Australia 74-9 Canada.

Walking wounded
Flyhalf Stephen Larkham will be missing until the semi-final stage of the tournament after his injured left knee - on which an arthroscopy was conducted following the match against Wales - became infected requiring a second bout of surgery. Skipper Stirling Mortlock will be given an extra week to recover from a shoulder injury suffered against the Welsh in preparation for the quarter finals. Replacement back Scott Staniforth will be monitored throughout the week after suffering a shoulder injury with his first touch of the tournament against the physical Fijians. Berrick Barnes, who came from the field after suffering a corked thigh in the second half against Fiji, will be fit to play against the Canucks.

Form
Wallabies coach John Connolly was far from satisfied following his side's 55-12 victory over Fiji in Montpellier. But the win - Australia's third consecutive bonus point triumph of the tournament - was still enough to seal top spot in Pool B and book a quarter-final showdown with either England or Tonga on October 6.

The Canadians have made a contest out of all three of their Pool B matches to date but remain winless heading into Saturday's clash with the two-time world champions. A heart breaking 12-12 draw with Japan in their last start saw the Cherry Blossoms cross in injury time to deny the Canucks their first victory of the tournament.

Who's hot
Berrick Barnes continued to impress at flyhalf against Fiji and will need to continue his stellar play with Larkham sidelined until the semis. Matt Giteau hit top gear against the Fijians but will be rested against Canada. Winger Lote Tuqiri looked ominous in Montpellier while in the engine room Matt Dunning continues to improve with every match.

Skipper and scrum half Morgan Williams is the heart and soul of the Canadian team. The 31-year-old is coming off a man-of-the-match showing against Japan and is the key to Canucks performance against Australia.

Teams
Australia (updated team as of 27/9)
1 Greg Holmes
2 Adam Freier
3 Al Baxter
4 Nathan Sharpe
5 Mark Chisholm
6 Hugh McMeniman
7 George Smith (c)
8 David Lyons

9 Sam Cordingley
10 Julian Huxley
11 Lote Tuqiri (Cameron Shepherd)
12 Scott Staniforth (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
13 Adam Ashley-Cooper (Lote Tuqiri)
14 Drew Mitchell
15 Cameron Shepherd (Chris Latham)

16 Sean Hardman
17 Guy Shepherdson
18 Rocky Elsom
19 Phil Waugh
20 Stephen Hoiles
21 George Gregan
22 Chris Latham (Matt Giteau)


Canada
1 Rod Snow
2 Pat Riordan
3 Jon Thiel
4 Luke Tait
5 Mike James
6 Colin Yukes
7 David Biddle
8 Seam-Michael Stephen

9 Morgan Williams (captain)
10 Ander Monro
11 James Pritchard
12 Derek Daypuck
13 Mike Pyke
14 Justin Mensah-Coker
15 Dth Van der Merwe

16 Aaron Carpenter
17 Dan Pletch
18 Mike Pletch
19 Mike Burak
20 Mike Webb
21 Ed Fairhurst
22 David Spicer

[gustafsl]

The game is meaningless to Australia, but they may be shooting themselves in the foot by only having two backs on the bench who are both specialist at one position. It was fine to only have two when there was a guy like Staniforth, Huxley or Gerrard, they can all cover multiple spots. But what happens if a winger goes down early? You got to put Sheps on the wing and Latham at fullback and pray no one else gets hurt. And there is no cover for 10.

[Sagerian]

Julian Huxley at 10?... Damn I don't think i'll watch this game.

[Darren]

Sheps at 15 and Spanner at 12 - they should carve up!

[Jehna]

That's if Spanner is fit...otherwise he'll be out, Lote (god help us) will move inside, Sheps to the wing, Latho to fullback and Gits to the bench.

[Burgs]

Good points gustafsl, this one actually has the potential to blow up in the selectors face.
I have seen previously the opinion that Hoiles is good/quick enough to cover a Backline position but I wouldn't want to be relying on it.

[hopep]

I think the Cannucks will be happy to post a score and wil keep it away from the backs (Aust) if they can.
Will be an uneventful, and tedious grind for most of 80 mins.