Battered Wallabies forced to call on fresh troops for final fling against Barbarians

Greg Growden in London | December 2, 2008


THE Wallabies' original plan to play close to their best line-up in the tour finale against the Barbarians at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday night has been thwarted by a high attrition rate from the loss to Wales.

Wallabies coach Robbie Deans is now expected to give all his fringe players a run, including Waratahs halfback Brett Sheehan and Brumbies second-rower Peter Kimlin, who were not seriously considered for any of the five northern hemisphere Tests. The squad's youngest player, 18-year-old James O'Connor, will also play.

Deans understands the danger of playing the lesser lights against the Barbarians, who are virtually a World XV, but he has no other option as many key players are either injured or need a rest.

Captain Stirling Mortlock will miss the game because of a hideous head knock when he collided with Welsh counterpart Jamie Roberts suffered in the opening minutes of the Cardiff Test. Roberts suffered a fractured skull.

The team's most experienced second-rower, Nathan Sharpe, will also be sidelined after playing the Wales Test with a broken thumb. Deans said that Sharpe was "insistent" that he wanted to play in Cardiff.

"It was my preference not to play him but the medical advice was such that it wouldn't displace," Deans said. "He had it strapped but to back up would be too hard, particularly when it [the Barbarians game] is not a Test match."

Waratahs hookers Adam Freier and Tatafu Polota-Nau will play, as Stephen Moore is scheduled to be rested, after having a long season as the team's No.1 rake. Winger Peter Hynes, who was forced off against Wales after being poked in the eye, is another to be rested. Lote Tuqiri is set to come back in. Tuqiri, in his first appearance on the tour when he played the final 50 minutes of the Wales Test, showed that the extensive break from his knee operation had revitalised him. But Deans has already earmarked Tuqiri to start in the Barbarians game.

"When we name the team, we're going to give everyone access, essentially," Deans said. "And for good reasons. It's been a big stretch, and everyone has worked as hard. Peter Kimlin will have a jersey on, which he is pretty excited about. Brett'll have a jersey on. We'll wait and see what number. It's easy to put your self interests ahead of the team interests when you're not having access but the guys have been great."

Deans added that he was prepared to get right into the Barbarians spirit.
"The reality is that it's not a Test match so the shackles will be off to some extent," he said. "It's a genuinely tricky situation because you're representing your country and you're representing yourself and you're up against a World XV who are uninhibited and probably pretty excited about expressing themselves. But having said that, it's a great opportunity."

The International Rugby Board has confirmed that the southern hemisphere sides have secured the top four positions in the draw for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and Argentina are the top four seeded countries.

For the first time the IRB is using its own world rankings to seed leading nations for the World Cup, which will next take place in New Zealand.

New Zealand's 32-6 win over England at Twickenham, which sealed a grand slam of victories over the four home unions, cemented their grip on first place.

By contrast, England's defeat ensured Argentina remained among the top four teams in the draw. Six Nations champions Wales moved up into fifth following their 21-18 win over Australia.


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