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WESTERN Force's horror run with injuries has continued with Test star David Pocock sustaining ligament damage to a finger, while Matt Giteau has thrown a scare into the Brumbies camp after aggravating a quadriceps problem.
Pocock, who damaged the finger in the Force's 24-15 loss to the Brumbies in Perth last Friday, has been ruled out of the match with the Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday and may be sidelined for a few weeks.
The loss of Pocock comes on top of injuries to South African five-eighth Andre Pretorius (hamstring), fullback Cameron Shepherd (severe thigh strain), utility back Mark Bartholomeusz (neck) and number eight Richard Brown (shoulder).
Rookie Ben McCalman and Richard Stanford are likely to join Wallaby Matt Hodgson in a new-look Force backrow, stretching the club's depth to the limit.
Giteau did not play against the Force, but was expected to be fit to play against defending champion, the Bulls, in Pretoria on Saturday.
However, Giteau pulled out of the Brumbies' training session in Perth on Monday night and had a scan on his injured quadriceps muscle yesterday.
The scan cleared Giteau of further injury and he flew out with the Brumbies for South Africa last night. He will be re-assessed when he arrives..
"Matt was looking sharp. The whole team was looking sharp," Brumbies coach Andy Friend lamented.
The Brumbies departed for South Africa 10 months after the death of inspirational and popular forward Shawn Mackay, who died after a road accident in Durban.
The accident occurred in the early hours of the morning after the Brumbies had been out socialising following their match with the Sharks.
Friend has decided against imposing a curfew, trusting the players to behave responsibly.
"Last year was last year but it's a pretty strong memory," he said. "We want to enjoy ourselves, but we want to get a job done. We won't have anything else on our minds.
"In years gone past, I wonder if that's been a key thought on the players' minds. Tours are good fun, but you are going there to do a job.
"We have a different leadership group this year (captain Stephen Hoiles, Matt Giteau, Justin Harrison, Stephen Moore and Mitch Chapman). I've been happy with their input."
Friend will also reinforce the Brumbies' buddy system where players look out for their room-mates while socialising on tour.
The Brumbies will certainly need to be focused to succeed on this tour as it includes a match with the Stormers in Cape Town.
After their scrappy win against the Force, the Brumbies will need to improve their WESTERN Force's horror run with injuries has continued with Test star David Pocock sustaining ligament damage to a finger, while Matt Giteau has thrown a scare into the Brumbies camp after aggravating a quadriceps problem.
Pocock, who damaged the finger in the Force's 24-15 loss to the Brumbies in Perth last Friday, has been ruled out of the match with the Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday and may be sidelined for a few weeks.
The loss of Pocock comes on top of injuries to South African five-eighth Andre Pretorius (hamstring), fullback Cameron Shepherd (severe thigh strain), utility back Mark Bartholomeusz (neck) and number eight Richard Brown (shoulder).
Rookie Ben McCalman and Richard Stanford are likely to join Wallaby Matt Hodgson in a new-look Force backrow, stretching the club's depth to the limit.
Giteau did not play against the Force, but was expected to be fit to play against defending champion, the Bulls, in Pretoria on Saturday.
However, Giteau pulled out of the Brumbies' training session in Perth on Monday night and had a scan on his injured quadriceps muscle yesterday.
The scan cleared Giteau of further injury and he flew out with the Brumbies for South Africa last night. He will be re-assessed when he arrives..
"Matt was looking sharp. The whole team was looking sharp," Brumbies coach Andy Friend lamented.
The Brumbies departed for South Africa 10 months after the death of inspirational and popular forward Shawn Mackay, who died after a road accident in Durban.
The accident occurred in the early hours of the morning after the Brumbies had been out socialising following their match with the Sharks.
Friend has decided against imposing a curfew, trusting the players to behave responsibly.
"Last year was last year but it's a pretty strong memory," he said. "We want to enjoy ourselves, but we want to get a job done. We won't have anything else on our minds.
"In years gone past, I wonder if that's been a key thought on the players' minds. Tours are good fun, but you are going there to do a job.
"We have a different leadership group this year (captain Stephen Hoiles, Matt Giteau, Justin Harrison, Stephen Moore and Mitch Chapman). I've been happy with their input."
Friend will also reinforce the Brumbies' buddy system where players look out for their room-mates while socialising on tour.
The Brumbies will certainly need to be focused to succeed on this tour as it includes a match with the Stormers in Cape Town.
After their scrappy win against the Force, the Brumbies will need to improve their performance in the scrum, lineout and breakdown if they are to have any chance of upsetting the Bulls.
Wallaby tourist Salesi Ma'afu is expected to replace former Test prop Guy Shepherdson at tighthead to improve their scrum and provide more around the field.
Friend said the Brumbies had to adjust better to the new law interpretations after Force fullback James O'Connor kept them in the game with penalty goals.
Bulls five-eighth Morne Steyn has the ability to kick goals from his own side of halfway, especially at altitude.
Queensland second-rower Van Humphries is expected to miss the match with the Crusaders in Brisbane on Friday night after sustaining a head knock in the loss to NSW last Saturday.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...-1225831125711
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