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Ex-Junior Wallabies No. 10 named for first Super Rugby match in 707 days
Former Junior Wallabies fly-half Will Harrison is in line for his first Super Rugby Pacific match in 707 days after being named to come off the bench for the Waratahs on Friday night.
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Harrison, who started in the No. 10 jersey when the Junior Wallabies made the final of the 2019 World Rugby U20 Championship in Argentina, is back after a series of heartbreaking injuries.
Head coach Darren Coleman has also welcomed Lalakai Foketi into the matchday squad for the first time this season after the Wallaby was hospitalised with a neck injury during pre-season.
“It’s great news,” assistant coach Chris Whitaker said in a statement. “They both received a big cheer in the team meeting when the team was announced.
Head-to-Head
Last 5 Meetings
Wins
2
Draws
0
Wins
3
Average Points scored
27
27
First try wins
80%
Home team wins
60%
“They’ve both obviously had different injury setbacks but they’ve both shown a lot of mental fortitude and strength of character to come back from their injuries.
“The boys saw Lalakai taken away in an ambulance which was quite frightening for them so they’re happy to see him back. He gives us a lot of experience in that backline and the boys love to play with him.
“It’s been a long battle for Will Harrison. It’s so good to see him back. The boys have seen him in here working on his injuries. He’s raring to go and he’s a little terrier who will give us plenty of energy.
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“He’s done a lot of hard work to get back to where he is. He’s played some good games for us in our Waratahs A team and played 80 minutes for Randwick last week also.”
In the other changes to the First XV, prop Tom Ross, lock Hugh Sinclair and flanker Lachlan Swinton have all been promoted to the starting side.
“The Rebels play some really good football,” Whitaker added. “Carter Gordon is a real threat and likes to throw the ball around a fair bit. His kicking game is a threat as well so our back three will have to be sharp.
“Up front, they’ve also got some really good ball carriers and they’ll attack us through the middle so we’ve got to be prepared for that.
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“At scrum-time and set-piece, they’ve also been very good with Taniela up front, so across the board, it’s important that we fire out shots because they’re a team that can score some points.”
Waratahs team to take on Melbourne Rebels
- Angus Bell
- Mahe Vailanu
- Tom Ross
- Jed Holloway
- Hugh Sinclair
- Lachlan Swinton
- Charlie Gamble
- Langi Gleeson
- Jake Gordon (c)
- Tane Edmed
- Dylan Pietsch
- Joey Walton
- Izaia Perese
- Mark Nawaqanitawase
- Max Jorgensen
Reserves
- Julian Heaven
- Hayden Thompson-Stringer
- Harry Johnson-Holmes
- Miles Amatosero
- Ned Hanigan
- Jack Grant
- Will Harrison
- Lalakai Foketi
Players unavailable for selection: David Porecki (Achilles), Thomas Lambert (knee), Archer Holz (shoulder), Mesu Kunavula (knee), Ned Slack-Smith (concussion), Daniel Botha (neck)
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to comments