Report: Wallabies star suffers major injury setback after being ruled out for the season
The Wallabies have been dealt a significant injury blow less than a fortnight from the opening match of the upcoming Tri Nations campaign.
According to a report from the Sydney Morning Herald, key playmaker Matt To’omua has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after sustaining a severe groin injury in Sunday’s 27-7 Bledisloe Cup defeat to the All Blacks in Sunday.
The 30-year-old, forming a playmaking axis from second-five alongside No. 10 James O’Connor, was pulled from the field towards the end of the first half, and is reportedly set to have two sets of scans to confirm the initial prognosis.
To’omua’s absence from the Wallabies set-up will force head coach Dave Rennie to ask a number of questions about the makeup of his starting XV as he prepares for the third test of a four-match Bledisloe Cup series in Sydney on October 31.
Two-test international rookie Hunter Paisami was shifted from his centre role to fill the void left by To’omua during last week’s match, with Reds youngster Jordan Petaia coming off the bench to form a young midfield combination.
That may be a combination is one of many options that Rennie may look to ahead of Bledisloe III in a week-and-a-half’s time, although his mention of uncapped prospect Irae Simone at the post-match press conference was telling.
“I think Hunter’s going great. A young man who wasn’t even sure he’d play Super Rugby at the start of the year, so he’s started the first two tests and I thought he made a pretty good fist of moving into 12,” Rennie said.
“We do have some pretty good options, who didn’t play today as well, Irae Simone being one fella who has spent a bit of time over here in New Zealand – a big part of the Brumbies set-up – so we do have some options, but I thought Hunter was strong.”
Yet to make his test debut, 25-year-old Simone could be in line to make his first appearance on the international stage against his nation of birth after a strong, title-winning Super Rugby AU season with the Brumbies.
Other midfield options include Simone’s fellow uncapped Brumbies teammate Len Ikitau and long-range goal kicking utility back Reece Hodge.
But, given the dual playmaking scheme Rennie implemented between O’Connor and To’omua at No. 10 and No. 12, he may use next week’s test as a chance to shift O’Connor into second-five and call promising first-five Noah Lolesio into the starting side.
O’Connor was used at both first-five and second-five by the Reds throughout Super Rugby AU and was impressive in both positions for the Queenslanders, and continued that vein of form into the 16-all Bledisloe Cup draw in Wellington a fortnight ago.
However, poor option-taking and decision-making against the All Blacks on Sunday cost his side dearly, meaning a change in the No. 10 jersey may be a possibility.
Without To’omua, it seems uncapped rookie Lolesio, who played a starring role in the Brumbies’ Super Rugby AU success this year, is the next cab off the rank among the first-five contingent, as evidenced by his selection on the bench for the Wellington test.
The 20-year-old failed to take to the field, however, with his place in the match day squad taken by Petaia for the Auckland clash.
If Rennie is to retain the playmaking axis he has utilised in his first two tests at the helm of Australia, though, it seems recalling Lolesio and moving O’Connor into the midfield, presumably alongside either Paisami or Petaia, is the most viable option.
Either that, or calling up uncapped Waratahs youngster Will Harrison, who has shown plenty of promise at Super Rugby level and now looms as the third-choice playmaker following To’omua’s injury.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that a Wallabies spokesperson has confirmed that Rennie will not draft players from overseas into the squad, leaving veteran international and Racing 92 recruit Kurtley Beale unavailable for selection.
Comments on RugbyPass
I certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to comments