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Wallabies winger handed lifeline in top-of-the-table Super Rugby Pacific clash

By AAP
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

Injury to Queensland Reds back Jock Campbell has provided Filipo Daugunu the chance to re-establish himself after the Wallabies winger found himself on the outer this Super Rugby Pacific season.

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Campbell played the bulk of last week’s game against the NSW Waratahs with a broken hand, the winger even collecting an intercept to score at the death.

He and in-form backrower Seru Uru (ankle) will miss the top-of-the-table clash with the Brumbies at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday, with Daugunu and fellow fringe Wallaby Liam Wright the men to fill the void.

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Are the Brumbies the team to beat in Super Rugby Pacific?

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Are the Brumbies the team to beat in Super Rugby Pacific?

Lukhan Salakaia-Loto will also return via the bench from an ankle injury while hooker Richie Asiata will appear on the bench for the first time after breaking his arm in the pre-season.

Daugunu showed his explosive power and speed in a brilliant test debut in New Zealand in 2020, but has often been his own worst enemy with reckless tackles and unforced errors.

“Lipo in for his 50th [Super Rugby game] … he’s a great character everyone’s excited for,” Wright said.

“He’s going to bring that typical flair he’s got, but he’s been working on reducing a few mistakes and being a composed member of the backline.

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“Thorny’s been in his ear with that and he’s been training the house down.”

The visit will be the Brumbies’ first since the Reds sunk them with an 85th-minute try to win the Super Rugby AU title in a full stadium.

The home side has won 14 of their last 15 games despite the margin being five points or less in seven of their last eight clashes, including a controversial four-point win to the Brumbies in Canberra earlier this month.

“The AU final was an epic night and all the games we’ve had recently have been down to the wire,” Wright said. “Some absolute classics in there.”

Jesse Mogg will wear the Brumbies’ No 15 for the first time since 2015, replacing the injured Tom Banks (cheekbone).

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Meanwhile, Michael Hooper will play his first game for the Waratahs since 2020, returning as forecast on the bench to face the Fijian Drua on the Gold Coast on Friday.

“Having Hoops back in the team is a massive boost for us,” coach Darren Coleman said.

“To have one of the best players in the world return is really exciting not just for us but for our fans and we can’t wait to see him on the field this weekend wearing the sky blue.”

– Murray Wenzel

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Jon 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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