By Darren Walton
November 23rd 2009 @ 6:07am
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Wounded Wallabies arrive in Cardiff for final Test
Australia’s rugby squad arrived in Cardiff on Sunday looking to pick up the pieces after their demoralising 9-8 loss to Scotland at Murrayfield.
As if the Wallabies‘ first defeat at the hands of the hapless Scots in 27 years wasn’t dire enough, coach Robbie Deans has to deal with a crippling injury list that could potentially keep six players out of Saturday’s tour-ending Test against Wales.
Centre Digby Ioane (shoulder), halfback Will Genia (knee), No.8 Wycliff Palu (neck), flanker and captain Rocky Elsom (quad) and props Benn Robinson (shoulder) and Sekope Kepu (ankle) are all in a race against the clock to be fit for selection.
While Deans is hopeful all six will be available, the reality is they won’t and, at the very least, the team’s preparation will be severely disrupted.
“Most of the blokes presented better this morning than we expected,” Deans said on Sunday.
“We’re hopeful at the far end of the week that they’ll all be available to us, but it’s still early days.”
Robinson’s damaged AC joint, which forced him from Murrayfield 17 minutes into Saturday’s diabolical defeat, is causing most concern.
“He’s got pretty good range of movement, which is a good indication of his prospects, but there’s a way to go yet for him obviously because he’s got to use his shoulder for scrummaging,” Deans said.
Robinson landed on the point of his shoulder in a heavy tackle in the opening minutes, forcing Kepu to play more than an hour in just his third Test appearance off the bench.
He performed okay under the circumstances against one of the strongest front rows in Europe, but was penalised twice by French referee Romain Poite for two scrum infringements and also made a couple of costly handling errors in what was very much a baptism of fire.
If Robinson is ruled out, Deans will almost certainly call on the experience of Matt Dunning rather than starting Kepu in front of 74,500 staunch Welsh fans at the Millennium Stadium sellout.
A medicab transported Palu from the field in a neck brace after he lost the feeling in one arm, but team doctor Warren McDonald reported the back-rower’s condition as merely a pinched nerve.
While he remains a chance of backing up, Palu still looked in discomfort on arrival in Cardiff.
Deans described Elsom’s quadriceps injury as “reasonably significant” but the skipper said he should be okay to play.
X-rays cleared Genia of ligament or bone damage and he spent all Saturday night icing the knee, but was still limping on Sunday.
“So obviously it will depend on when he starts moving,” Deans said. “But we’re hopeful that he could be okay.
“Kepu rolled his ankle but we’re confident he’ll be fine and with Digby we’re hopeful.”
Ioane was a late scratching from the Scotland Test after suffering a “stinger” the previous week against Ireland.
“It’s just a matter of his strength coming back, so we’ll do a bit of work to get the strength back into his arm,” Deans said.
Deans will announce his second-string side for Tuesday night’s clash with the Cardiff Blues later on Sunday (Monday AEDT).
Wallabies’s Test record under coach Robbie Deans nearing the end of his second season in charge
Total games: played 27, won 14, drawn 1, lost 12
2008 (played 14, won 9, drawn 0, lost 5)
bt Ireland 18-12, Melbourne
bt France 34-13, Sydney
bt France 40-10, Brisbane
bt South Africa 16-9, Perth
bt New Zealand 34-19, Sydney
lost to New Zealand 39-10, Auckland
bt South Africa 27-15, Durban
lost to South Africa 53-8, Johannesburg
lost to New Zealand 28-24, Brisbane
lost to New Zealand 19-14, Hong Kong
bt Italy 30-20, Padova
bt England 28-14, Twickenham
bt France 18-13, Paris
lost to Wales 21-18, Cardiff
2009 (played 13, won 5, drawn 1, lost 7)
bt Italy 31-8, Canberra
bt Italy 34-12, Melbourne
bt France 22-6, Sydney
lost to New Zealand 22-16, Auckland
lost to South Africa 29-17, Cape Town
lost to New Zealand 19-18, Sydney
lost to South Africa 32-25, Perth
bt South Africa 21-6, Perth
lost to New Zealand 33-6, Wellington
lost to New Zealand 32-19, Tokyo
bt England 18-9, London
drew with Ireland 20-20, Dublin
lost 9-8 to Scotland, Edinburgh
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