Wales turn to Rebel Delve
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Wales have called up Melbourne Rebels star Gareth Delve to replace No.8 Toby Faletau who has been ruled out of the remaining two Tests against the Wallabies with a broken hand suffered in the first Test defeat in Brisbane.
Delve won the last of his 11 Welsh caps in 2010 before joining the Rebels from their first season in Super Rugby.
He was at the Suncorp Stadium Test in a radio commentary role but Wales caretaker coach Ron Howley on Sunday called him in to join the 34-man tour squad as Faletau flies home to have his injury further assessed.
Star winger George North, meanwhile, will undergo intensive treatment on a haematoma to his thigh in a bid to get him fit for the second Test in Melbourne on Saturday.
North was forced off during the first half of yesterday’s encounter, and he is considered crucial to Wales’ hopes of squaring the series.
Howley on Sunday named his team for Tuesday’s match against the Brumbies in Canberra, with lock Luke Charteris the only player backing up from the Brisbane Test.
Delve will be on the replacements’ bench, where his colleagues include lock Ian Evans, who arrived in Australia on Saturday night following his wedding in Greece.
Evans’ Ospreys second-row partner Alun-Wyn Jones will captain the team against the Brumbies, taking over from a rested Sam Warburton, while there is another opportunity for 19-year-old Cardiff Blues wing Harry Robinson.
Robinson lit up Wales’ 30-21 victory over the Barbarians eight days ago by scoring a dazzling solo try, and he will look to impress on Tuesday, especially with North battling injury.
Howley said: “We are a game down, but we still have all to play for in this Test series and Tuesday night is the perfect opportunity for this squad of players to move on.
“We have one or two bumps and bruises, and we are expecting players to back-up after playing a tough Test match and go out there 72 hours later and play for their country.
“But that is exactly what touring is all about. It will be a test of character for the likes of Luke (Charteris), James (Hook) and Alun-Wyn (Jones), who all made significant contributions on Saturday.”
© AAP 2013
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The Crowd Says (15) | Page 1 of Comments
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June 11th 2012 @ 8:17am
The Bone said | June 11th 2012 @ 8:17am | Report comment
Great news for Delve, not so much for the Wallabies, he knows are players pretty well and will be a valuable addition to their squad
June 11th 2012 @ 9:49am
stillmissit said | June 11th 2012 @ 9:49am | Report comment
Delve won’t let anyone down – won’t light up the world either. He has been good for the Rebels and I believe that had Cipriani taken a few cues of Delve he would have left Australia a better player.
June 11th 2012 @ 12:52pm
falcore said | June 11th 2012 @ 12:52pm | Report comment
First super rugby player in a northern hemisphere team?
June 11th 2012 @ 1:02pm
allblackfan said | June 11th 2012 @ 1:02pm | Report comment
nope; james haskell (Highlanders) was called into the england squad last week
June 11th 2012 @ 1:20pm
falcore said | June 11th 2012 @ 1:20pm | Report comment
Always liked Haskell, he was stuck behind guys like Easter for too long. So, evidence that super rugby breeds better backrowers?
June 11th 2012 @ 4:01pm
allblackfan said | June 11th 2012 @ 4:01pm | Report comment
nope but perhaps a sign that some players are keen to test themselves in the cauldron of Super rugby, regardless of the financial hit that they take.
June 12th 2012 @ 1:18am
Ben S said | June 12th 2012 @ 1:18am | Report comment
Haskell is primarily a 6 who occasionally flittered with the 8 jersey when needs must, just like he’s filling the 7 jersey ATM.
June 11th 2012 @ 1:22pm
Wales15 said | June 11th 2012 @ 1:22pm | Report comment
I like Gareth Delve, I think he is a cracking player who is hugely underated. If he was playing with a NH club, then I would put money on him featuring a lot for Wales. After all, despite how good the Rebels are or not, you don’t captain an Australian team with the likes of O’Connor, Mortlock and Beale without being a good player.
Hopefully he has a cracker.
June 11th 2012 @ 8:43pm
Colin N said | June 11th 2012 @ 8:43pm | Report comment
“If he was playing with a NH club, then I would put money on him featuring a lot for Wales.”
I don’t know about that. When he was playing well in England for all those years, he hardly ever got a look in. He wasn’t helped by injuries at the wrong moments earlier in his career, but certainly at Gloucester he was consistently excellent and never really got selected.
June 11th 2012 @ 1:22pm
Damo said | June 11th 2012 @ 1:22pm | Report comment
Great news for Gareth Delve.
He seems a solid leader and a decent bloke. Felt for him when I heard that thanks to his Rebels service he had lost a chance to represent Wales at the WC.
Great for him that he is back in the squad. Hope he goes well – but not as well as his super team mates.
June 11th 2012 @ 3:14pm
Uncle Argyle said | June 11th 2012 @ 3:14pm | Report comment
Mate if were Australian I would have him our 22 any day. He’s not flash but just gets the job done. Well done Gareth and best of luck!
June 11th 2012 @ 3:50pm
Wales15 said | June 11th 2012 @ 3:50pm | Report comment
Over Higgenbotham, or Palu? Higgenbotham especially is a brilliant player.
June 11th 2012 @ 4:23pm
Justin2 said | June 11th 2012 @ 4:23pm | Report comment
Not sure but he has been immense for the Rebels the last 2 years. Probably their best player over that time and all class…
June 11th 2012 @ 4:40pm
Uncle Argyle said | June 11th 2012 @ 4:40pm | Report comment
Note; in my 22.
June 11th 2012 @ 8:45pm
Colin N said | June 11th 2012 @ 8:45pm | Report comment
It’s all about about balance. I think having a player like Delve, who does more work in the tight, would allow Higginbotham the ability to roam and use the skills he has.