Pocock to have surgery, Genia to lead Wallabies
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Will Genia will lead the Wallabies against New Zealand in Auckland on Saturday, with skipper David Pocock to have keyhole surgery on his knee on Tuesday.
Openside flanker Pocock suffered damage to the articular cartilage in his right knee in the first half of Saturday’s 27-19 loss to New Zealand in the Rugby Championship opener.
Pocock said he wasn’t sure how long he was likely to be sidelined.
“He said he wanted to avoid putting a timeline on it till after he (surgeon) actually got in there to have a look,” Pocock said.
Coach Robbie Deans was philosophical about the injury.
“It’s disappointing for him and obviously not what we were seeking, but that’s the way it is and it’s part of the game,” Deans said.
Deans said it was likely he would name both other openside flankers, Michael Hooper and Liam Gill, in the 22-man squad for the second Bledisloe Cup Test at Eden Park.
He didn’t nominate the starter but said Hooper, who has won three caps, had more background with the team than the uncapped Gill.
Genia has captained Australia once before – against the United States at last year’s World Cup.
“He responds to that sort of responsibility and I’ve got no doubt he will do so here,” Deans said of Genia.
Halfback Genia said he would lead by deed rather than word.
“I’ll just worry about doing my job as a player first and foremost,” Genia said.
Pocock’s injury continued the run of outs in the Wallabies leadership group, with Genia the only one currently fit.
Lock and first-choice captain James Horwill, Pocock and backs James O’Connor and Pat McCabe are all injured.
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August 20th 2012 @ 12:48pm
Acorn said | August 20th 2012 @ 12:48pm | Report comment
and there goes the Bledisloe, 10 years in a row congrats NZ!
The ARU is rooted, i watched Nucifora on the Rugby Club state of the game and he thinks nothing is wrong. Super rugby this year was a success, pathways to the Wallabies are fine, and Australia isn’t haemorrhaging players overseas. to quote a fine NZ beer- YEAH RIGHT. When those in control think nothing’s wrong, you got problems. Big problems.
August 20th 2012 @ 12:57pm
Harry said | August 20th 2012 @ 12:57pm | Report comment
Ah right, Hooper has more BACKGROUND, so he’s in. I really hope this isn’t the deciding/main factor in selection, but fear it is.
Hooper may well be the best selection, but I’d like to hear a better justification than having more BACKGROUND.
Rob Horne is also rich in Robbie BACKGROUND. Shame about the complete lack of penetration and handling skills though.
August 20th 2012 @ 12:57pm
formeropenside said | August 20th 2012 @ 12:57pm | Report comment
Well, Genia should have been captain ahead of Pocock in the first place, so we dont lose too much on the captaincy front.
Hooper over Gill is silly, but thats Deans for you. Also points out the stupidity of sending someone like Gill off to U-20′s when he should have got a call up for the June tests.
I dont think the Wallabies can win this game, and in fact I think Deans is setting up QC to “fail”.
August 20th 2012 @ 1:23pm
Markus said | August 20th 2012 @ 1:23pm | Report comment
Harry and fos, Hooper has displayed he a stronger all-round workrate than Gill.
While he was 2nd in the competition behind Gill for most pilfers, he gained more runs and run metres, and pulled off many more tackles. This with less starts for the season.
Gill is a huge talent too, but Hooper getting the nod over him is hardly silly.
August 20th 2012 @ 1:35pm
Harry said | August 20th 2012 @ 1:35pm | Report comment
Markus, please note I’m not saying Hooper shouldn’t be picked to start with Pocock injured – were I selecting the side, I’d lean towards starting with Hooper.
The point I’m making is whether someone has more BACKGROUND or not shouldn’t be the primary reason/justification for selecting that player. But given the Wallaby teams that have been selected under Deans and his comments like the one in the story above, I fear it is.
August 20th 2012 @ 1:52pm
Markus said | August 20th 2012 @ 1:52pm | Report comment
I’m hoping it was just another classic Deansism.
August 20th 2012 @ 2:05pm
formeropenside said | August 20th 2012 @ 2:05pm | Report comment
Gill outplayed Hooper twice head to head, and the last thing Hooper did in test rugby was drop the ball twice in 10 minutes. He should be axed.
August 20th 2012 @ 2:26pm
Markus said | August 20th 2012 @ 2:26pm | Report comment
Already answered this. Hooper didn’t even play Gill in the first game, and had a better all-round game than Gill in the second despite the Reds pack being stronger than the Brumbies overall.
The last thing Gill did in international rugby was captain the U20s to an 8th place finish.
August 20th 2012 @ 3:34pm
formeropenside said | August 20th 2012 @ 3:34pm | Report comment
U20′s isn’t “international rugby”.
August 20th 2012 @ 8:22pm
mickybly said | August 20th 2012 @ 8:22pm | Report comment
Not trying to nitpick too much – but obviously the Junior World Cup is international rugby!
But yeah, it’s “junior” – so comparing apples to oranges.
Blaming Gill for the losses in the JWC is nonsense though – he was by far and away our best player (well, in the 3 games I watched), and leading a losing team can still be a great learning experience (hardship, camaraderie.. all that crap).
I think Gill and Hoops are neck and neck at the moment, I’d be happy for either of them to start, then the other to come on at the 50 min mark, either at 6 or 7, depending on how the game’s panning out.
August 20th 2012 @ 2:16pm
Red Kev said | August 20th 2012 @ 2:16pm | Report comment
I disagree Markus.
Hooper tries harder than Gill certainly, the problem is he tries too hard. He gives away a lot more penalties than Gill. He also has a lesser skill set – he drops more ball, can’t compete at the lineout, misses more tackles. My impression of him are also that he’s like an over-eager labrador, he doesn’t have a calm head unlike Gill (who is an U20 captain has shown that he has leaderskip skills).
Personally I like Hooper as an impact forward to inject some eagerness in the late part of the game.
August 20th 2012 @ 1:24pm
WQ said | August 20th 2012 @ 1:24pm | Report comment
I agree formeropenside, I have always felt that Genia should have been given the captaincy in front of Pocock.
I will also agree with you that Cooper will fail in Auckland if selected however I don’t believe Deans is ‘setting him up’
August 20th 2012 @ 1:55pm
jeremy said | August 20th 2012 @ 1:55pm | Report comment
Ah geez, I feel sorry for Pocock…
What could he do though, go off at half time with the game still winnable or soldier on and potentially aggravate it.
Wallabies are going to really struggle to win this, I think.
August 20th 2012 @ 1:55pm
moaman said | August 20th 2012 @ 1:55pm | Report comment
I reckon this injury is timely for Pocock.He clearly wasn’t wearing the Captain’s armband well,on Saturday, and shifting it to Genia might allow him to refocus on his core role.
August 20th 2012 @ 1:57pm
Kuruki said | August 20th 2012 @ 1:57pm | Report comment
Blessing in disguise. Pocock was ineffective against an All Black loose forward unit who shut him out of the game. Hooper brings more ball in hand which is what they Wallabies desperately need. He is fast aggressive and abrasive. I would not be panicking too much about it to be honest because there was little chance of victory anyway. This will be an opportunity for Hooper to stamp his mark, something he may not have been given otherwise. I’m tipping a performance worthy of causing some rotations once Pocock comes back.
August 20th 2012 @ 2:26pm
formeropenside said | August 20th 2012 @ 2:26pm | Report comment
Yeah, hopefully Hooper can catch the ball this time around.
August 20th 2012 @ 3:10pm
Kuruki said | August 20th 2012 @ 3:10pm | Report comment
August 20th 2012 @ 3:14pm
Kuruki said | August 20th 2012 @ 3:14pm | Report comment
Surely he deserves a chance considering Beale and Quade are more experienced and had similar shockers at one point or another. I blame one of those drops on poor handling, the other was a poor pass.
August 20th 2012 @ 3:18pm
Rob from Brumby Country said | August 20th 2012 @ 3:18pm | Report comment
Maybe he’d find that easier if he were a Queenslander, FOS? I bet that’d help.
August 20th 2012 @ 3:36pm
formeropenside said | August 20th 2012 @ 3:36pm | Report comment
of course he’d be a better player if he was a Queenslander, but he’s a Waratah
Seriously though, I cannot understand all the Hooper hype.
August 20th 2012 @ 3:48pm
eagleJack said | August 20th 2012 @ 3:48pm | Report comment
I think you would enjoy rugby more if you understood all the players are AUSTRALIAN and the world isn’t out to get QLD.
August 20th 2012 @ 4:26pm
formeropenside said | August 20th 2012 @ 4:26pm | Report comment
Please prove your thesis, and display your work. And its not the whole world, necessarily, just the ARU.
Its pretty easy to shout “parochialism” when the Tahs get a huge percentage of the Wallaby spots no matter how they play, while Qld gets shafted again and again. Back when Qld was having its natural talent plundered in 05-09, they only had a few representatives in the Wallaby teams, and at least test with no one starting.
Imagine the outcry that would cause if the Tahs had NO ONE STARTING in that last test.
I hate seeing the Wallabies being less than they should be because of parochialism, but its not the sort that comes out of Queensland. Its the southern kind that assumes that Waratah rugby is Australian rugby and to have a different view is unAustralian.
If you enjoyed watching the rugby on show on Saturday night, then good luck to you. I didn’t.
August 20th 2012 @ 5:07pm
eagleJack said | August 20th 2012 @ 5:07pm | Report comment
To be honest if no Tahs players were selected I don’t think I would have noticed. I want the best XV on the paddock. They are all Australians in my eyes.
Do you honestly believe Deans selects a team based on province? Perhaps that could be the case with some combinations. But I don’t see Deans going for Hooper over Gill because he will be at the Tahs next year. I am certain that wouldn’t even cross his mind
August 20th 2012 @ 2:26pm
jameswm said | August 20th 2012 @ 2:26pm | Report comment
Hooper’s too small. The ABs forwards will beat him up.
August 20th 2012 @ 3:10pm
Kuruki said | August 20th 2012 @ 3:10pm | Report comment
Higgers, Timani, Dennis they had little to no impact on the game. So size really doesn’t count for faark all.
August 20th 2012 @ 3:22pm
Rob from Brumby Country said | August 20th 2012 @ 3:22pm | Report comment
David Pocock – 185cm, 105kg
Liam Gill – 185cm, 94kg
Michael Hooper – 182cm, 97kg
Hmmm.
They all look pretty similar to me. Kuruki’s right, these guys should be picked on the basis of mongrel, not 3cm or 3kg…
August 20th 2012 @ 5:08pm
jameswm said | August 20th 2012 @ 5:08pm | Report comment
I’ve seen Hooper beaten up in other games.
Don’t believe those stats they produce.
Dennis is a lean frame, not what I would call size or bulk.
I agree that in theory you should pick on merit, but size comes into how effetive they would be. Not much other choice though, it’s Hooper or Gill to play 7. And Hooper seems to be ahead in the pecking order.
August 20th 2012 @ 10:21pm
Rob from Brumby Country said | August 20th 2012 @ 10:21pm | Report comment
Hmmm, well my first stats came from wikipedia, but an examination of the players’ profiles on their clubs’ websites only provided a slight variation. Amended, it would be:
Pocock – 184cm, 104kg
Gill – 184cm, 96kg
Hooper – 182cm, 97kg
So… there doesn’t really appear to be much in it physically. Maybe Gill has a stronger presence on the field than Hooper? Is that an advantage? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe Hooper has been targeted more by other teams at the breakdown than Gill? Is that an advantage? Maybe. Maybe not.
In truth, I think you could virtually flip a coin and get a good result either way for the openside position next week. Not to be too mean to Pocock, but we should be rejoicing that one of these young bucks will be getting their chance on Saturday. They will never get a sterner test, so who knows what will be forged in the fire at Eden Park. I only hope that their rivalry spurs them both to greater heights like the Smith-Waugh duel of ages past.
Edit: Also, I should in all fairness point out that I did not say ‘merit’ but ‘mongrel’. There is a difference, and I think that a lack of the latter is the major deficiency that has been holding us back.
August 20th 2012 @ 2:48pm
Justin2 said | August 20th 2012 @ 2:48pm | Report comment
“Pocock was ineffective against an All Black loose forward unit who shut him out of the game”
Maybe, just maybe, because he had a knee injury that requires surgery?
I know its a long bow to draw but…
August 20th 2012 @ 2:54pm
Jerry said | August 20th 2012 @ 2:54pm | Report comment
He hurt his knee when Read tackled him in the second half though and wasn’t exactly tearing up the pitch before that.
August 20th 2012 @ 3:41pm
Justin2 said | August 20th 2012 @ 3:41pm | Report comment
August 20th 2012 @ 4:15pm
Jerry said | August 20th 2012 @ 4:15pm | Report comment
Good point, well made.
August 20th 2012 @ 5:19pm
jameswm said | August 20th 2012 @ 5:19pm | Report comment
He already had strapping on the knee.
August 20th 2012 @ 5:28pm
Jerry said | August 20th 2012 @ 5:28pm | Report comment
Yeah, I had a look and he must have injured himself at some point in the first half cause he got that strapping put on at halftime. You wonder if he’s exacerbated the problem by playing on for so long.
August 20th 2012 @ 3:12pm
Kuruki said | August 20th 2012 @ 3:12pm | Report comment
You’re right it is a longbow to draw. I doubt that had much to do with it considering he started the match fit and still had little impact.
August 20th 2012 @ 3:23pm
Cliff said | August 20th 2012 @ 3:23pm | Report comment
He had little impact largely because he was essentially getting no support from the rest of the pack at the breakdown.
August 20th 2012 @ 3:39pm
Rob from Brumby Country said | August 20th 2012 @ 3:39pm | Report comment
There was more to it than that. Pocock was trying too hard to win the ball at the ruck, and the ref was watching him closely every time. You can get away with it if you’re an expert at flying under the radar and misdirecting the referee’s attention to your opposite number, but unfortunately for Poey, his opponent was much better at that on the night.
There really isn’t a better manager of referees in the game than Richie McCaw. Extraordinary player.
August 20th 2012 @ 5:54pm
Kuruki said | August 20th 2012 @ 5:54pm | Report comment
He had little to no impact because he was being smashed off his feet by a wave of black players time and time again. Pocock is a solid tank of a unit but the tactic the All Blacks used was effective. He was a target for the arriving players every time.
Pocock is still a bloody legend and there is no question he will continue to be first picked for the Wallabies when fit, but the All Blacks nullified his strength by hitting rucks as a unit, this took Pococks strength out of the game.
Hooper brings something that the Wallabies are lacking. You don’t currently have a player with his aggression and abrasiveness with ball in hand. He is a dynamic player and his lack of size which concerns some is made up in aggression and speed. He will add another dimension to the pack, Gill is a quality player but i hardly think he can be effective over the ball when Pocock couldn’t. Forget the pilfer it isn’t happening with the ferocity the All Blacks were hitting the rucks, Hooper brings something ball in hand and on attack.
August 20th 2012 @ 3:08pm
lex said | August 20th 2012 @ 3:08pm | Report comment
Deans is quoted in The Australian today, in relation to Hooper and Gill replacing Pocock this week: “They will revel in it. They would be as excited as hell. They would play the house down if one of those blokes gets a run.”
As far as I remember (and I am open to correction) I don’t think Hooper got any game time on Saturday, even though Pocock was giving away penalties and carrying a knee injury. I find Deans quite incomprehensible.
August 20th 2012 @ 3:16pm
Kuruki said | August 20th 2012 @ 3:16pm | Report comment
Let’s be honest some enthusiasm is pretty much exactly what is needed in a lacklustre pack.
August 20th 2012 @ 3:25pm
Rob from Brumby Country said | August 20th 2012 @ 3:25pm | Report comment
Yeah, it bemused me too… I mean, why bring Hooper along if he wasn’t going to be used, not even as an injury replacement? Bizarre decision if you ask me…
August 20th 2012 @ 10:37pm
Blue Blood said | August 20th 2012 @ 10:37pm | Report comment
But not a new move by Deans. Hodgson is bigger than Gill and Hooper (103kg) and was often left on the bench even when Pocock was bleeding and struggling from a heavy game. Typical Deans.
August 20th 2012 @ 4:21pm
rl said | August 20th 2012 @ 4:21pm | Report comment
and even if Pocock wasn’t injured, our backrow was achieving little, so why wouldn’t you hook one of them and give Hooper a try with say 20 mins left? Who knows, his speed to the breakdown might have created that half-chance that might have made the difference.
August 20th 2012 @ 4:04pm
murph73 said | August 20th 2012 @ 4:04pm | Report comment
Of course Hooper will get picked, he was handed a guaranteed 15 tests when he signed with the Tahs
August 20th 2012 @ 4:07pm
nickoldschool said | August 20th 2012 @ 4:07pm | Report comment
Talking about unfit/injured aussie wallaby backrower, just read that Rocky Elsom had failed the medical at Kobelco Steelers and his contract been cancelled. Could head in Pro D2 towards Narbonne.
August 20th 2012 @ 4:20pm
Red Kev said | August 20th 2012 @ 4:20pm | Report comment
Foley will sign him for the Force and make him captain.
August 20th 2012 @ 4:30pm
nickoldschool said | August 20th 2012 @ 4:30pm | Report comment
August 20th 2012 @ 4:27pm
Hoy said | August 20th 2012 @ 4:27pm | Report comment
Why isn’t anyone in journalism taking Deans to task and asking hard questions?
Like Cooper not being fit enough, but Mitchell and Beale are fit enough? That doesn’t make sense, and so we reap what we sow. Although we aren’t sowing it… Deans is.
Why keep picking such ineffectual inside backs? Did he really think they were going to outscore the All Blacks with Barnes, Finger, and Horne?
Why wasn’t Taps kept in the squad to gain fitness/learn the set up? He was the absolute head and shoulders form centre for Australia before his injury.
How can our national team go out and bumble so badly? It was an embarrasement, and I am seething two days later. That they had three weeks to pull that performance out? My local grade team makes those mistakes, and I think they are unforgiveable at that level, let alone national level.
Is anyone asking these questions? What is the answer they get?
August 20th 2012 @ 4:37pm
murph73 said | August 20th 2012 @ 4:37pm | Report comment
They don’t ask tough questions, it’s easier to just regurgitate suck job ARU press releases
August 20th 2012 @ 4:45pm
Hoy said | August 20th 2012 @ 4:45pm | Report comment
Sorry, I forgot one more tough question. My blood was fairly up:
Why aren’t the Wallabies picked on form? 13 Waratahs? Now I generally don’t care where a player comes from to represent the nation, but that team was woeful, so how did so many of the players, loosing players, get picked for the squad? Again, cue Horne, cue Barnes (who isn’t good enough to lead his provincial team around the park, let alone the national team) cue Mitchell (see above regarding fitness anyway).
Now people might say there is noone else, but with the incumbants going so badly, the two options are suffer bad form, or try a promising player. We put up with mediocrity too much, and excuse it by saying there is noone else.
August 20th 2012 @ 10:51pm
Armchair Sportsfan said | August 20th 2012 @ 10:51pm | Report comment
In my un-inivted opinion sitting in this comfortable Armchair, it just seems to me that there are very few rugby writers at major papers-TV channels in Australia who are prepared to make themselves pariahs to the ARU/Wallabies.
If you just re-hash a press release or print/reapest the media-training inspired doddle that comes out of the mouth of the players during press confereneces/post-training interviews, then as a journo its likely that you’ll continue to get ‘access’ to the team (e.g. get that exclusive interview with Robbie Deans before the championship). While it’s frustrating as hell for us out here that are roaring loudly, in some ways I dont blame the journos at the major papers so much, that’s just a smarter way to keep your job manageable and ensure that you’re writting the nessecary inches for each day’s edition.
At least on sites like the roar, we’ve got a number of contributors who I often dont agree with…but hey…at least they’ve got a view…
All that said, Hoy, I 100% agree with your sentiments on the team/coach, and all we can hgope is that someone inside the ARU is asking those questions….