Ben McCalman suffered a season-ending injury on Saturday against England and will miss the third Test match of the series. The Wallabies and Western Force number 8 will also miss the remaining Super Rugby games with an initial prediction of six weeks on the sidelines.
The 28-year-old fractured his right scapular during his 30-minute stint against England in Melbourne, he replaced Sean McMahon in the 50th minute and played through to full time.
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika called Queensland Reds number 8 Leroy Houston into the squad as cover, he joins Wycliff Palu, Sean McMahon and Liam Gill in the battle to secure a spot in the matchday 23.
The loss of McCalman is just another blow for the Wallabies in this forgettable Cook Cup series, with first choice number 8 David Pocock being ruled out after the first Test.
“I’ll probably make a couple of changes, I would have always thought I might make a couple each game to have a look at guys who are vying for spots,” Cheika said.
Australia are desperately trying to avoid a series whitewash, with the final Test to be played in front of a sold out crowd at Moore Park on Saturday.
McCalman should recover in time for the opening round of the Rugby Championship in August, where the Wallabies will host the first Bledisloe at ANZ Stadium in Sydney.
Looking ahead to the remaining Super Rugby fixtures, the Western Force have a tough run home and will certainly miss having their stalwart in their forward pack.
The Force will face the Cheetahs in South Africa before travelling back to Perth to host the Stormers. Their final game is against the Brumbies in Canberra on the 16th of July.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
Wallabies fly-half Carter Gordon is reportedly flirting over the fence with two NRL clubs - the Gold Coast Titans and Melbourne Storm. The 23-year-old…
Australia has always produced tremendously talented rugby players but as a country we’ve had a detrimental tendency to over-hype youngsters, creating unrealistic, unfair, and…
Joe Schmidt says he wants Carter Gordon to stay in Australian rugby, but the new Wallabies coach won’t shed tears if he decides to…
Darren Coleman is set to continue his back three changes, with Max Jorgensen to miss the Waratahs’ tricky assignment at the Cake Tin in…
Australian rugby has many problems - financial crisis, ever-shrinking audiences, shortage of coaching expertise, Greg Martin, etc etc. But one problem which I have…
Eight months after sensationally being taken to France by Eddie Jones as the Wallabies’ specialist fly-half for their World Cup campaign, Carter Gordon could…
