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Despite the removal of fighting, the shoulder charge and Sam Burgess, Australia’s rugby league players still found a way to hurt themselves over the weekend with Luke Lewis injuring his shoulder on signage in the Kangaroos win over Fiji.
As far as injuries go it’s severe enough to rule him out of the rest of the World Cup and ranks somewhere in the injury credibility stakes between receiving a dozen stitches from an all in brawl with the 1978 Western Suburbs Magpies and doing your ACL cooking the family BBQ.
While pundits had talked up the clash of players like Akuila Uate and Sisa Waqa against Greg Inglis and Michael Jennings, it was the battle between Lewis and his advertising adversary that had tongues wagging at a sodden Langtree Park post-match.
And, for the next few days, may continue to do so.
Tournament rules state that players can’t be added to the squad that began the Cup, even in the case of injury.
In rebuttal to this Australian coach Tim Sheens has pointed out that he didn’t recall anything in the fine print about his charges being beat-up by inanimate objects and believes that the blame for the injury rests not on Lewis’ over zealousness to get on the scorers list but rather an OHS balls-up by the RFL.
Of course this isn’t the only injury to have happened when players and stadiums have collided.
Melbourne Storm’s Papua New Guinea flyer Marcus Bai suffered a severe laceration to his arm in the early 2000’s thanks to the ankle deep Olympic Park in-goals.
And, who can forget Justin Murphy’s concrete headstand at Wigan a few years back?
Well after watching that, probably Justin Murphy.
Lewis’ injury has created a surprisingly intricate situation, however, as the politics of international rugby league are likely to play a huge role in the final decision on the matter.
The RLIF would be cautious of providing the exemption to Sheens and having it seen by its onlooking members as though the schoolyard bully Australians are dictating terms.
At the same time though they probably wouldn’t want to further inflame the belief among the Kangaroos that the governing body desperately wants England to win the Cup and that the RLIF would happily help them achieve this by weakening the Kangaroos.
After all, last time I checked the shoulder charge ban hadn’t yet applied to coaches in hotel foyers.
Whist his injury was incredibly unfortunate, I’d like to see the RLIF back themselves here and not allow the replacement player.
Footy players are always happy to tell the press that they’d be prepared to “play the game in the car park” if need be (except Matt Orford), so I don’t think any of them would baulk at playing at grounds with shortish in-goals.
You have to play to the conditions and surroundings, and I’m sure on his numerous B and B stays I mean fact finding missions to the UK Tim Sheens would have mumbled something about the pint sized in-goals into his Apple Newton.
The whole incident is unlucky, yes, but if the World Cup rules says no replacements to the squad then Australia should be prepared to tough it out and soldier on with 23.
Unless the delightful Darren Smith happens to be holidaying nearby somewhere of course…
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