Wallabies centre Matt Giteau will miss the next round of The Rugby Championship with a sternum injury.
Precautionary scans on his nose and chest yesterday cleared Giteau of any serious damage, however management have opted to rest the 32-year old star for the next stage of the tournament.
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika said: “I know how desperate Matthew was to play and continue to contribute to this group over the next week, his leadership and presence off the field will be missed.”
“He’s one of the toughest members in the squad and we all witnessed during the match just how passionate Matthew is about representing his country again.”
“It’s disappointing to lose him for this round, however knowing he will be right to go for the Bledisloe series is reassuring for the group and our fans.”
“In the end, the decision sits with me. It’s going to be a big year for Gits and to send him over to Mendoza after a very physical test as well as a tight turnaround, just isn’t fair on him or the group.
The exclusion of Giteau from the 31-man squad to Mendoza makes way for the return of Brumbies playmaker Christian Lealiifano.
Lealiifano returns to squad after being used as an additional training squad member in the lead-up to the Springboks Test.
“It was a difficult call to leave Christian out of the original 31-man Test squad in the first place, and the way he handled himself at the time and during the past two weeks has been first class.
“For the Wallabies to be successful, we need to have the belief that our depth can cover each position and I have that confidence in Christian if he’s called upon for this weekend’s match.”
Announced yesterday, Nick Cummins and Nic White will join the squad alongside two further additions in hooker James Hanson and prop Tetera Faulkner, following Australia’s four point victory over the Springboks in Brisbane on the weekend.
They will return as official members of the 31-man squad, after being used as additional training squad players in the lead-up to the Springboks Test.
Below is an updated 31-man Wallabies squad for Round 2 of The Rugby Championship against Argentina in Mendoza on Saturday, 25 July.
Adam Ashley-Cooper (Waratahs)
Kurtley Beale (Waratahs)
Quade Cooper (Reds)
Nick Cummins (Force)
Tetera Faulkner (Force)
Scott Fardy (Brumbies)
Israel Folau (Waratahs)
Bernard Foley (Waratahs)
James Hanson (Reds)
Scott Higginbotham (Rebels)
Greg Holmes (Reds)
Michael Hooper (Waratahs)
James Horwill (Reds)
Sekope Kepu (Waratahs)
Tevita Kuridrani (Brumbies)
Christian Lealiifano (Brumbies)
Stephen Moore – Captain (Brumbies)
Drew Mitchell (Toulon)
Ben McCalman (Force)
Sean McMahon (Rebels)
Dean Mumm (Waratahs)
Nick Phipps (Waratahs)
David Pocock (Brumbies)
Tatafu Polota-Nau (Waratahs)
Scott Sio (Brumbies)
Rob Simmons (Reds)
Will Skelton (Waratahs)
James Slipper (Reds)
Matt Toomua (Brumbies)
Joe Tomane (Brumbies)
Nic White (Brumbies)
bazza
Guest
It wasn`t his crash dummy impersonations that beat them....
barbz
Guest
Curious stat. McCabe has beaten the All Blacks more times than Hooper.
jeznez
Roar Guru
Should be one of the outside backs based on the makeup of the squad. Mumm is saved by virtue of being the fourth lock. I do get who you are pointing at and I would likely leave him home as well.
Browny
Roar Rookie
I would have though that one of Beale, Cummins or Mumm gets left behind to make up for a third halfback (Stirzaker). Cummins is probably good to have around for morale, Mumm is a leader (Exeter) with some good experience... make of that what you will. I just hope we're not caught without a reserve 9.
jeznez
Roar Guru
NB - I think that is more recent experience than any other player in the travelling squad apart from White and Phipps - if one or both of them went down in the warm up - who would you pick? Gits was the obvious (although poor) choice. I think Cheika has made a poor decision on his travelling party and that is compounded with the withdrawal of Giteau. The likelihood is that there are no injuries to either of the 9's but he has opened himself to a risk that he doesn't need to take and I worry that this is a pre-cursor for the RWC squad where the risk would increase dramatically.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
I think that's the best option. Probably important we see a fair bit of Foley-Toomua also.
Ra Bro
Guest
I don't. Everyone knows Kurtley goes. You all know how Cheika thinks Beale is the team super sub, its already a done deal..
Ra Bro
Guest
CLL already Larkham's man. He's a proven Test rugby player, kicks goals, and combinations with inside and out. Should have been there before Giteau anyway. Kerevi next off the rank.
Blinky Bill of Bellingen NSW
Guest
Is there a point if he already knows what they can do? IMHO he'll go with Phipps, QC, Toomua and afterwards bring on White, CCL and stay with Toomua, if it's all going well.
Mick Gold Coast QLD
Roar Guru
No Lara, that myth was fiercely re-written overnight here by Sunday morning.
Jameswm
Guest
Cooper at 10 and Toomua at 12. What's the big deal? It's worked well before. Well balanced combination. Toomua is a competitor, like his partner.
Shane D
Roar Rookie
How about valuing the jersey & not giving a cap away just so a player has a certain number guys.
Quading in...
Guest
Originally Toomua came on for Cooper, then Giteau got injured and so Cooper came back on while he went off. So Toomua went from 10 to 12 and back to 10. I think both Cooper and Giteau can be proud of their games generally, as can Toomua for providing a clear pint of difference...
PeterK
Roar Guru
Foley played 15 for the tahs when he joined them.
MJB
Guest
Have a great time. I loved Mendoza when I was there, so much incredible wine and steak.
MJB
Guest
There's also the small matter of goal kicking.
Sofa Coach
Roar Rookie
Kev, Cheik has already publicly declared his preference for Cooper. He's also defended Cooper's performance against the Boks. He's certainly not going to be dropped after just one test after so much time out of the game and with so many questions about the platform he was provided. And Foley's not going to get a bench spot ahead of Lealiifano or Beale (or Toomua if he isn't starting) because he can only cover 10. http://m.smh.com.au/rugby-union/australia-rugby/michael-cheika-says-quade-cooper-is-not-in-wallabies-side-as-an-experiment-20150717-giex55.html
niwdEyaJ
Roar Guru
cinque, I think Larkham put his foot down and said "no fat blokes in my backline"!!! Honeybadger will be a great addition to the team... had a quiet super XV season but had limited opportunities. Always gives 100% in gold and he could single-handedly bring more attention to the game and the wallabies almost anyone else in the squad... personally, I think it'd be worth "carrying" him in the RWC squad.. he could play a full game against Uruguay to give one of the other wingers a rest and wouldn't let us down if called on for a bigger game...
Lara
Guest
What planet are you from.....we were luck to win against the Boks at home !!!!
niwdEyaJ
Roar Guru
does that count as a cap though? thought he needs to get on the field to be counted... could bring him on with a minute to go at the end, or start him and sub at the first break?