Wallabies coach Eddie Jones is edging nearer to choosing star midfield mixture Samu Kerevi and Quade Cooper after each have been named in Australia’s travelling squad to South Africa for subsequent weekend’s Rugby Championship opener in opposition to the Springboks.
The pair shaped a deadly partnership in 2021 when the Wallabies went on a five-Test successful win that included 4 Rugby Championship victories.
However, each suffered severe, long-term accidents final yr, with fly half Cooper rupturing his achilles tendon throughout a Test in Argentina and inside centre Kerevi tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee whereas enjoying for Australia’s rugby sevens group on the Commonwealth Games.
Kerevi made a return to aggressive rugby slightly below seven weeks in the past for Japanese membership aspect Tokyo Sungoliath earlier than straining a hamstring quickly after enjoying for the Eddie Jones-coached Barbarians.
Veteran playmaker Cooper was a part of the identical Barbarians outfit and was final week named in a 34-man Wallabies squad.
While not included within the 34, Kerevi, 29, was chosen in six-man rehabilitation group and confirmed sufficient progress throughout this week’s coaching camp on the Gold Coast to ebook a seat on the aircraft to South Africa.
Four members of the rehabilitation group – Langi Gleeson, Andrew Kellaway, Jordan Petaia and Matt Philip – didn’t journey to South Africa on Friday with the remainder of the squad.
Prop Angus Bell (toe) is the opposite participant within the group to make the journey however is taken into account subsequent to no likelihood of being match for the Test in Pretoria on Sunday week (AEST) regardless of Jones saying “everybody on the plane” is “at this stage available for selection”.
“We’re pretty sure who is (in the 23-man match-day squad) but we’ve got to see how the players travel, see how they come through the first couple of days of training, and then we’ll name them,” Jones stated from Sydney airport earlier than the group’s departure.
“We’ve left those (other) four at home, so they’ll get ready for (Tests against) Argentina or New Zealand, depending on their progress.
“We don’t need to get ahead of ourselves. Sometimes a sprint doesn’t win the marathon.”
The “marathon” journey will conclude on the September 8-October 28 Rugby World Cup in France.
“We want to put a new standard of Wallaby rugby forward, we want to set the tone (in Pretoria) for our campaign,” Jones stated.
“We want to play a certain style of rugby, but there’s the opposition, the referee, and ultimately we need this style of game to be at its best for the World Cup, so we’ll go through stages in the Rugby Championship where we’ll build on it.
“We’re more concerned about ourselves than South Africa.”
Source web site: www.foxsports.com.au
