Surgery forces Lote out of trial
Surgery forces Lote out of trial
February 04, 2008
NEW South Wales star Lote Tuqiri will go into next week's Super 14 opener without a trial run after being ruled out of Thursday's clash against the Crusaders following surgery to improve his breathing.
But the positives of a new, fitter Tuqiri will outweigh his lack of warm-up game time, according to Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie.
Tuqiri underwent corrective surgery last week after initially seeing a doctor over persistent sinus problems. It was discovered the Australia winger also had a "kink" in his airways, which was restricting his oxygen intake.
The 28-year-old was subsequently withdrawn from last Friday's trial against the Brumbies, and it was decided Sunday Tuqiri will also miss the Waratahs' match against Robbie Deans' side in the Rotomahana Shield at the SFS on Thursday.
"It was one of those things they just picked up by chance, so it was a good opportunity to get in there and get it fixed," McKenzie said.
"They got it sorted out so his breathing is improved, and that's a big thing in terms of fitness. He'll be aerobically stronger. It's pretty amazing that he's been able to be that competitive and play at such high levels if it was a problem he's always had."
McKenzie, who had hoped to field his strongest possible line-up in the final trial, still believes Tuqiri will be able to hit the ground running on February 16 against the Hurricanes despite not having played since the Wallabies bowed out to England in the World Cup quarters last October.
"We'll definitely look at him (to start)," McKenzie said. "He's trained strongly all summer, and has good energy."
McKenzie is still yet to decide on the make-up of his opening round squad of 22, with injuries to key players and "50-50 calls" still clouding the picture.
Although Rocky Elsom will return this week, both full-back Sam Norton-Knight (hamstring) and half-back Luke Burgess (concussion) have been ruled out of the Crusaders clash.
Burgess was to have started the match, after Josh Valentine and Brett Sheehan started the previous two trials. Valentine will take the half-back duties against the Kiwis, giving him a chance to match the solid performances of Burgess against Queensland and Sheehan versus the Brumbies.
Though pleased with Lachlan Turner's performance at full-back against the ACT, and "big improvements" in the youngster's long kicking game and positional sense, McKenzie is not ruling out Norton-Knight as NSW's custodian against the Hurricanes.
But the NSW coach is keen to "pump a bit more work" into his Wallabies contingent, who played the opening half against the Brumbies and took a while to find their feet.
"The Wallaby guys have got to get used to the new form of the game, and the fitness that goes with it," McKenzie said.
The Crusaders should have All Blacks five-eighth Dan Carter back for the Rotomahana Shield.
Impressive Waratahs rookie Rob Horne has been released to join the Australian Sevens team.
The Daily Telegraph
