Smith open to Cup comeback

[mudskipper]

Wallabies great George Smith says he would be open to discussing a World Cup comeback if Wallabies coach Robbie Deans asked him.

Smith retired from Australian rugby in 2010 still near the top of his game. After a season with Toulon in France, he is due to take up a lucrative contract with Japanese club Suntory later this year.

While Wallabies are required to be on contract with a Super Rugby team to be eligible for Test selection, if the ARU made an exception for Smith he could be an important addition to the World Cup squad, especially if there were injuries to openside flanker David Pocock or his back-up Matt Hodgson.

''In terms of playing Super Rugby, [a comeback] hasn't crossed my mind at all,'' Smith told The Canberra Times.

''[But] the prospect of playing a World Cup is something all players dream of doing and winning, so if it was put to me I'd definitely think about it.''

In Smith's biography, written by Fairfax journalist Rupert Guinness, Deans is quoted saying that if Smith was interested in a comeback, the ARU would listen.

''If he decided that he wanted to be a Wallaby again, I am sure there are people who would be interested,'' Deans said.

With only seven weeks till the tournament, that remains a long shot. The final 30-man Australian squad will be named on August 18.

If Australia wanted him to add to his 110 Test caps, Smith said his contract in Japan would also prove a major stumbling block.

''A World Cup is an exceptional tournament that you want to be a part of, but at this stage, no I'm not thinking of being a part of it,'' he said.

''[If approached] my answer would be I'm commited to a contract I've signed with a Japanese club and that's throughout the duration of the World Cup.''

The young Wallabies play their first Tri Nations Test against South Africa tonight, which Smith believed would show the quality of the team more accurately than the debacle of last weekend's loss to Samoa.

''I've enjoyed the style they're playing. I was part of it under Robbie for a couple of years and seeing them play some exceptional games in South Africa and Hong Kong,'' he said.

''In those games you can see the development that they are creating, obviously there was a hiccup against Samoa.''

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news...k/2235745.aspx

[travelling_gerry]

Dreamin!!!

[shasta]

Dreamin!!!

Oh I dunno. I'd be up for a comeback if Wallaby Bob asked me nicely as well.

[hertryk]

I think we are in need of a psychiatrist for our Wallabies team ... to "brain wash" us into thinking "Winning"...nothing more nothing less...W I N N I N G !!!!