QANTAS WALLABIES SQUAD FOR THE 2010 SPRING TOUR NAMED

The selection of four members of the silver medal-winning Australian Sevens team from the Commonwealth Games highlights the 36-man Qantas Wallabies touring party unveiled today for this year’s Spring Tour.

Australia’s Sevens captain Pat McCutcheon has been included alongside three of his team-mates from the just concluded New Delhi tournament – halfback Nick Phipps, winger Lachie Turner and winger/fullback Luke Morahan.

The quartet are due to return to the country from India with the rest of the Australian Commonwealth Games team on Saturday morning, with the athletes landing in Sydney on a specially chartered flight at 6.30am.

Of the foursome, all but Turner is uncapped, although Morahan did feature as a replacement on last year’s Spring Tour, appearing in the non-cap midweek match against the Cardiff Blues.

While the 23-year-old McCutcheon is a fresh to a Wallabies tour, he did feature twice for the Australian Barbarians during the midweek series with England earlier in the year.

Twenty-one-year-old Phipps is the squad bolter, having won the third halfback position backing up Will Genia and Luke Burgess.

A member of Sydney University’s winning Shute Shield squad last month, Phipps has yet to play Super Rugby, but is on-course to achieve that goal next year after signing for the Melbourne Rebels.

Today’s selection means that Phipps has become the first player with Rebels’ affiliations to win selection for the Qantas Wallabies.

While Phipps is still to start out on his senior representative career in Super Rugby: at the other end of the scale, the evergreen Queensland Reds lock Van Humphries is celebrating his first Qantas Wallabies selection at age 34.

One of just two players in the touring group to have surpassed his 30th birthday – Australia’s most capped second row Nathan Sharpe (32) is the other – Humphries made his state debut for Queensland a decade ago.

He later played for the NSW Waratahs, and has played for clubs in Japan and Italy and at provincial level with North Harbour in New Zealand while also racking up 65 appearances in Super Rugby through his career.

Humphries missed out on selection earlier in the year after ending the Super Rugby season dogged by an ankle injury.

The veteran Queenslander will become the oldest player ever on debut for Australia should he feature in any of the five Test matches that are included on the seven-match tour itinerary.

Humphries is one of seven uncapped players included for the tour.

Queensland Reds winger Rod Davies earns his spot after being unavailable for selection earlier in the year due to a torn hamstring sustained during the Reds’ penultimate match in Super Rugby against the Hurricanes in Wellington.

The two other uncapped players are Brumbies centre Pat McCabe and Queensland Reds loose forward Scott Higginbotham. Both were involved in Australia’s Tri Nations squad earlier in the year but didn’t play a match.

Brumbies second rower Mark Chisholm is included after making a remarkable recovery from an injured knee sustained in club rugby last month.

Prop Ben Alexander is also back from an enforced layoff, having not featured since Australia’s 49-3 win over Fiji at Canberra in June due to a knee injury.

The 25-year-old, who once spent time with the Bedford club in England, earned the maiden start of his professional career during Australia’s Spring Tour two years ago, appearing in the 30-20 win against Italy at Padua. Alexander is one of just 18 players, out of the 35 who featured on the 2008 Spring Tour, that are involved again this time.

The Wallabies return to Italy on this trip, playing the penultimate game of the tour against the Azzurri at Florence.

The tour starts in Hong Kong with the final Bledisloe Cup Test of the year against the All Blacks at the end of the month before the Qantas Wallabies travel to Europe for six matches through November, concluding with a Test against Six Nations champions France in Paris.

Australia will defend the James Bevan Trophy against Wales and the Cook Cup against England, as well as the Trophée de Bicentenaries during the visit to Paris.

Midweek matches against English champions, the Leicester Tigers, and the two-time European champions and Irish provincial heavyweights Munster, are also included on the itinerary for the 36-man touring party.

The travelling group will be reduced to 30 players following the Munster match, for the final two games against Italy and France.

The squad assembles in Sydney on Wednesday and departs for Hong Kong on Saturday 23 October.

The Qantas Wallabies Squad for the 2010 Spring Tour is:

Player Position State Age Appearances

Ben Alexander Prop Brumbies 25 19
Adam Ashley-Cooper Fullback-Wing-Outside Centre Brumbies 26 46
Berrick Barnes Inside centre-Flyhalf NSW Waratahs 24 26
Kurtley Beale Fullback NSW Waratahs 21 9
Richard Brown No 8/Loose Forward Western Force 26 22
Luke Burgess Halfback NSW Waratahs 27 27
Mark Chisholm Lock Brumbies 29 53
Quade Cooper Flyhalf Queensland Reds 22 19
Rod Davies Winger Queensland Reds 21 Uncapped
Ben Daley Prop Queensland Reds 22 3
Huia Edmonds Hooker Brumbies 29 3
Rocky Elsom (c) Flanker Brumbies 27 59
Anthony Faingaa Inside Centre Queensland Reds 23 4
Saia Faingaa Hooker Queensland Reds 23 9
Will Genia Halfback Queensland Reds 22 18
Matt Giteau Inside Centre Brumbies 28 87
Scott Higginbotham Loose forward Queensland Reds 24 Uncapped
Matt Hodgson Loose forward Western Force 29 4
Peter Hynes Wing Queensland Reds 28 22
Van Humphries Lock Queensland Reds 34 Uncapped
Salesi Ma’afu Prop Brumbies 27 10
Pat McCabe Centre/Wing/Fullback Brumbies 22 Uncapped
Ben McCalman Lock/Loose Forward Western Force 22 4
Pat McCutcheon Flanker NSW Waratahs 23 Uncapped
Drew Mitchell Wing NSW Waratahs 26 50
Stephen Moore Hooker Brumbies 27 51
Luke Morahan Wing Queensland Reds 20 Uncapped
Dean Mumm Lock/Loose-forward NSW Waratahs 26 29
James O’Connor Fullback Western Force 20 23
Nick Phipps Halfback Melbourne Rebels 21 Uncapped
David Pocock Flanker Western Force 22 25
Benn Robinson Prop NSW Waratahs 26 37
Nathan Sharpe Lock Western Force 32 88
Rob Simmons Lock Queensland Reds 21 4
James Slipper Prop Queensland Reds 21 9
Lachie Turner Wing NSW Waratahs 23 12

Coaching Staff/Team Management
Head Coach: Robbie Deans
Forwards Coach: Jim Williams
Assistant Coach: David Nucifora
Scrum Coach: Patricio Noriega
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Peter Harding
Analyst: Andrew Sullivan
Manager: Robert [Bob] Egerton
Assistant Manager: Sam Cashman
Media Manager: Nick Smith
Doctor: Warren MacDonald
Physiotherapists: Andrew Ryan, James Sutherland

Brown
Pocock
Hodgson
McCalman
McCutcheon
Higgenbotham
Elsom

thats a fair few back rowers..

there are 5 games in 14 days, they are going to need the depth to avoid players backing up game after game

There's also a bit of succession planning in that. They've picked an entire backrow of rookies or uncapped players. Brownie and Hodgeo are the ones to be worried here. I think McCalman has eclipsed Brown at this point and Hodgeo is being pushed out by better options in every position other than 6.

Hopefully Hodgeo will get a couple of runs in the non-cap games to prove he's a better option at 6 than the captain.

Thye play different games, elsom is better for what the wallabies need
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Quote:

Originally Posted by TOCC

Thye play different games, elsom is better for what the wallabies need
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A seagull on the wing and no leadership? :)

Elsom is better for the wallabies when we are playing a mobile 8.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TOCC

Thye play different games, elsom is better for what the wallabies need
Posted via Mobile Device

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheikh

A seagull on the wing and no leadership? :)

I don't think TOCC is far wrong actually Sheikh. Elsom is a really good 6 when he's playing well. and I think he plays well when he doesn't have too much on his plate. He's proabably one of those 'bear of very little brain' type players, who's fine in his limited role, and even a team leader, right up until he's actually named as a leader, then everything goes to shit because his attention is diverted from the task at which he's best.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GIGS20

I don't think TOCC is far wrong actually Sheikh. Elsom is a really good 6 when he's playing well. and I think he plays well when he doesn't have too much on his plate. He's proabably one of those 'bear of very little brain' type players, who's fine in his limited role, and even a team leader, right up until he's actually named as a leader, then everything goes to shit because his attention is diverted from the task at which he's best.

Hence the smiley. Elsom's an awesome player when he's just a player. He's had some good games this year, but at times has looked lost - usually when we most needed a captain. The best player should not be captain - the best leader should be captain, and Elsom's not that. (Sharpie is!)

Hear hear.

Actually, I think it's a long bow to draw to say Elsom's the best player, I think that honour would go to Bam ATM with Sharpie a close second, even at his best, Elsom would struggle to match their impact and value right now!

Sharpie is the only logical choice to captain the team though. I wonder if he's suffering from the last time he was captain, as I recall it was somewhat less than spectacular.