Ashley-Cooper adds dash at the back
WALLABIES utility Adam Ashley-Cooper remains in contention for the fullback spot for the first Test against France in Sydney next Saturday, despite not appearing off the bench against Ireland in Melbourne last weekend.
Ashley-Cooper spent a great deal of yesterday's final training session at Coogee Oval running with the starting XV, usually as part of the back-three contingent alongside wingers Peter Hynes and Lote Tuqiri.
While Ashley-Cooper was with the main Test players for most of their attacking drills, Cameron Shepherd, the fullback against Ireland, was part of the back-up troupe. The Ashley-Cooper switch with Shepherd appears the only probable change to the team that beat Ireland, with Ashley-Cooper's experience, resilience and vast skills likely to work in his favour when the selectors decide next week on the best way to counter the French.
It could hinge on how Ashley-Cooper performs tomorrow when he makes a rare appearance for his club side, Northern Suburbs, when they play Penrith in the Shute Shield at North Sydney Oval. Ashley-Cooper has been selected at outside-centre, while Test prop Al Baxter will bolster the home team's front row, following the selectors' decision that the seven reserves in Melbourne be allowed to play club football this weekend.
Ashley-Cooper and Ryan Cross, who has been given special dispensation to play for Eastern Suburbs this week because there was not enough time to get to Perth and back for a club game, were the only two reserves who did not take the field at Telstra Dome.
Although Wallabies coach Robbie Deans has stated he will not use a rotation process during the early domestic Tests, he is still certain to try different options during the two-Test series against France. He would be eager to see whether Ashley-Cooper can fit in - most likely at fullback, although he spent most of this year's Super 14 on the wing for the Brumbies. The pecking order of the two openside flankers, George Smith and Phil Waugh, is also certain to be switched around.
The other uncertainty about the Test revolves around the quality of the French team. The French have brought an enormous squad, with 24 of the 47 touring party members arriving in Sydney last night, with the rest expected tonight.
And the Wallabies yesterday admitted they weren't exactly certain what they would confront - but believed to a man that the French would be their usual brutal selves.
Wallabies second-rower Nathan Sharpe has played four Tests against France, including his first two internationals in 2002, and knows even if some of the opposition names are unfamiliar, the deep resolve will be exactly the same.
"When you play France, you know they will play to their traditional ways," Sharpe said. "And the French are very renowned for their rough and tough rugby, so we're looking forward to that sort of clash. The French are usually different because they quite often use their second-rowers to lift their lighter back-rowers. That's something we'll be well prepared for."
Sharpe has already primed his second-row partner, James Horwill, who is preparing for his first French Test.
"I don't know much about the French," Horwill said. "So I'm going in pretty much blind. But they always have a brutal, tough forward pack, so we know what to expect. It will be good to be tested against a top European forward pack."
Hooker Stephen Moore was expecting something similar to the Melbourne game.
"Ireland last weekend was a forward battle, and they threw a lot at us," he said. "Confronting France will be no different, but they might play with a bit more width and flair. It's now a case of us building on what we did against Ireland. We've also tinkered with our defensive line-out a bit, and hopefully that will continue to get better.
"As the Ireland Test was our first game under a totally new style of play, it will take a while for those things to come."
