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Lote to miss first Test
By Wayne Smith
May 16, 2007
HOW quickly things can turn around. Australia's premier wing Lote Tuqiri will almost certainly be stood down from the first Test against Wales on May 26 in Sydney and instead sent off to rediscover his speed.
Tuqiri trained on his own when the 37-man Wallabies squad took to the field for the first time this year yesterday at Sydney's Victoria Barracks and, although coach John Connolly refused to confirm that his strike weapon was about to be rested, there is little doubt that decision has already been taken.
It is understood the selectors were alarmed when Tuqiri was run down from behind in a recent New South Wales game, this at a time when the pace of the game around the world is picking up dramatically.
The dual international remains an automatic Test selection but it was felt his time would better be spent honing his speed under the supervision of physical performance manager Jason Weber and massage therapist Simon Atkin.
Tuqiri's former Brisbane Broncos teammates have often observed how much he has bulked up since switching to rugby. Certainly in his League days he was a svelte speed machine and it would appear that's what Connolly is attempting to get him back to.
It was not an especially enjoyable start to the first Wallabies gathering of the World Cup year for Tuqiri, with team management reacting to his recent indiscretion in broadcasting a mobile phone conversation with selector Michael O'Connor by calling him yesterday to remind him of his responsibilities.
“It was not something we could let go through to the keeper,” ARU rugby manager Pat Wilson said.
“It was a situation gone wrong and Lote's contrition is genuine and sincere. It's not something we'll be pursuing further.”
The likely omission of Tuqiri and the confirmed absence of full back Cameron Shepherd has edged the door open ever so slightly for Waratahs sensation Lachlan Turner to get a Test start against Wales at Telstra Stadium, particularly if another wing contender, Mark Gerrard, is picked at full back.
Julian Huxley remains the favourite to fill the void at full back in what would be a Test debut at the age of 27 but it is understood Gerrard, who played in all 13 Tests last season as a winger and finished as the Wallabies' leading try scorer with seven, is receiving strong support on the selection panel to be given a chance at 15.
If that happens, it could leave Turner involved in a three-way race with Drew Mitchell and Digby Ioane for the two wing berths. It would cap an astonishing rise for Turner if he earned his first Test cap after only eight Super 14 matches and three tries for the Waratahs but he is very much a player with the wind in his sails.
“There's no doubt he's a guy on an upward graph,” Connolly said.
Still, the far stronger odds are that Turner will be sent back to the Australia A side to continue his apprenticeship, though very much under the selectors' gaze.
Two other training squad members, Queensland Reds forward Hugh McMeniman and prop Rodney Blake, also were named by Connolly as non-starters in the Sydney Test, with their recoveries from ankle injuries not having progressed quite as fast as was hoped.
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