Young Aussies shuffled for play-offs
Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:58
Injuries to Will Genia, Ben McCalman and Ben Tapuai have forced Australian Under-20 coach Brian Melrose to reshuffle his side for the match against Samoa - in a fifth-to-eighth place playoff encounter at the International Rugby Board (IRB) Junior World Championships.
The Australians finished second in Pool C behind England, after a last-minute charge-down try by Miles Benjamin saw them lose 13-18 to the English in Newport last Saturday and ended their hopes of winning the inaugural JWC.
While the tight five remains the same, captain David Pocock will switch from flank to No.8, allowing Sam Latinipulu to be elevated from the bench to the starting XV.
Richard Kingi replaces fellow Queenslander Genia at scrumhalf and Ben Tapuai’s absence has opened the door for Rowan Kellam at inside centre.
Ratu Nasiganiyavi returns to the starting line-up after coming off the bench against England, while Blair Connor shifts to fullback in place of Dane Haylett-Petty, with the Western Force youngster reverting to the bench.
Brian Melrose said that fortune had not favoured his side last Saturday, but his team now had to respond positively against Samoa.
"It was disappointing to be on the losing side of what was a very even match and not progress to the semis," said Melrose.
"We now need to move on and refocus on the job at hand, which is to play well against Samoa and finish the tournament strongly."
Australia: 15 Blair Connor, 14 Junior Sovala, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Rowan Kellam, 11 Ratu Nasiganiyavi, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Richard Kingi, 8 David Pocock (captain), 7 Sam Latinipulu, 6 Ben Coridas, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Sam Wykes, 3 Daniel Palmer, 2 James Hanson, 1 Ben Daley.
Replacements: 16 Nathan Charles, 17 Albert Anae, 18 Tom Murday, 19 Seilala Lam, 20 Jeremy Sua, 21 Peter Betham, 22 Dane Haylett-Petty.
Date: Wednesday, June 18
Venue: Liberty Stadium, Swansea
Kick-off: 19.00 (18.00 GMT)
Referee: James Jones (Wales)
Touch judges: David Jones (Wales), Andrea Pasquin (Italy)
