Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt may be forced to call in reinforcements for their European tour after two key forwards went down injured in Saturday’s 19-15 win over Japan in Tokyo.
Locks Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and Josh Canham both left the field inside the opening 20 minutes, leaving Schmidt short on second-row options ahead of next week’s clash against England at Twickenham.
Schmidt said the early injuries made it very difficult to get some combinations going and admitted he may need to look back home for cover.
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“It just means that we are light in the second row and we may need to get some reserves dug out from Australia,” the Wallabies coach said. “Josh Canham obviously won’t be available next week and as yet I don’t have any feedback on Lukhan.”
Salakaia-Loto lasted just seven minutes before leaving the field following a heavy hit, while his replacement Canham was later withdrawn for a head injury assessment.
Australia will now travel to Europe to face England, Italy, Ireland and France on successive weekends, with Schmidt facing a tight turnaround to plug the gaps in his squad.
Despite the setbacks, Schmidt praised his players for adapting to the wet conditions in Tokyo and closing out the result.
“Both teams were very keen to play fast but it was very hard to play fast because it was very damp,” he said. “Both teams started to threaten but lost the ball. It meant that we had to be more direct.”
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Captain Nick Champion de Crespigny, leading the Wallabies in only his third Test, said the squad would regroup quickly ahead of their first European assignment.
“A really tight contest in some tough conditions,” he said. “Full respect to Japan, we knew they were going to be a quality side and they definitely proved that today.”
– AFP
Photo: Koki Nagahama/Getty Images
The post Wallabies rocked by lock injuries appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt may be forced to call in reinforcements for their European tour after two key forwards went down injured in Saturday’s 19-15 win over Japan in Tokyo.
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