Matt Giteau dropped from Wallabies squad - Rugby
Matt Giteau, the Australian fly-half, has been dropped from the Wallabies squad that will contest the Springboks in their inaugural match of the Tri-Nations Series, on July 23, in Sydney. Giteau was chopped along with seven other by Australian coach, Robbie
Deans, after the teams loss against the Samoans last week.
Deans had put many of his squad members on hiatus in order to give them a rest. He had plugged in alternates to meet the Samoan last week which resulted in a defeat of 23- 32 for the Wallabies at the Sydney's Olympic Stadium.
In lieu of this defeat, Deans’ decision of holding back the Queensland Reds players was criticised widely and one newspaper labelled the Australian loss as "the most embarrassing result in Australian rugby history".
However, the Wallabies squad, which was the object of criticism after their loss against the Samoans, has been announced on Tuesday, July 19. Quade Cooper and Will Genia will assume their roles as fly-halves within the squad after a week’s long break and
Pat McCabe will take on the inside centre’s spot.
Giteau, who had been filling up for the fly-half during Cooper’s break, is left out of the squad although he was hoping to play as inside centre for the squad because he had performed well with a score of 18 points during the clash against the Samoans.
With this elimination from the Tri-Nations Series, there is uncertainty about Giteau’s inclusion in the Rugby World Cup (RWC) 2011.
While replying to the questions which were put to the coach after making the unexpected change, Deans stated, "Gits is part of the squad so he has a big role to play. We prepare as one and next week is another week. We're presuming nothing going forward.
Matt will obviously want a role going forward. He has a role going forward. We don't know exactly what that will entail as yet in terms of playing, that will unfold.”
The 28-year-old Giteau, who has played 92 Tests with the Wallabies, might have an uncertain future with Wallabies. Deans answer gave the perception that he is not 100 percent supportive of having Giteau as part of the squad.
However, Deans emphasised the recent loss faced by the Wallabies and said that the performance in that encounter can no longer be altered and that will continue to be with the Australian squad but the most that can be done is taking control of things which
may lead to favourable results. According to Deans, the Wallabies “paid the price” for their below par performance in the clash against the Samoans.
It was further stressed, that there is no room for “short-cuts” to have a successful run in upcoming tournaments.
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