Robbie Deans to give debuts to five players – Rugby News Update
Robbie Deans, the head coach of Australia, is set to give debuts to five players, as injuries take a toll on his squad.
The Wallabies take on Scotland at Newcastle on Tuesday, and with a game against Wales on Saturday, June 9, followed by two other matches, Deans has to carefully select a squad that is capable of winning two matches in a matter of four days.
"With another Test four days after Scotland, and given the injuries that we've had to deal with, we've effectively had to select two combinations to win two Test matches at the same time," Deans said.
He has named David Pocock as Captain. Pocock, the 24-year-old Flanker will be in the stand-in for the test matches, as regular captain James Horwill is out injured at the moment. The Zimbabwean-born Flanker made his debut for the Wallabies against the All
Blacks at Hong Kong, on November 1, 2008, having represented Australia at School, U19, U20 and 'A' international level previously. He has played 40 times for Australia, making 31 starts and coming on as a substitute a further 9 times.
Speaking about the Scottish team, Deans sees them as a team that organises well, and it will be a challenge for his team to defeat the Scots.
He said, “They'll be hungry and will sense the opportunity, striking us first up on a limited preparation. A feature of the Scottish team under Andy Robinson is that they are very well organised. The Scottish teams of my experience have always been extremely
physical in their approach, so they will be very direct and come right at us."
Luke Moraham will start at full-back, while Mike Harris at inside-centre. Joe Tomane is in line for a debut on the right-wing and Dan Palmer at scrum-half. Dave Dennis will also make his debut in the back-row.
Australian Squad:
Luke Morahan, Joe Tomane, Anthony Fainga'a, Mike Harris, Digby Ioane , Berrick Barnes , Will Genia, James Slipper, Stephen Moore , Dan Palmer, Sitaleki Timani, Nathan Sharpe, Dave Dennis , David Pocock (captain), Scott Higginbotham Replacements: Saia Fainga'a,
Ben Alexander, Rob Simmons , Michael Hooper, Nick Phipps, Pat McCabe, Adam Ashley Cooper
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