AUSTRALIA HAVE BEEN dealt with a double injury blow after Will Skelton and Wycliff Palu were ruled out of the rest of the World Cup.
140kg second row Skelton suffered a pectoral injury during the 65-3 defeat of Uruguay on Sunday, while Palu’s hamstring injury looks to have brought an end to his Wallabies’ career after 57 caps.
With Palu moving to Japan after the World Cup, the 33-year-old is three games short of the 60 cap threshold imposed by Australia for foreign based players to be eligible for test selection.
In their place, head coach Michael Cheika has called up 26-year-old Sam Carter as a direct replacement for Skelton, while number 8 Palu has been replaced by a hooker, James Hanson.
After bringing just two hookers to the tournament originally, Cheika now looks content to keep David Pocock at number 8 after his impressive form, and is instead bolstering his front row options ahead of the crunch games against England and Wales in the coming weekends.
Cheika said that it’s a big blow to lose the strength of Skelton and the experience of Palu.
“Very few players have the opportunity to play for the Wallabies, let alone at a Rugby World Cup, so from that perspective I’m really gutted for them.
“From a team perspective, they both play important roles in the side and it is disappointing that we need to replace players in our squad.
“Both James and Sam have been part of the team at various stages this season and I am confident they will be able to step up and grasp the opportunity they have been given,” he said.
Elsewhere Scotland head coach Vern Cotter has also been forced into making a call-up after second row Grant Gilchrist was ruled out with a groin injury.
London Irish flanker Blair Cowan has been drafted into the squad. The 29-year-old was a surprise absentee from Cotter’s final 31-man squad, having been a regular fixture in the side since making his debut in 2014
Cowan featured in all of Scotland’s 2015 Six Nations games, and went on to score his first test try during the warm-up game against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in August.
Absolute scenes at the end! What a win for Wigan!
If Pep or anyone else has a problem with the Delph red, let them ask Seamus Coleman what he thinks about players diving in studs up at shin hight. The contact wasnt bad in this instance but it’s exactly the type of tackle that can break someone’s leg. Red all day.
@Seán Weir:
Last week he was banging on about good players not getting enough protection from referees. Well he got his wish tonight….and he’s still bloody complaining……..hate that.
@Seán Weir: irrelevant, never a red. Yellow at most.
@Seán Weir: Spot on. If he had of connected with him(pure luck that he didn’t) his leg would have been broke.
They stood in their flat caps and clogs eating baked beans and mince pies against the backdrop of mills and mines stretching down to the pier where Orwell wrote Homage to Catalonia and watched the City players arriving in their Baby Bentleys, their Mercedes-Benz SLR McLarens, their Rolls Royce Phantoms, their Lamborghinis and their Chrome Aston Martin DBS’s, like street kids gazing into sweet shop windows at a glittering array of luxury which will always be beyond their reach.
AYE! But they’re a proud people these Wigan folk and there was to be no homage to City’s Catalonian manager this evening…no…indeed the stout hearted Wigan players showed the true passion of the FA Cup, humbled the multi millionaires and sent them back up the motorway with their tails between their legs. It’s what we love about the cup. They say death is the great leveller – they haven’t watched the FA Cup.
The whole town will be off their cake tonight.
@David Sinclair: looking for a job writing for the 42 m8?
Griggs has more goals than Lukaku against the top 6
@Jordo: and 74mil cheaper
Delighted, well done Wigan some exhibition of defending. Aguero gonna be banned for ages after punch up with Wigan fans. Maybe time to have a cheeky flutter on Arsenal for Sunday.
@Tony Yeboah TP: punch up? He pushed him away.
@FPL Thommo: there’s a slap before that if you re watch it buddy
@Tony Yeboah TP: fans have no business on the pitch he deserved a slap
@Gary O’Hanlon: agreed aguero is dead right nobody should be near him. Still doesn’t change the fact he’s getting whacked with a ban
@Tony Yeboah TP: ye I’d say 6 games, saiz back Wednesday !
@Gary O’Hanlon: and we only 7 points off the playoffs. 66/1 to get promoted, get on it
Well done Paul Cook! All that cup experience with Sligo has paid off
@Dave O’Hanlon: Super manager. A breath of fresh air to hear a totally unpretentious plain-speaking chief.
@Dave O’Hanlon: Yes when they robbed Shells with the help of a plonker Wicklow referee!
@Colm O’Rourke: Still rankles with me too Colm. Clancy sent of for diving when infact it was a defo peno. Coulda gone 2 up. Got so drunk that night i have no idea how i broke my ankle.
@Colm O’Rourke: Yeah ye were hard done by, we seemed to have the jitters playing a first division team in the final again after what happened against Sporting Fingal two years previously. I was at that final and id’ve felt like a jinx if it wasn’t for that ref
Don’t think the red card was too harsh you just can’t tackle like that these days silly from delph well done Wigan
@John Barnes: never a red
@Jordo: always going against the grain Jordo. Wrong again, howler of a tackle
@Mikarlachenko: always right. Yellow card all day long, not even two footed
@Jordo: Clueless
@Stephen Lyons: fairy
@Jordo: ran in from a mile away, jumped with both feet off the ground, and was not in control
All that silly talk of a quadruple, they won’t even match our treble
@Paul Friday Shannon: who did you play for?
@Paul Friday Shannon: what treble did you win Paul?
@Dermot Lane: The ‘99 treble. All Utd fans won that. City can’t do that this season.. delighted!
@Gerry Ivie: Funny that tonight will be the highlight of all Man U fans season though…..says it all really!!
@Owen Harney: I doubt that Owen I’m sure you’ll lose again, maybe this weekend in fact
Hopefully Arsenal will end their Treble dream this weekend
Haha get in! Love an underdog, I prepared a short poem for this occasion, THATS PRETTY PATHETIC ITS ONLY WIGAN ATHLETIC! Who wants to bet pep says they are the best team he’s ever faced
@Gary O’Hanlon: You’re a wordsmith buddy. LOVE THE POEM.
They didn’t want to win it anyway
Aguero in trouble too
@Ollie Watson: Bullshit – Wigan are responsible for security – non existent tonight – sc—bags or fans whatever all over the field!
Class, Will Grigg’s on fire.
Everyone could see that City’s defense was terrified because of one Wigan player from NI who was on fire.
@Alex Marquis: what a load of rubbish!
Great result for Wigan yet still all the school yard finger pointing goes on, oooh, ohhh we could finish up second or fourth get a grip lads the difference between Burnley and West Brom is sixteen points the difference between the Gunners an City is what? Children.
Beautiful football… oops. Good luck in the next Champions League game.
There’s that journalistic laziness again. Apparently “dump” is the only verb that can be used against teams in higher positions in leagues or indeed, higher leagues.
Max Power “I got it from the hairdryer”
Paul Cooke is a manager who is capable and able to deliver at the highest level.
His career is a stepping stone of SUCCESS followed by SUCCESS.
As a Sligo Rovers supporter he gave us Success and Pride.
Thank you Paul and we watch as your STAR RISES.