Wallabies captain Stirling Mortlock faces up to twilight danger zone

Published 19 August 2009 | By Swanie

By Wayne Smith
August 19, 2009 A Wallabies victory against New Zealand in Sydney on Saturday could mean the end of Australia captain Stirling Mortlock’s test career, but he insists that is the least of his concerns.

Mortlock will miss the Test and the remainder of the Tri Nations series as he takes six weeks to recover from the knee surgery that followed his meniscus tear in the Cape Town Test.

It’s never a good thing for any player, even the captain, to give a young understudy that length of time to consolidate his position, but it’s doubly hazardous for a 32-year-old veteran of 80 Tests.

Wallabies coach Robbie Deans has shown immense faith in his senior players – as demonstrated by the “steady as she goes” Bledisloe Cup team announcement – but soon he will face the difficult call on whether Mortlock, at 34, will still be good enough to lead the Wallabies into the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

If the team performs well in the captain’s absence over the remaining four Tri Nations matches, the decision might be made for him.

If the Wallabies move on, reverting to an aging captain for the tour of Europe in November might seem a retrograde step.

Mortlock is well aware of that but, like the rest of Australia, he waits with baited breath for the Wallabies to deliver on their undoubted promise.

“It’s frustrating to be on the sidelines when, as a group, we’ve reached the tipping point,” Mortlock said.

“I hope it does happen this weekend, that we put the whole picture, attack and defence, together for the entire duration of the game. We’ve done so much quality work to not get that gain.

“So be it, the consequences for me. We can deal with them in due course.”

Mortlock’s aim is to resume his duties on the tour – “most definitely” – but to date he has wasted no energy on assessing his own capacity to keep performing at the highest level for another two years.

“That decision is not too far off,” he said. “Right now, I love doing what I’m doing, love being part of this group.

“While it’s always disappointing when you get injured, there’s nothing you can do but get yourself rehabilitated as quickly as possible.”

The rampaging outside centre has full confidence that the two backline changes made to accommodate his injury, with Adam Ashley-Cooper moving from fullback to outside centre and teenager James O’Connor coming in at fullback, will be resounding successes.

“I was really impressed with the way Jimmy (O’Connor) performed in Cape Town,” Mortlock said.

“He’s certainly proven over this season and even at the end of last year, that he’s got a lot of talent.

“But what he showed against the Springboks was a bit more determination to put his body on the line.

“And I know Adam will go well. Crossy (reserve centre Ryan Cross) has done extremely well every time he’s played 13 but Adam played really well there in the Cape Town Test and he’s got the nod. I’ve got full confidence in all of them.”

Mortlock said that he could understand the growing frustration of Australian rugby fans at the Wallabies’ erratic and undisciplined start to the Tri Nations.

“The frustration comes because everyone can see the positive play – in patches. That’s the disappointing aspect from our perspective, that we haven’t built pressure in a game for the full 80 minutes.”

But Mortlock insisted it was unfair that Deans was being saddled with so much of the blame.

“It’s a bit unfortunate if he’s receiving most of it,” he said. “Whether Robbie cops it or different individuals cop it, it’s a reflection of the entire group.”

Mortlock conceded he was bemused and bewildered at media suggestions that the Wallabies should be put on a win bonus instead of the current flat payment of $11,500 per Test, irrespective of the outcome.

“I don’t think win bonuses correlate to the guys wanting to try harder or perform better,” he said.

“We’re in this because we love doing what we do. Most guys would be doing this even if we didn’t get paid.

“Rugby is something I love doing and always have loved doing.”

Mortlock made the point that the Wallabies had been promised bonuses in the past if they won the Rugby World Cup but, although it was evident to all that they had tried their hearts out, results at times still had not gone their way.

“It’s quite comical really. If you go down that path, where do you stop?” he said.

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