Rocky Elsom is back in the Wallaby jersey for the first time in 2009, the rugged blindside flanker adding a harder edge to the Australian pack for Saturday night’s Bledisloe test against the All Blacks in Sydney.
Elsom is one of three changes to the Wallabies lineup well beaten by the Boks in Cape Town a fortnight ago, with his fellow flanker George Smith also assuming the captaincy mantle vacated by Stirling Mortlock’s long-term injury.
Adam Ashley-Cooper moves from fullback to centre, which allows 19-year-old Western Force sensation James O’Connor to make his first start in a Bledisloe Cup test, after excelling at fullback when he came off the bench for the last 50 minutes in South Africa.
Elsom, who was a Heineken Cup winner with Leinster earlier this year, makes his comeback to Australian colours aftere finally overcoming the knee injury he brought back on his return to Australia.
Elsom’s reintroduction necessitates the third change, with Richard Brown being shifted from the side to the back of the scrum in place of the dropped Wycliff Palu.
Brown played his first eight tests as a No 8, before being switched to the side of the scrum for the opening two matches of the Tri-Nations to accommodate the return from injury of Palu.
Elsom returned to Australia with the Barbarians at the end of May, but was unable to play due to bruising in his knee which has kept the 26-year-old on the sideline since. He was player of the final in Leinster’s historic European Cup win over Leicester at the end of the northern winter
Saturday night will be his 41st test, but his first since the deciding game of last year’s Tri -ations in Brisbane.
“While he hasn’t been able to get a game in, Rocky has done the work to get back up to speed. We are satisfied that he is good to go,” Wallabies coach Robbie Deans said.
“It is a big ask of him to make his comeback in a Bledisloe Cup and Tri-Nations test, but that’s the reality of our schedule, and is the sort of challenge he thrives on.”
Deans said the decisions to relocate Brown to No 8, while moving Ashley-Cooper to centre, with O’Connor starting at fullback, were form-related choices.
The decision to start O’Connor was not considered a risk, said Deans, based on the way the Force tyro had performed in South Africa.
“He showed in Cape Town that he was quite capable of handling himself at this level,” said Deans.
“The pressure there, given the circumstance in which James entered the game [Australia was 10-20 down and had just lost skipper Mortlock to injury], was as great then as it could be, and he acquitted himself well.
Australia beat New Zealand 34-19 in the corresponding Bledisloe Cup clash last year in Sydney. Eleven of the starting XV from that night have been selected again although the team has an entirely new three-quarter line, as well as a different No 8.
Deans was confident Smith would have no problems assuming the captaincy, as he had three times previously under the New Zealand coach.
“George has filled the role before in similar circumstances and is not fazed by it,” he said.
“He’s been there before, and been successful. That level of experience is going to be crucial on Saturday night, especially when you look at the depth of experience [in the All Blacks] that will be coming back at us the other way.”
While Australia conceded just two tries during its away defeats to New Zealand (16-22) and South Africa (17-29) to open the competition, Deans said his men would have to “raise the bar” to square up this year’s Bledisloe series.
“We’ve come up short twice now, and we need to work harder and be more precise in what we do, both collectively and as individuals,” he said.
“Obviously discipline has been an area of concern. It is something we have addressed, but it is not the only aspect of our play that we have looked at. We need to be diligent in all aspects of our performance to give ourselves the best opportunity to get home.”
While the wallabies sit bottom of the Tri-Nations standings, they are the final team to have had a home game.
That changes in a big way over coming weeks, with Australia backing up on Bledisloe II with back-to-back home clashes against the ominous Springboks.
WALLABIES: 15 James O’Connor, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Richard Brown, 7 George Smith, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 James Horwill, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson. Reserves: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 David Pocock, 20 Will Genia, 21 Ryan Cross, 22 Peter Hynes.
@Tripples – hahahaha. Was seker Dennis Thatcher.
A blind man walks into a shop, braces himself and starts to swing his guard dog in a circular motion above his head.
Shop keeper – can I help you sir?
Blind man – no thanks, I’m just looking around
@Tripples – The old bastard must have found the right brand of lipstick!!
A man walks into a bar with a dog. The bartender says, “Hey buddy, can’t you read that sign? It says no dogs allowed! Get that mutt out of here!” The man replies, “No, I can’t read the sign – I’m blind, and this is my seeing eye dog.” The bartender is embarrassed and gives the man a beer on the house. Later that day, the guy is telling his friend about it: “I told him I was blind and I got a free beer!” The friend then takes his dog into the bar and sits down, and the bartender says, “The sign says no dogs allowed! You’ll have to leave!” The friend says, “Sorry, I can’t see the sign because I’m blind, and this is my seeing eye dog.” The bartender replies, “Since when do they give out Chihuahuas as seeing eye dogs?” The man says, “They gave me a Chihuahua?”
@SA Barbarians – 😆
#63 @SA Barbarians – Must have hehehehehe
Julle klomp grap-gatte! lol
@K9-MonsterLeeu64 – 🙂 skerp!!
How do two queers settle an argument in a pub?
They step outside and exchange blows
A little girl was talking to her teacher about whales.
The teacher said it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human because even though it was a very large mammal its throat was very small.
The little girl stated that Jonah was swallowed by a whale.
Irritated, the teacher reiterated that a whale could not swallow a human; it was physically impossible.
The little girl said, ‘When I get to heaven I will ask Jonah’
The teacher asked, ‘What if Jonah went to hell?’
The little girl replied, ‘Then you ask him’.
A guy walks into a bar, sits down and hears a small voice say, “You look nice today.” A few minutes later he again hears a small voice, “That’s a nice shirt.” The guy asks the bartender, “Who is that?” The bartender says, “Those are the peanuts. They’re complimentary!”
Bwaaaahahahaha
@SA Barbarians – bwaaaahahahahaha
@Tripples – 😆
@SA Barbarians – EEEEUUUUUUWWWWWWWW
60@Tripples –
bwaahaaahaahaa!
@K9-MonsterLeeu – #71 Bwaaaaaahahahahaha, dis soos daai savanna ads!!!!!
62@SA Barbarians –
hehehehe
My favourite:
A white horse walks into a bar. The bartender says, “You’re quite a celebrity around here. We’ve even got a drink named after you.” The horse says, “You’ve got a drink named Steve?”
Dink ons moet hierdie site se naam verander na Biltong en Potroast toe.
@K9-MonsterLeeu – 78
Tswane pub?
@K9-MonsterLeeu – #78 Hahahahaha ag nee man dis flippen so stupid dis snaaks….
Kyk wat skryf ‘n blogger op die Bulle blog, oor die Habana saak:
Mede bulvriende, stadig oor die klippe met ou Habana.
Ja, ons unie sorg mooi vir hom, maar hy het ook al baie mooi vir ons gesorg, vele vreugde op die veld vir ons gegee, met al sy drieë.
Dalk vergeet ons te gou sy drie in die S14 finaal van 2007, of sy onderskep drie in die wedstryd teen die Cheetahs hierdie jaar, wat ons die bonuspunt gegee het, wat vir ons ‘n tuissemi en finaal op Loftus bewerkstellig het.
Ja, ons sal almal baie teleurgesteld wees as hy moet gaan, maar wag ten minste eers TOTDAT hy die besluit geneem het, voordat ons hom wil kruisig.
Bryan het self nog niks in die publiek gesê nie, so kom ons wag en hoor.
Ek dink ook hy sal dom wees om na ‘n ander provinsie in SA te gaan, gaan dan liewer oorsee, as dit net oor die geld gaan.
Die Bulle is tans die toonaangewende span, hoekom sal jy nou wil gaan speel in ‘n ander span wat sukkel, dan eerder die Sharks, as die WP.
Maar by die Bulle het jy die kern van die bokagtal, en deesdae al meer ook die kern van die bok agterlyn. Soos met WO, sou ek as ek Habana was, tot einde 2011, na die WB jaar, nog in SA speel, en daarna kyk na oorsese opsies. Maar, op hierdie stadium, is die Bulle die plek om rugby te speel, hier kan jy deel wees van nog ‘n paar gloriejare.
Bryan, sterkte met jou besluit, dink aan die finansiële opsies, maar onthou: geld kan ‘n bed koop, maar dit kan nie rus koop nie. Dus, daar is meer in rugby, as net geld, vra vir Wynand !
@K9-MonsterLeeu – ek het al van daai program vergeet!!!! hehehehe
@bdb – Kry ek nou hoendervleis 🙂
@K9-MonsterLeeu – nie nodig om snotty te wees nie 😆
Julle leeutjies kan ook maar lekker bitchy wees hehehehehe
Goeie dag almal.
Pietman, hoekom moet ek die Xhosakid wees?
Tripples, was jy voorheen die trippel E?
@Tripples – Ek het verkoue….baie snotty vandag 😉
gaan kyk onder Funnies het ek ‘n post opgesit, how to lose your wife in one night, picture vat net bietjie lank om te laai…..
84@K9-MonsterLeeu – Goeie more K9-Monsterhoender.
@Cosa – yep,
ek gaan gou uit julle nounou terug
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