Sheesh, it seems the Wallabies has found a counter for Andre Pretorius. All he had to do was injure the ankle on the flight over and that would have been that!

Courtesy of rugbyheaven.com.au

Greg Growden | October 31, 2009

TOKYO: Vice-captain and centre Berrick Barnes has been forced to return home from a Wallabies tour for the second year running after scans on his damaged ankle late last night revealed a ligament tear that will sideline him for at least four months.

A dejected Barnes, who rolled his ankle at training on Thursday, learnt after a visit to a Tokyo hospital yesterday that his tour was over even before the first match. A MRI scan showed ligament damage that is expected to require surgery.It is a devastating blow for Barnes and the Wallabies, as he was regarded as one of the chief playmakers for both tonight’s Bledisloe Cup match and the grand slam leg of the tour. Barnes suffered a similar blow during last year’s northern hemisphere tour when he hurt his shoulder early on and had to return home. This time, Barnes will be replaced by Brumbies five-eighth Matt Toomua, who will join the squad in London.

Earlier, the Wallabies’ Mr Fix It, Adam Ashley-Cooper, said he was relieved Barnes had not broken down closer to tonight’s Test against the All Blacks and at least gave him some time to prepare for another positional move. Ashley-Cooper had the luxury of two training sessions to stop himself thinking like a fullback, and transform himself into an inside-centre. Then again, Ashley-Cooper is accustomed to playing all over the field for the Wallabies this year, having played four Tests at fullback, three at outside-centre, two on the wing and one at inside-centre.

“After Berrick got hit by a sniper at training, I’m just glad he at least gave me a couple of days to prepare at inside-centre, rather than it being at the last moment,” Ashley-Cooper said yesterday.

“I’ve ticked some boxes today, which has given me confidence. Still, it doesn’t bother me where I play. It all revolves around getting a win for Australia. I love it because it’s a challenge. I’ve been preparing all week for fullback, and then at the last minute, you change. So you have to start again, and it forces you to cram it all in. But I’m used to it, I guess.

“It’s also flattering in a way, because the coach recognises your versatility. And so do the other guys, which is nice.”

The tour spotlight might be on the grand slam leg, but the Wallabies’ performance tonight may determine the tone of the trip. Win, or lose with honour, and the squad will be revitalised. But if they go the way they did in Wellington, this tour may soon have the sniff of disaster. As All Blacks halfback Jimmy Cowan said: “A loss here would derail the tour.”

The Wallabies must already be wondering whether one of their wheels has fallen off. They haven’t even played a game and they have lost three back-line players – Stirling Mortlock, Barnes and Rob Horne. Shudder to think what will happen when the tour gets serious, especially as the back-up in Australia in several spots is thin. Managerial staff are already muttering about whether they should start flexing up. If you think that’s far-fetched, remember then Wallabies coach Greg Smith played the team trainer, Dirk Williams, in a midweek game in Scotland in 1997. Then again, the true character of a team is supposed to be revealed when facing adversity. And so tonight we should discover whether these tourists have some backbone.

The All Blacks were originally worried about the back line the Wallabies had picked, with their assistant coach Steve Hansen saying they had added “a bit of punch” by putting Ashley-Cooper at fullback, Ryan Cross in the centres and Digby Ioane and Peter Hynes on the wings. They assumed this would mean, as long as the Wallabies improved their forward work, especially at the breakdown, that their opponents were planning an all-out attack. Now they are not quite so concerned, believing they can target James O’Connor at fullback and exploit the defensive problems the last time Ashley-Cooper and Cross were paired in the centres, against South Africa in Perth two months ago. Ashley-Cooper believes the pair have now overcome that problem.

“On that night there was just a bit of miscommunication . . . But we’ve been working really hard on that this week, and I am confident about the midfield defence tomorrow night,” Ashley-Cooper said.

The All Blacks already have the psychological edge, but the Wallabies also have a multitude of reasons to at last get their act together on this neutral venue. A prime motivator is to end the embarrassment of such a lengthy losing streak against the All Blacks, which will stretch to seven Tests if they fall short tonight.