Eddie Jones’ plans for his first Wallabies camp have been thrown into disarray with an extraordinary seven players ruled out with injury.
Ned Hanigan, Len Ikitau, Dave Porecki, Blake Schoupp and Darcy Swain have all been ruled out after suffering concussions in Super Rugby Pacific over the weekend.
And backrowers Pete Samu (ankle) and Langi Gleeson (calf) have also been scratched from the three day camp which begins on the Gold Coast on Monday.
Watch the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific and Super W seasons on the home of rugby, Stan Sport. All matches streaming ad free, live and on demand
Their misfortune opens the door for Lachie Swinton, Izaia Perese, Rhys van Nek, Rory Scott, Matt Faessler, Ryan Smith and Harry Wilson to impress as Jones starts to map out his vision for the Rugby World Cup.
Forwards van Nek, Scott, Faessler and Smith are all uncapped while dynamic centre Perese burst back into form in the NSW Waratahs’ win over the Western Force on Saturday night.
“While we feel for the players who have been ruled out, it provides an opportunity for those who will now come into camp,” Jones said.
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“This camp will set the tone ahead of the Test season and we know we’re going to need a fast start.”
The injured players will attend Zoom components of the camp as will the overseas-based stars named.
The Wallabies open their 2023 campaign against the world champion Springboks on July 9 (AEST) in Pretoria.
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Jones explained what he was hoping to achieve at his first camp, while pointing out the team’s poor record under predecessor Dave Rennie.
“It’s like this honeymoon period where everyone’s feeling good about the team, so very enthusiastic,” Jones said on his podcast Eddie.
“But also cognisant of the fact that we’ve got a fair bit of work to do to go from a team that’s winning at 38 per cent.
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“To win the World Cup you’ve got to win at 100 per cent. So 62 per cent is a big gap. Super Rugby performances haven’t been at the level we would expect and, therefore, we’ve got a lot of work to do which is daunting but also exciting.
“So a few different emotions… you walk in, first day, you’ve got some ideas with what you want to do, ideas about how you want to play, ideas of how you want to operate off the field, but at the end of the day you’ve got to do some work with them and find out where you can go…
“Talking about this camp, this is one of the central themes – ‘how are you going to find a bit more in yourself’?”
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