Danny
08-10-2005, 05:30 AM
Tune concedes tour bid over
By Wayne Smith
October 6, 2005
A STRANGLED groan was all veteran Queensland Reds winger Ben Tune initially could manage when asked yesterday if his recuperation from knee surgery was progressing fast enough for him to be selected next week for the Wallabies' spring tour of Europe.
Small wonder the 46-Test veteran sounded so anguished as he went on to reveal he will undergo an MRI scan in Brisbane tonight that almost certainly will put an end to his ambitious campaign to return to the Wallabies side after three injury-riddled years.
A lump that his orthopaedic surgeon, Peter Myers, believes could be a cyst or bone spur has appeared on the joint line of Tune's left knee and may need to be removed.
"But even if I decide to tough it out and not have the surgery, I'd still struggle," Tune said yesterday. "Either way, I think I'm extremely unlikely to be right for the tour."
It is yet another devastating setback for the 28-year-old who appeared to have turned the corner when he returned to the Reds' starting line-up for the second half of the Super 12 campaign this year. He immediately injected pace and enthusiasm into a backline that previously had been lacking both.
As the Wallabies' casualty list stretched to almost unprecedented lengths late in the Tri-Nations series, the selectors' eyes again turned to Tune - only to find him once again sidelined with injury.
Certainly they had him earmarked for the spring tour, either as a full member of the Wallabies side or as a starter for Australia A against the French Barbarians in Bordeaux on November 1.
The odds are also mounting against Clyde Rathbone as he struggles to overcome persistent patella tendonitis in his left knee.
Although Rathbone played three Tri-Nations Tests, he revealed the last time he had been fully fit going into a game was April 2, the night he damaged his medial ligament in the Super 12 match against the Blues in Auckland.
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So badly have his form and confidence been dented by injury that Rathbone is determined not to play again until he is 100 per cent right, even if that means missing the European tour. Wallabies coach Eddie Jones yesterday endorsed that stand.
"To his great credit he played those last two Tests (against the Springboks in Perth and the All Blacks in Auckland) only 75-80 per cent fit but we're very keen to get him back to 100 per cent which is where he needs to be because he relies so heavily on his power and speed."
The pity is that with Stirling Mortlock being rested from this tour, this is Rathbone's best opportunity to stake his claim for the outside centre position where he made his Test debut against Scotland last year.
Since then, however, he has played most of his Test rugby on the wing, where he spent most of his time in the recent Eden Park Test against the All Blacks, even though he had 13 on his back.
"I've still got some time to experiment and if I can get a crack at 13 I can at least make an informed judgment on which spot suits me best," Rathbone said.
"It's hard to say at this stage but long-term my best position might be at centre."
It's not just Tune and Rathbone who look likely to be ruled out of the tour because of injury. Number eight David Lyons, who is recovering from a groin reconstruction and a sportsman's hernia, is also struggling to meet Tuesday's selection deadline.
"Unless he's absolutely 100 per cent, we won't take him," Jones said. "He's progressing really well but he's another of those guys who has played consistently since 2000 and we want him back to 100 per cent. We're taking a pretty hard approach in that regard."
The touring party, which will be made up of 31 Wallabies and seven or eight players initially designated just for the Australia A game, is likely to include four halfbacks in George Gregan, Chris Whitaker, Matt Henjak and Brett Sheehan, the 2005 Reds halfback who will make his debut for NSW against the Czech Republic in Prague on Saturday.
Jones said the fact that Sheehan had been selected for a provincial tour would not exclude him or any other player from Australia A consideration, which is also good news for young Wallabies hooker Stephen Moore who is on tour with the Reds in Argentina.
The Australian
By Wayne Smith
October 6, 2005
A STRANGLED groan was all veteran Queensland Reds winger Ben Tune initially could manage when asked yesterday if his recuperation from knee surgery was progressing fast enough for him to be selected next week for the Wallabies' spring tour of Europe.
Small wonder the 46-Test veteran sounded so anguished as he went on to reveal he will undergo an MRI scan in Brisbane tonight that almost certainly will put an end to his ambitious campaign to return to the Wallabies side after three injury-riddled years.
A lump that his orthopaedic surgeon, Peter Myers, believes could be a cyst or bone spur has appeared on the joint line of Tune's left knee and may need to be removed.
"But even if I decide to tough it out and not have the surgery, I'd still struggle," Tune said yesterday. "Either way, I think I'm extremely unlikely to be right for the tour."
It is yet another devastating setback for the 28-year-old who appeared to have turned the corner when he returned to the Reds' starting line-up for the second half of the Super 12 campaign this year. He immediately injected pace and enthusiasm into a backline that previously had been lacking both.
As the Wallabies' casualty list stretched to almost unprecedented lengths late in the Tri-Nations series, the selectors' eyes again turned to Tune - only to find him once again sidelined with injury.
Certainly they had him earmarked for the spring tour, either as a full member of the Wallabies side or as a starter for Australia A against the French Barbarians in Bordeaux on November 1.
The odds are also mounting against Clyde Rathbone as he struggles to overcome persistent patella tendonitis in his left knee.
Although Rathbone played three Tri-Nations Tests, he revealed the last time he had been fully fit going into a game was April 2, the night he damaged his medial ligament in the Super 12 match against the Blues in Auckland.
Advertisement:
So badly have his form and confidence been dented by injury that Rathbone is determined not to play again until he is 100 per cent right, even if that means missing the European tour. Wallabies coach Eddie Jones yesterday endorsed that stand.
"To his great credit he played those last two Tests (against the Springboks in Perth and the All Blacks in Auckland) only 75-80 per cent fit but we're very keen to get him back to 100 per cent which is where he needs to be because he relies so heavily on his power and speed."
The pity is that with Stirling Mortlock being rested from this tour, this is Rathbone's best opportunity to stake his claim for the outside centre position where he made his Test debut against Scotland last year.
Since then, however, he has played most of his Test rugby on the wing, where he spent most of his time in the recent Eden Park Test against the All Blacks, even though he had 13 on his back.
"I've still got some time to experiment and if I can get a crack at 13 I can at least make an informed judgment on which spot suits me best," Rathbone said.
"It's hard to say at this stage but long-term my best position might be at centre."
It's not just Tune and Rathbone who look likely to be ruled out of the tour because of injury. Number eight David Lyons, who is recovering from a groin reconstruction and a sportsman's hernia, is also struggling to meet Tuesday's selection deadline.
"Unless he's absolutely 100 per cent, we won't take him," Jones said. "He's progressing really well but he's another of those guys who has played consistently since 2000 and we want him back to 100 per cent. We're taking a pretty hard approach in that regard."
The touring party, which will be made up of 31 Wallabies and seven or eight players initially designated just for the Australia A game, is likely to include four halfbacks in George Gregan, Chris Whitaker, Matt Henjak and Brett Sheehan, the 2005 Reds halfback who will make his debut for NSW against the Czech Republic in Prague on Saturday.
Jones said the fact that Sheehan had been selected for a provincial tour would not exclude him or any other player from Australia A consideration, which is also good news for young Wallabies hooker Stephen Moore who is on tour with the Reds in Argentina.
The Australian