Wallabies Wing Breaks Thumb, England’s Lawes Is Cited: World Cup Roundup
The following is a roundup of stories from the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
Ioane Injured
Australia winger Digby Ioane needs surgery after fracturing his right thumb in yesterday’s Pool C victory over Italy, the Australian Rugby Union said.
Ioane, who’s played in all of the Wallabies’ six Tests this year, will remain with the squad in New Zealand and is expected to be available to play again later in the tournament.
“The exact timelines on when he might be able to return will not be known until after the joint has been operated on, and his rehabilitation from the injury has begun,” the ARU said in a statement.
Lawes Cited
England second-rower Courtney Lawes was cited for allegedly striking Argentina’s Mario Ledesma with his knee during their Pool B match in Dunedin two days ago, tournament organizers said.
Lawes, 22, will appear at a disciplinary hearing chaired by independent Judicial Officer Terry Willis of Australia. He’s the first player to be cited at the 20-nation tournament.
Springboks Face Layoff
South Africa duo Victor Matfield and Jean de Villiers face a 10-day layoff after getting injured in yesterday’s 17-16 victory over Wales, team officials said. They’ll miss the Springboks’ Sept. 17 Pool D game against Fiji.
Center de Villiers has a rib cartilage strain, while Matfield will join regular second-row partner Bakkies Botha on the sidelines because of tightness in his hamstring, team doctor Craig Roberts said in a statement. Botha trained in the gym with the non-playing members of the squad today as the 22 on duty in Wellington last night were given a day to recover.
“This was undoubtedly the toughest opening game in the tournament and to get through it with a win and only three injuries in the squad is not bad,” said Springboks coach Peter de Villiers.
‘Correct Protocol’
Tournament organizers today said the match officials who disallowed a disputed James Hook penalty in Wales’s one-point loss to the South Africans had followed correct procedure.
Hook and several teammates were adamant that the 14th- minute effort had passed inside the right-hand upright after the assistant referees kept their flags down to indicate that the kick had missed. Referee Wayne Barnes could have consulted the television match official, though he chose not to.
“The match official team felt at the time that there was no need to consult the TMO following a Wales penalty kick as they were confident that the kick was not successful,” the International Rugby Board said in a statement. “Correct protocol was therefore followed.”
Read Return
New Zealand’s first-choice No. 8 Kieran Read said he’s targeting a return in the final Pool A match against Canada on Oct. 2 after being ruled out of the All Blacks’ opening games because of a torn ankle ligament. Read said he’s now able to move about freely without the aid of a protective moon boot.
“All signs are that I’m back on track to play in the game against Canada,” Read said in comments distributed by tournament organizers. “Hopefully I’ll be running again next week. I’m feeling good, but I’ve just got to take everything step by step.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Dan Baynes in Sydney at dbaynes@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christopher Elser at celser@bloomberg.net
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