News

Cordingley playing it accordingly

August 21 2008

Australia scrum-half Sam Cordingley is taking Saturday's Tri-Nations chance against South Africa with both hands after he was named to play in his first run-on Test for Australia since last year's World Cup.

Cordingley's Test career was revived after first-choice number nine Luke Burgess was ruled out of the South African tour when an MRI scan revealed he had extensive damage in his knee.

Even if Burgess were available, Cordingley was expected to threaten for the starting XV position, with the 32-year-old's international experience and pugnacity regarded as an asset when confronting the Springboks over two Tests.

Burgess struggled in Auckland, where he was targeted by the All Blacks, and Cordingley was forever looming as a safer option in South Africa.

This will be one of Cordingley's last chances to represent the Wallabies before his departure at the end of the year to rejoin his former French club, Grenoble.

Interestingly, Cordingley is yet to play a Test in the Republic and is relishing this opportunity to play for Australia at his favourite ground before he jets off to France.

"I don't have many games to go for Australia, and this will be a biggie," Cordingley told Planet Rugby.

"Kings Park (Absa Stadium) is my favourite ground, there's a great atmosphere, so I'm looking forward to it.

"I don't have any regrets about leaving, I'm 32 now and I've made the right decision to go.

"This opportunity (to start) is just a bonus. First and foremost, I would just like play well on Saturday.

"I'll just be taking it one step at a time, I was a little surprised to be a part of the squad taking into account my age and that I'm heading overseas to play rugby.

"But it's been really great just to be involved again."

Cordingley began his Super Rugby career in the shadow of George Gregan at the Brumbies before moving to Queensland to get his chance at the number nine jersey.

He made his Test debut in 2000, but has been plagued by injuries ever since.

Back in Australia after three seasons in France and the UK, Cordingley was the front-running Australian scrum-half early in the 2006 competition before a foot injury in his 50th match for the Reds ended his season.

However the form and class he showed in his seven appearances was enough to earn him selection in the 2006 Wallabies squad and he added another six national caps to his tally before the recurring foot problem cut short his Wallaby campaign and kept him out of the Reds for the whole 2007 Super 14.

He made his return to national duty with Australia A and won selection in the 2007 Rugby World Cup side, coming off the bench against Fiji and starting against Canada in the final pool round.

No spring chicken, Cordingley has played under many coaches in his rugby career, but has been impressed the most under Deans ever since the former Crusaders mentor included the skinhead half-back in his first Wallaby squad.

Despite announcing his decision to head overseas at the end of the year, Cordingley won selection in Deans' 2008 Wallaby squad and came on as a replacement against Ireland for his fifteenth Test cap.

"The first thing that the team, myself included, have noticed is the competitive energy at training," said Cordingley.

"Everything we do in training is super competitive and I think that goes a long way into transferring what we do behind closed doors on to the field.

"He [Deans] leaves a lot to the players. He expects them, based on their accountability, to add where they can to their own performance.

"There are no strict guidelines to follow as far as making sure we know how to do things, but you do feel obliged that you make sure you know how to do them.

"I think his leadership has been integral in how far we've played this season, especially in winning those first five Test matches."

Deans had hinted earlier this week that he would opt for experience when he selected a run-on for the injured Burgess, and Cordingley's 18 caps - 13 off the bench - counted for more than Brett Sheehan's solitary Test appearance.

Sheehan's no-nonsense approach and consistent club rugby appearances had fuelled speculation he could be favoured against a physical Springboks side eager for revenge on their own patch after a loss to Australia in Perth last month.

But Deans thought otherwise when announcing his Wallabies line-up on Thursday.

A competitive scrum-half with a flat, accurate pass and the ability to dart through a gap, Cordingley has been forced to watch the majority of Test matches this year from the bench.

His lack of gametime has raised a few eyebrows.

"I suppose it's just one of those things I've been used to in the past," said Cordingley.

"At Test level, when I look back to when I had my first run-on back in 2000, that was probably in between four and five months of playing football.

"It's the nature we have in Australia in that there's not much rugby played between Tests and the Super 14. And again last year against Canada at the World Cup, when I got my cap that day, there wasn't a lot of rugby played from the last time to the time I took the field.

"But it's something I have a lot of experience with and there definitely isn't a lot of concern from Robbie or myself.

"I've been training well and obviously been involved with the Test squad for the last eight or nine weeks, so it's a challenge I'm really looking forward to."

Looking ahead to Saturday's match-up, Cordingley believes Fourie du Preez is a far better option than Ricky Januarie at number nine for the Springboks.

Du Preez played his first Test of the year last week after returning from injury and couldn't deliver the usual complete performance associated with him.

He was replaced on the hour-mark by Januarie, but the hero from Dunedin didn't make an impact as the Boks fell apart and conceded two tries in this period.

When Cordingley was asked who the more difficult opponent to play against is between the two, he had no hesitation in replying.

"I would have to say Fourie," said Cordingly.

"If you look back to the World Cup last year, I thought he was the player of the tournament. The way he directed the Springboks around was fantastic.

"I know he's only just coming back from injury, but he's one of the players that you have to watch very carefully on the field.

"Bok half-backs like Joost van der Westhuizen and Fourie du Preez are the kind of guys that when they play well, the team plays well. Fourie doesn't have to rely on his pack to play well, he turns his forwards around and makes sure they perform.

"So there's not too many flaws to his game."

Australia need to win their two matches in South Africa if they have any chance of winning this year's Tri-Nations title.

We asked if that was extra motivation to win in Durban, knowing that if South Africa lose this weekend, the world champions are out.

"We just want to make sure we do the job at hand first," he said.

"We really want to win this game, as well as perform well and show that we can win overseas.

"Our motivation will be to turn things around from the last Test and try play our own game. So as far as any extra motivation is concerned, you don't need much to be playing for your country."

By Dave Morris