Waratahs rest Wallaby trio
January 29 2010
Head coach Chris Hickey has decided to rest some of his returning Wallabies on the eve of the Waratahs clash with the Fiji Warriors in Orange.
Drew Mitchell, Lachie Turner and Dean Mumm have been withdrawn from Saturday's starting side, with Hickey erring on the side of caution two weeks out from the start of the Super 14.
"All three players had a pretty heavy work load in 2009 and they've each got a few little niggles here and there, so we decided it would be better to rest them for tomorrow's match," said Hickey.
"We're not particularly worried about any of them at this stage, however we thought it best to make sure they're 100p er cent before hitting the field in 2010.
"If everything goes well, hopefully they'll be available for the Brumbies match on Thursday."
Mitchell and Turner's omission sees Nemani Nadolo and Peter Betham fill the starting wing positions they held in Lismore last weekend, while Wallaby tourist Dave Dennis replaces Sydney Uni teammate Mumm on the side of the scrum.
Chris Thomson and Adam D'Arcy have been added to the bench.
The team arrived in Orange on Friday and headed to Wade Park for their Captain's Run. The squad was greeted by around 100 locals keen for an autograph.
Waratahs: 15 Sosene Anesi, 14 Peter Betham, 13 Tom Carter, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Berrick Barnes , 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Phil Waugh(c), 6 Dave Dennis , 5 Cam Jowitt, 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Sekope Kepu.
Replacements: 16 Damien Fitzpatrick, 17 Dan Palmer, 18 Hendrik Roodt, 19 Chris Thomson, 20 Josh Holmes, 21 Daniel Halangahu, 22 Alex Rokobaro, 23 Jeremy Tilse, 24 Locky McCaffrey, 25 Chris Alcock, 26 Brendan McKibbin, 28 Rory Sidey, 29 Adam D'Arcy