Elsom may miss trial match
February 02 2010
The 30 Waratahs players named in Chris Hickey's squad for their final Super 14 warm-up against the Brumbies on Thursday will not face Rocky Elsom.
Elsom is battling a hamstring problem, linked to a problem in his back, and coach Andy Friend is not keen on risking further injury before the opener against the Force on Friday week.
"He's touch and go to be honest," Friend said.
"He hasn't strained it, it's just an ongoing issue that he's had for probably the last three years.
"It's linked to his back and it feels tight and there's the chance of aggravating it and we certainly don't want that."
Meanwhile, Wallabies Benn Robinson, Dean Mumm and Lachie Turner have been named in the starting line-up for their first Waratahs outings in 2010, while reserve back-rower Ben Mowen will play his first match in almost six months after recovering from knee surgery.
Drew Mitchell is still recovering from a hamstring injury which ruled him out of Saturday's clash with the Fiji Warriors, and while not considered for selection, he is expected to be fit for the opening round of the Super 14.
"We're getting some clarity around our team for round one but there's still a number of players and combinations we want to look at," said Hickey.
"It's good to have three more Wallabies come back in this week, and Benny Mowen will get plenty of game time as well which will be good for him."
Like the first two trials, Hickey has stated his intention to use his bench in the final two quarters to allow all players the chance to impress the coaching team.
"It is a trial for all 30 players who we're taking to Canberra so they'll all get an opportunity to put their hand up," said Hickey.
"Being the third of three trials we're hoping to take another step up this week and we'll need to with the opposition we're coming up against.
"The Brumbies have a really experienced squad but they've also got a number of younger players pushing for a place in round one so we know it's going to be a really tough hit-out."
Waratahs: 15 Sosene Anesi, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Tom Carter, 12 Daniel Halangahu, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Berrick Barnes, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Phil Waugh (c), 6 Dean Mumm, 5 Cam Jowitt, 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements (from): Damien Fitzpatrick, Sekope Kepu, Hendrik Roodt, Chris Thomson, Brendan KcKibbin, Ben Seymour, Locky McCaffrey, Dan Palmer, Ben Mowen, Josh Holmes, Alex Rokobaro, Dave Dennis, Rory Sidey, Peter Betham, Adam D'Arcy.