Brumbies behind in Wallaby chase

AUSTRALIA’S upsidedown rugby year has continued with the country’s top-ranked Super Rugby side, the Brumbies, contributing the second-fewest players to the Wallabies squad.

Following their quarterfinal appearance against the Hurricanes last weekend, Brumbies players will join the rest of the wider training Wallabies squad in Newcastle on Thursday but they’ll only need one maxi-taxi from the airport.

Just seven Brumbies players were named despite their Australian conference title: Scott Sio, Alan Alalaatoa, Sam Carter, Rory Arnold, Joe Powell, Tevita Kuridrani and Henry Speight.

That’s only one more player than Melbourne Rebels, who won just one game all season and still had six players picked. The Waratahs had 10 selected, the Western Force got 11 players picked and the Queensland Reds originally had 12 in the squad. That has since reduced to 10 due to injuries to Karmichael Hunt and Eto Nabuli.

The Brumbies’ Wallaby regulars returned to Australian camp but there was no recall for flanker Scott Fardy — who has been released to depart for Leinster — or squad call-ups for impressive young winger Tom Banks or flanker Chris Alcock, who was superb all season.

Centre Kyle Godwin is injured and unavailable.

The Wallabies finish their training camp in Newcastle on Saturday and return to home cities next week to engage in local training programs. They will return to the Hunter Valley on August 6 to another preBledisloe training camp, before setting up in Penrith for a week ahead of the opening Bledisloe game at ANZ Stadium on August 19.