Flanker to ease the Tahs woes
KURTLEY Beale is expected to play this weekend but the Waratahs are in the midst of a halfback injury crisis that could see flanker Will Miller spend time at scrumhalf this weekend.
With Wallaby Nick Phipps injured in Sydney, NSW took Jake Gordon and Mitch Short on their South African-Argentinian tour.
Short suffered a seasonending knee injury last week, while Gordon has to overcome concussion testing in the next 24 hours to be cleared to play after suffering a head knock against the Sharks in Durban.
The Tahs have been forced to fly club rugby player Nick Duffy as cover, with the rookie arriving in Buenos Aires late Wednesday for this weekend’s match.
If Gordon is ruled out, Duffy would have to start against the Jaguares in his Super Rugby debut, while Miller would be the reserve halfback.
“Duff takes things in FRIDAY MARCH 9 2018 his stride, he’s got a wry smile,” NSW forwards coach Simon Cron said. “I think he’s pretty excited about the whole scenario.
“(Gordon) is going through the return to play policy. He trained on Tuesday and got through well.
“I think he will end up being fine. (Today) will be a full noise session and we’ll see how he comes through. Duffy is the cover at halfback.”
While NSW coach Daryl Gibson said last week that fiveeighth Bernard Foley would be back-up hafback if Gordon and Short went down in Durban, this week flanker Miller is the third-stringer.
“Miller will be ahead of Foley,” Cron said. “He’s spent time at halfback for Norths.”
The expected inclusion of Beale, who is overcoming a rib injury and trained strongly this week, is now doubly important given uncertainty around the No.9 situation.
“He’s looking pretty good at the moment,” Cron said.