Pair in battle for No.7
NATHAN Cleary and Daly Cherry-Evans have vowed to leave their egos at the door as they prepare for a shootout to decide who will play halfback for the Kangaroos at the pointy end of the World Cup.
Cleary and Cherry-Evans were both named in the Australian side for Sunday morning’s (AEDT) game against Italy at Totally Wicked Stadium in St Helens, the pair set to play in the halves as Cameron Munster enjoys a weekend off.
Munster will return for the quarterfinals, meaning Cleary and Cherry-Evans have one last chance to press their claims to partner the Melbourne and Queensland superstar when the tournament enters the knockout phase.
The naming of both CherryEvans and Cleary came on a dramatic day for the Kangaroos as Campbell Graham was sent for scans on an elbow injury and Queensland teammates Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and Lindsay Collins had to be separated after a heated training session.
Graham trained in the morning but underwent scans later in the day after picking up an elbow problem during his three-try performance against Scotland last weekend.
Fa’asuamaleaui and Collins engaged in a push-and-shove during an intense training session at AJ Bell Stadium, where the Kangaroos have trained for much of the tournament.
It is understood the pair quickly moved on but it was a sign of the intensity among the squad in the race to secure positions heading into the knockout round of matches.
No match-up is more intense than the battle of the halves, in which Cherry-Evans and Cleary are fighting to play alongside Munster.
“There is no ego there,” Cherry-Evans said. “We are both really happy to play a role for the team this weekend. I understand the big story is around who is going to be there at the end but that is so far away at the moment – we are here for another four weeks.
“This weekend the best we can do is concentrate on playing good footy for Australia.”
Cherry-Evans opened the tournament with a solid performance against Fiji before Cleary produced an eye-catching Test debut against Scotland. Their respective performances, however, need to be judged against the opposition. Fiji was a much tougher challenge for the Kangaroos.
“I had the opportunity to play alongside Munny (Munster) and now I get to do it alongside Chez (CherryEvans),” Cleary said.
“We’re going to mix it up a bit – see how it is going and who has the flow.”