Phone1800303503orgotowww.goldcoastbulletin.com.au Still in Hunt for Test spot
Wallabies dream alive after Red cleared of injury
d that all his gains of this season might suddenly have been in disarray just five weeks before the season’s opening Test.
“There’s no doubt Karmichael was worried and he pulled up sore,” Reds coach Nick Stiles said.
“The good news is the ligaments are all strong and he’s only dealing with the soreness of the knee being driven hard into the turf.”
Hunt will take it lightly to start the week as the Reds try to rebuild intensity for Saturday’s tough visit to New Plymouth to face Aaron Cruden’s Chiefs.
Hunt’s impressive punch in the 29-26 interstate loss was worth far more than nine runs for 84m and his two linebreaks.
It was the game-awareness he now has after being lost in 2015 when he was first with the team after switching to rugby from the Gold Coast AFL club.
He threw the last pass for the Lukhan Tui try, backed up by Scott Higginbotham for his own five-pointer and was the only Red who punched through the line in the desperate final minutes.
“The Reds haven’t played that committed against NSW for years and there were guys definitely putting a hand up for Wallabies recognition,” Stiles said. “K is one and a big, abrasive ball-carrier like Lukhan Tui really showed what he is capable of as a young lock of the future.”
How Hunt fits with the Wallabies is the next question.
Israel Folau is at his best from fullback but Hunt’s potential inclusion on the bench adds a real versatility for late in games.
It’s not just that he can cover fullback or centre but the fact he has proved so at home defending in the frontline which enables Bernard Foley or Quade Cooper to drop back in defence.
General public tickets go on sale today for the three Wallabies’ Tests next month when the 3pm afternoon kick-offs should be a winner with fans.
The Tests against Fiji in Melbourne (June 10) and Scotland in Sydney (June 17) precede Italy’s visit to Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium (June 24).