Coast camp arrives
STAR flyhalf James O’Connor will be fit, but cross-code sensation Suliasi Vunivalu will miss the Wallabies’ Test series against France next month with a hamstring injury.
Former NRL premiershipwinning winger Vunivalu was forced off the field in Queensland’s 31-24 loss to the Blues last Friday.
It’s not the first time this season Vunivalu has hurt his hamstring, with his latest injury to delay his highly anticipated
Wallabies debut.
“It’s quite a serious hamstring injury for Suli which will rule him out for the France series, unfortunately,” Wallabies coach Dave Rennie said ahead of this weekend’s announcement of a 38-man squad for the series against France.
“We’ll get to see him later in the year though. We’ve been really happy with his progress and how he’s developed at the Reds.
“There’s a lot of footy left to play this year though, so the message is to knuckle down, get through the rehab and force his way back.
“We’ve probably got about 80 per cent of the squad nailed, and there’s a handful of (Super Rugby Trans-Tasman) performances that are going to be important this weekend make our final decision.”
While Vunivalu is out, his Reds teammate O’Connor will be named in a Wallabies squad to be based at Sanctuary Cove on the Gold Coast despite a neck injury that has cut short his Super Rugby Trans-Tasman campaign.
“He’s been getting stingers for about the last four, five weeks, so it just came to a head,” Rennie said.
“He missed last weekend, he’s going to miss this weekend, but we anticipate him to being right.
“He’s been outstanding. It’s certainly a position we’re getting better depth in and James has been excellent.”
The size of the squad could aid the selection hopes of another injured Queenslander, excitement machine Jordan Petaia.
The Reds flyer hasn’t played since injuring his quad in last month’s Super Rugby AU final but is a slim chance to be fit for the final match of the three-Test series against France on July 17 in Brisbane.