RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP
KOROIBETE RECOVERS TO FACE ARGENTINA
Bernard Foley’s three-week benching has given the Wallabies five-eighth a muchneeded opportunity to refresh his body and mind, according to coach Michael Cheika.
Foley has earned a recall to the starting side for Australia’s mustwin Rugby Championship clash against Argentina on Sunday morning (Fiji time) in Salta.
Foley was dropped to the bench for the last three Test matches as Cheika explored an alternative playmaking partnership of Kurtley Beale and Matt Toomua in an effort to jolt Australia’s attack - and Foley himself - back into form. However, that experiment is now over and the Wallabies will revert to the usual set-up they have rolled out during Cheika’s reign, with Foley in the No.10 jersey and Beale shifting over to No.12.
Cheika was considering playing Toomua at five-eighth but the 28-year-old has squeezed out of the run-on team in what the coach admitted was a “hard” call on him, given his strong performances. Cheika denied Foley had fallen victim to complacency, with no other obvious candidates in the five-eighth position pushing him for selection. “I think Bernard Foley played the most minutes of any player in Super Rugby, not just Australian players,” he told reporters in Buenos Aires. “Sometimes, even though you don’t want that to affect you, it can get in you.
“Maybe a bit of a freshen up and realise, ‘I’ve got to fight for my spot here and I’ve got to be excellent every day’ is what someone needs. “I don’t think he would’ve got complacent at all, I don’t see that in him but when you look at it compared to the minutes that say Beauden Barrett played, then there’s a significant difference there.”
The midfield tweaks are the only changes made to the XV that was defeated 23-12 by South Africa in Port Elizabeth last weekend, a result that reduced Australia’s record this year to just two wins from 10 games. Another loss or draw to Los Pumas will mean the Wallabies will finish bottom of the Rugby Championship for the first time.
“The most important thing is just the single commitment to every play,” Cheika said.
“Especially in the forwards - in (the last) game they mauled us, we didn’t have our body height right.
“We need to have our body height low, our legs going and very, very sure about stopping the Argentinean pack in its tracks.”
KOROIBETE CLEARED
As expected, Marika Koroibete has been cleared to play after overcoming the concussion he sustained against the Springboks, with Tom Banks coming onto the bench to replace injured winger Jack Maddocks.
Meanwhile, Tolu Latu has edged out Brandon Paenga-Amosa for the reserve hooker spot.
Caleb Timu has also been named as back row cover, with either Rory Arnold or Rob Simmons expected to be cut from an extended nineman bench. The match kicks-off at 10.30am.
LINE-UP
WALLABIES: Dane Haylett-Petty, Israel Folau, Reece Hodge, Kurtley Beale, Marika Koroibete, Bernard Foley, Will Genia, David Pocock, Michael Hooper (captain), Ned Hanigan, Adam Coleman, Izack Rodda, Taniela Tupou, Folau Faingaa, Scott Sio. Reserves: Tolu Latu, Sekope Kepu, Allan Alaalatoa, Rob Simmons, Rory Arnold, Caleb Timu, Nick Phipps, Matt Toomua, Tom Banks.
ARGENTINA: 15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Matias Moroni, 13 Matias Orlando, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 11 Ramiro Moyano, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Javier Ortega Desio, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustin Creevy (c), 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Reserves: 16 Julian Montoya, 17 Santiago Garcia Botta, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 21 Tomas Cubelli, 22 Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, 23 Sebastian Cancelliere
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa) Assistant referees: Mathieu Raynal (France), Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa); TMO: David Grashoff (England)