Ledesma relieved to be out of isolation Stags lose fullback to seasonending injury
RUGBY
SOUTHLAND fullback Josh Moorby is out for the season.
The 22yearold injured his left hand during the 179 defeat to Taranaki in Invercargill on Saturday night.
He sustained the blow with about 15 minutes remaining but played on. However, an Xray has revealed three fractures, which means the promising outside back’s campaign is over.
Stags coach Dale MacLeod is devastated for his young charge.
Moorby has been one of the more consistent performers for Southland
He seldom makes a mistake, he has been solid on defence and is deceptively slippery.
‘‘He is a big loss for us,’’ MacLeod said.
‘‘He has done it going up for a high ball.
‘‘Someone else will get an opportunity, but it is not ideal. I’m more gutted for Josh than I am the team.
‘‘He is a very, very good footballer and is not far off getting an opportunity and Super Rugby level.
‘‘I’m big on the stats and he rates as one of the best ball carriers . . . right through the competition.
‘‘Mitre 10 is such a small window — if you get injured you can disappear from the radar. It is a real shame for Josh.’’
Winger Penikolo Latu was also injured during the loss to Taranaki. He has a bad knee and is out for at least a couple of weeks.
The pair will join towering lock Manaaki SelbyRickit on the sideline.
The 24yearold injured his knee during the 1814 loss to Northland two weeks ago. While he is making good progress, he could be out for up to another four weeks.
Rory van Vugt or Amanaki Nicole shape as the most likely prospects to slot into the No 15 jersey in Moorby’s absence.
Nicole, however, is still nursing a chest injury and will miss the trip to Nelson to play Tasman this weekend.
MacLeod has hinted there could be a few changes. He is keen to provide opportunities to see how far the squad has come.
SYDNEY: Argentina coach Mario Ledesma is glad to be out of isolation after spending two weeks in a biosecure facility in Sydney and says he is looking forward to his side getting some muchneeded game time ahead of the Rugby Championship.
Ledesma was among more than a dozen Pumas players and staff to test positive for Covid19 last month before they travelled to Australia for the tournament, which has been left with just three teams after South Africa’s withdrawal.
Having being released from isolation, the Pumas will have a contested training session against a New South Wales Waratahs XV on Saturday, a warmup Ledesma feels is necessary for his players, as many of them have not played since March.
They face New Zealand in their opener on November 14.
‘‘Having the opportunity of playing at least three games before the debut against New Zealand seems not too much but for us it is essential.’’
Ledesma said the team would go into the game against the All Blacks in Sydney with about 100 minutes of recent playing time under their belt, about a quarter of what South Africa felt was necessary for their players to be ready for the tournament.
While Ledesma was sorry to see the Springboks withdraw, he said the November 7 game against the world champion would have been hard for his team as its 13 Europebased players would only have been released from isolation three days before the match.
The Pumas have also been joined by former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, who answered a request from Ledesma to act as an adviser despite previously saying he would never coach against Australia.
Ledesma was pleased to have him on board.
‘‘The fact that Michael can now be at the training venue and in contact with the players is great,’’ Ledesma said.
‘‘He is very enthusiastic about the team. He transmits lots of confidence and belief.’’ — Reuters