Rugby: Roberts out of autumn internationals
July 24th, 2010 | 
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Wales centre Jamie Roberts will undergo wrist surgery and miss the November Tests against Australia, South Africa, Samoa and New Zealand.
The Cardiff Blues back expects to also miss the first half of the coming season but said yesterday that he hopes to be available for the Six Nations in 2011.
Roberts sustained the injury during the second Test of the British and Irish Lions series in South Africa last year when he made his debut – but initial scans failed to reveal the extent of the damage and he has played through the pain since, including Test matches for Wales against the All Blacks last month.
The 23-year-old had further scans when he returned from New Zealand revealed the need for an operation.
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Roberts said: “I injured my wrist during the second Test in South Africa last summer. I had a couple of MRI scans which unfortunately did not pick up the injury and it was not until the surgeon had a look with a camera in the joint at the end of the season that the full extent of the injury was diagnosed.
“Unfortunately it needs an operation to stabilise the wrist. I played all of last season with a lot of pain in my wrist and so it is logical to get it sorted as soon as possible.
“It is pretty disappointing to be missing more or less the first half of the season, but I will certainly use the time while injured to rid my body of any niggles and come back to the field in good nick and aim to lift more silverware with the Blues.”
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Dropped England captain Steve Borthwick vows to return a better player
Steve Borthwick insists he will return a “stronger person and a stronger player” next season after his shock omission from England’s elite player squad.
Borthwick was on honeymoon in Bali when Johnson phoned to tell him the bad news but he refused to criticise the England manager for the timing of the call, which he said left him feeling “incredibly unhappy”.
“Selection was announced on the Thursday and Johnno rang me a couple of days before to make sure I didn’t find out any other way,” Borthwick told The Daily Telegraph.
“I have to respect Johnno for doing that and in showing me the respect to give me that call. Where I was in the world and what I was doing was entirely up to me. He can’t control that.
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“I was incredibly unhappy but I was certainly not going to dwell on those emotions because they are not good emotions to have. It is up to me to train, get myself in good condition and play good rugby.”
Borthwick admitted the exchange on the phone with Johnson was passionate but said he still enjoyed a strong relationship with the England manager.
“It wasn’t argumentative but I had just been dropped from the England squad and of course I am going to be asking questions as to why,” Borthwick said. “I am quite forceful and he also has a strong personality. It is my responsibility now to play well for Saracens to change their minds.”
Borthwick said his break from the national squad had allowed him to clear up the knee injury that had been troubling him for a while, enjoy time with club team-mates and reflect on areas of his game that he wants to improve.
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“I am not going to sit at home and let it ruin my summer or my life,” Borthwick said. “I want to be in the England team more than I can put in words.
“I am not going to dwell upon all the negative stuff because look at how many great positives there are. I have had a fabulous summer, I am with a great group of players under an outstanding team of coaches at Saracens and the medical staff here have worked hard on me.
“I don’t know what went on exactly in the selection meetings but what I will say is that I will be doing absolutely everything to get back in and prove them wrong and change their opinions.
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South Africa coach hints at refereeing conspiracy
South Africa coach Peter de Villiers has hinted there is a refereeing conspiracy against his players to boost rugby in New Zealand.
Two Springboks have been sin-binned in recent games between the teams while he says All Blacks are going unpunished.
“Maybe I can’t say it in public but there’s a World Cup in New Zealand next year,” he said.
“Maybe it’s the right thing for them to win the games to attract more people to the games next year.”
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Reigning Tri-Nations champions South Africa have lost both their games in the tournament against New Zealand this year, each time with a northern hemisphere referee.
Their next game, against Australia in Brisbane on Saturday, will again be overseen by an Irishman, George Clancy.
In both games so far, South African players have had players sin-binned for infringements at the breakdown, while New Zealand captain Richie McCaw has been penalised repeatedly and cautioned for infringements at the breakdown, but allowed to remain on the field.
De Villiers says his players are playing by the same rules applied in the Super 14 competition, but are being treated unfairly by referees, and the South African Rugby Union has asked its legal representative to get an explanation for what they consider refereeing inconsistency.
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The Springboks have also had two players suspended after the two games of the tournament so far. Winger Jean de Villiers was banned for two weeks for a dangerous tackle during the 31-17 loss on 17 July, and a week before that, Bakkies Botha earned a nine-week ban for a head-butt.
“It’s just doing stupid things out of our character that we have to cut out at the moment,” he said.
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Injury blow for Wales as Jamie Roberts is ruled out for autumn internationals
Wales centre Jamie Roberts will miss the entire autumn series after discovering he requires wrist surgery.
The Cardiff Blues back was told he needs an operation to stabilise the wrist after returning from last month’s tour to New Zealand and will be sidelined for the first half of the new season.
The 23-year-old, who has played 24 times for Wales, sustained the injury during the 2009 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa but initial tests failed to uncover the extent of the damage.
He will sit out the November Tests against Australia, South Africa, Fiji and New Zealand but should return in time for the RBS 6 Nations.
“I injured my wrist during the second Test in South Africa last summer,” said Roberts.
“It wasn’t until the surgeon had a look with a camera into the joint at the end of the season that the full extent of the injury was diagnosed.
“I played all of last season with a lot of pain in my wrist and so it is logical to get it sorted as soon as possible.
“It’s pretty disappointing to be missing more or less the first half of the season, but I’ll use the time to rid my body of any niggles.”
“I had a couple of MRI scans which unfortunately didn’t pick up the injury.
South Africa will be without prop Jannie du Plessis against New Zealand in their second Tri Nations Test at Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Saturday.
The Sharks forward suffered a calf strain during Saturday’s 32-12 defeat by the All Blacks and his absence will pave the way for BJ Botha or CJ van der Linde to replace him at tighthead.
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Deans must decide if Giteau is still good ou
The biggest decision facing Deans as he selects his side to play the Springboks at Suncorp stadium is the one involving out-of-sorts star player Matt Giteau.
The Brumbies playmaker has had an indifferent season following an end-of-year tour last year in which he also under-achieved. He missed a crucial kick, which cost the Wallabies the Test against Scotland and he made an equally costly miss to deny them victory against England in Sydney last month.
Though Deans gave Queensland Reds centre Anthony Faingaa an extended run in the team drills last week, the expectation is that Giteau will get the nod at inside centre next to the electrifying Quade Cooper at flyhalf.
If Giteau is selected, he would also have beaten off the challenge of Berrick Barnes, who hasn’t exactly covered himself in glory since transferring from the Reds to the Waratahs.
Deans also has to make a call on whether Drew Mitchell or Cameron Shepherd will start on the wing after Peter Hynes and Digby Ioane were ruled out through injury.
Mitchell seemed to fall out of favour after some poor performances last month and was omitted from the Tri-Nations squad before the injuries to Hynes and Ioane earned him a reprieve.
Though the Wallabies are supposed to name their side today, they have been forced to make last-minute deliberations over whether regular captain Will Genia will feature in the starting line-up.
Genia has recovered from a broken thumb and if he was managed conservatively he would start off the bench but there is huge pressure on the Wallabies to start their Tri-Nations campaign with a win.
After the Brisbane Test they clash twice with the All Blacks before they have to front up twice against the Springboks at altitude.
Though there is clear pressure on both coaches to get a positive result, Deans received much needed support from former Wallaby grand-slam-winning captain Andrew Slack, who suggested that sacking the Kiwi would be “madness”.
Scotland to win the 2011 Six Nations if progress continues
Scotland’s best performance in the Six Nations since 2006 and their maiden Southern Hemisphere series’ victory has led many to believe that the Thistles may be on the verge of turning around what has been a dismal run in the last decade and a struggle at the top level that has occurred for the last century.
While Andy Robinson appears to have invigorated the team, one must not get too excited if taking into account the trend of false dawns set by Scotland.
When Frank Hadden took over for his first test match against Romania in June 5, 2005, few could have predicted the impact he would have had in the subsequent Six Nations 2011.
He led his team to an opening round win over France at Murrayfield, and would follow this up with the prized scalp of England and a win over Italy in Rome to achieve what was only Scotland’s second top half table finish since the competition expanded to include the Azzurri.
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They were only the third nation in 20 tests to keep Australia from scoring more than one try, and from there the first pillar was laid.
And in the Six Nations 2010, the Scottish loose forwards came of age, with John Barclay, John Beattie and Kelly Brown finishing the competition as arguably the form back row in Europe.
The confidence permeating the squad is best encapsulated by Dan Parks, who looked consigned to the international scrapheap before rising to play his best rugby under Robinson, collecting three man-of-the-match awards during the Six Nations.
A litmus test if there ever was one, but a promising showing against New Zealand and South Africa on their autumn internationals will see them approach the Six Nations 2011 at the very least as the darkest of horses.
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Ex-captain Jones doubts return of Wales centre Henson
Henson has been on unpaid leave since injury struck him down while playing for the Ospreys in April 2009.
Henson was quoted in a Sunday newspaper supplement saying he wanted to play at the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.
But Jones doubts Henson will return, saying: “My head probably says no and my heart would love to see him back.”
Henson’s relationship with entertainer Charlotte Church has recently ended and Henson is quoted as saying the motivation of his children Ruby and Dexter seeing him play for Wales at the World Cup will spur his return to the sport.
But unconfirmed reports have linked him with a place on the BBC’s popular show Strictly Come Dancing, which could prevent his return to rugby until late December.
Howver, Robert Jones also believes Wales coach Warren Gatland, Ospreys director Mike Cuddy and coaching boss Scott Johnson could help persuade the player to return.
“That’s the big question mark, the fact that he’s gone away from the game – he’s enjoyed the last 12 months or so and he’s probably in a position now where he’s questioning whether he does want to or need to come back to play rugby.
“I’d love to say to him that he’s going to be a long time out of the game and he would have missed this period of time and if he doesn’t get back on the field I’m sure he’ll regret it enormously in the future.
“So I’d love to think that he does get back there, but I do question whether the desire to play regional and international rugby is there or putting his body through the demands of professionalism and I think that’s the big problem.
“If Warren Gatland and perhaps Mike Cuddy or Scott Johnson down at the Ospreys can convince him to get back and do that, well you’ve got a quality player that Wales would be desperate to select.
“But it’s down to the individual. It’s down to whether he wants it enough because desire and ambition play a big part.”
Ruddock: Failure in 2011 Six Nations will not be the end of the world for Wales
MIKE RUDDOCK has warned Welsh rugby supporters that Warren Gatland may have to sacrifice the Six Nations for the good of the World Cup next year.
While the annual northern hemisphere title still stirs the passions like no other tournament, the man who steered Wales to the Grand Slam five years ago insists 2011 has to be about seeing the bigger picture.
Ruddock believes Gatland should be judged primarily on how Wales perform in the global showpiece in New Zealand and if preparing for that means taking a few hits against traditional rivals in February and March, then so be it.
“Warren will probably want to use it to integrate players before the World Cup. He will want to make sure he moves those guys along.”
“Warren is prepared to pick those kids, good youngsters like Tavis Knoyle and Tom Prydie, for the tour of New Zealand and they will have got a taste of what’s required at international level.”
After guiding Swansea to Welsh league and cup glory, the former flanker, whose playing career was cut short by an industrial accident, took Leinster to an Irish Inter-provincial title, the unheralded Dragons to an astonishing third place finish in the Celtic League during their inaugural season and Wales A to a Grand Slam.
Ruddock’s winning percentage record as national coach is only bettered by John Dawes during the heady 1970s and he also engineered Wales’s first victory over Australia in 18 years.
His take on the plight of world and Tri-Nations’ champions South Africa is particularly interesting. Their franchises dominated the Super 14 with Bulls beating Stormers in the final and they were red-hot favourites going into this year’s Tri-Nations.
Disciplinary problems have surfaced, the moaning has started and real questions are already being asked about the coaching team headed by the colourful and controversial Peter de Villiers.
Ruddock, from his own experience with Wales, knows how quickly things can unravel and didn’t rule out the possibility of South Africa Rugby Union power-brokers making changes.
“They have had two pretty comprehensive beatings against the All Blacks. That will be unacceptable to them and they will demand more,” he said.
“You could either have a really vulnerable Springbok team coming to Wales in November with their confidence very low or even on the back of a change of coach.
He’s been helping Worcester club Malvern on a temporary basis and is just pleased to have got his track-suit on again and to be doing what he most enjoys – coaching on the field.
“As a director of rugby, you tend to be meeting agents, working with the board of directors, with the commercial side of a club and dealing with players’ contracts as well as having an input into the tactical and technical aspects of the team.”
Ruddock has a couple of irons in the fire – one of them in Wales – and is considering his coaching options, but he revealed it’s Ireland where his long-term future lies.
“He made the decision to make himself available for Ireland after joining the Leinster Academy and is enjoying life over there. So is Ciaran and, when my daughter has finished her schooling, I see us moving to Ireland because I’d like to see more of the lads.”
Rugby star Mike Catt joins the bank ambassadors
ONE of England’s 2003 world-beating rugby team, Mike Catt is the latest sports hero to become a Yorkshire Bank ambassador.
He will support the firm’s six Yorkshire financial solutions centres, including Leeds FSC, at business and community events throughout the region.
He will spend time at schools and clubs, meeting and coaching young athletes, and representing Yorkshire Bank at business events where he will discuss his 20 years as a professional athlete to inspire and nurture new business talent.
Mike, who has just signed a three-year contract extension as a coach with Guinness Premiership team, London Irish, said: “Yorkshire Bank has a strong commitment to its local communities and its loyalty and enthusiasm in supporting sport is magnificent.
“Rugby teaches essential life skills such as team work and determination and I will be developing these at coaching sessions when I visit Leeds.”
Yorkshire Bank Leeds FSC managing partner, Patrick Walton, said: “Mike Catt’s role will see him visiting Leeds to take part in coaching sessions on the pitch and events to inspire businesses in the boardroom. His appointment is further indication of our commitment to developing the city’s future sporting and business talent.”
Other Yorkshire Bank ambassadors are former Olympic runner, Steve Cram, England cricketers Alastair Cook and Paul Collingwood and ex-England captain, Alec Stewart.
England may be the next move for Henson
GAVIN HENSON claims he is ready to re-ignite his rugby career in either England after conceding he might not be able to play for the Ospreys again.
The double Grand Slam-winning centre insists he is planning a return to the game and wants to be part of Warren Gatland’s Wales team at next year’s World Cup.
He even reckons he can remain fit enough to play in the 2015 tournament, hosted by England but which will see some matches staged at the Millennium Stadium.
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Henson, 28, made his assertion even though he has been out of the game for 15 months and failed to turn up for pre-season training with the rest of his Liberty Stadium team-mates last week,
The Ospreys coaching hierarchy and players are said to be completely in the dark about Henson’s movements, with managing director Mike Cuddy the man who has been dealing with him.
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