Rugby World Cup: Michael Cheika praises Wycliff Palu after injury forces end to Wallabies career
WYCLIFF Palu’s 57-Test career has come to an end after the veteran no. 8 and fellow Wallabies big man Will Skelton were both ruled out of the World Cup with injury.
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WYCLIFF Palu’s 57-Test career has come to an end after the veteran no. 8 and fellow Wallabies big man Will Skelton were both ruled out of the World Cup with injury.
Lock Sam Carter and hooker James Hanson joined the Wallabies squad in London after scans revealed the worst for Skelton and Palu in the wake of the Uruguay game.
Skelton suffered a torn pectoral muscle in a scrum and Palu re-injured the same hamstring that kept him out of the Wallabies first clash against Fiji.
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It means Palu has now had to withdraw from consecutive World Cups due to a hamstring injury, after he was also forced to withdraw from the 2011 tournament.
Cheika said Palu has had a “remarkable” career for Australia, after debuting in 2006.
“It is more than likely that it will be the last game that he has played for Australia. It is a sad day for us in that regard,” Cheika said.
“He has brought us so much over the years and on this tour in particular his presence and the way he has come back from injury to play in the tournament is really special for the players. He has got a strong but quiet influence in the team and he is going to be missed, but I know what he would want us to do going forward.”
The Waratahs no. 8 has signed to play in Japan next year.
He has only played 57 Tests and thus does not qualify for the ARU’s new offshore eligibility criteria.
Skelton injured a pectoral muscle and will consult surgeons when he gets home.
“It is a real shame because he was having a really good impact off the bench in the first game and then now. It was a bit of a shame. He suffered a pec injury in the scrum. It was quite innocuous really,” Cheika said.
The loss of Skelton and Palu will leave a void of heavy ball-carriers in the Wallabies squad, hence Carter’s call-up from France where he has been training with Bordeaux.
After returning from a knee injury that saw him miss the Rugby Championship, Carter so impressed Cheika during pre-World Cup training and in a bench cameo in the USA Test win that the Brumbies lock was preferred to James Horwill, who is now playing in London.
Hanson’s call up removes the risk of only having two hookers.
“It is not easy to replace Wycliff Palu like for like,” Cheika said.
It is hard to replace Wycliff Palu like for like so now that are moving into a different part of the competition we might take a bit of coverage in the front row.
“The fact that has worked [Pocock at No 8], the two lads playing together has made the option easier.”
He will have to see surgeons so he will be going home pretty The Wallabies had managed to avoid major injury until the weekend but are now dealing with the same issues many other major nations are facing. England also lost big no. 8 Billy Vunipola with a knee injury, and replaced him with Nick Easter.
Wales lost another two players, winger Hallam Amos and centre Scott Wiliams.
Originally published as Rugby World Cup: Michael Cheika praises Wycliff Palu after injury forces end to Wallabies career
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