Rugby World Cup: Drew Mitchell, Matt Giteau ‘gutted’ Leigh Halfpenny will miss tournament

THE cold reality is that the absence of Leigh Halfpenny is good news for the Wallabies, but two Aussies find no joy in seeing their Toulon teammate sidelined for the Cup.

​​THE cold reality is that the absence of a Welsh sharpshooter compared to Jonny Wilkinson is good news for the Wallabies at the World Cup.

But for Australian pair Drew Mitchell and Matt Giteau, there is ​​no joy to be taken from ​star ​Wales no. 15 Leigh Halfpenny being ruled out of the tournament yesterday due a serious knee injury.

The Toulon duo count Halfpenny as a teammate and friend at their French club and though Australia’s chances ​in​ the “Pool of Death”, pool A, are boosted ​with him sidelined​, Mitchell said he only feels disappointment for his little Welsh mate.

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Drew Mitchell, Matt Giteau and Leigh Halfpenny embrace after a Toulon victory.

“Myself and Gits had joked with him about potentially being out there and facing him but that’s not going to be an option​; ​ I am genuinely gutted for him,” Mitchell said on Tuesday from the US.

Rugby-mad Wales ​is in a state of “mourning” after ​scans revealed ​Halfpenny ​had ruptured his ACL in a warm-up game against Italy at th​e​ weekend. With ​top ​halfback Rhys Webb also ruled out with an ankle injury the recriminations have already begun, with Welsh legends slamming coach Warren Gatland for playing Halfpenny in a meaningless match.

The Wallabies play Wales in London ​in their last game in pool ​A and ​it will likely be crucial to both team’s chances of making the playoffs.

​​Halfpenny is small in stature but carries a huge on-field presence for Wales and ​G​atland​ will struggle to find anyone with​ the same impact.

The 26-year-old ​has scored 508 points in 62 Tests, is safe and courageous at the back and was ​also ​one of the ​main attacking destroyers​ for the Lions​ in Australia in 2013​​.

Mitchell said he’d only seen one other player with the same dedication to perfection as Halfpenny.

“I have got to know him pretty well. I know how much work the guy puts in. In terms of his preparation and application to his game, apart from a guy like Jonny Wilkinson, Leigh is probably unrivalled in terms of not leaving any stone unturned,” he said.

“From that point of view it is genuinely gutting to know what he’d be going through now. It is just a sad set of circumstances to have this taken from him so close to the World Cup.

“I spoke to him prior to getting the news and after as well, and he is obviously ​very ​upset.”

The Wallabies, who are now back in camp at the University of Notre Dame, have had contrasting mostly fortunes with injury this winter and made it through their final warm-up match against the USA on Sunday with no serious problems.

The squad will continue to engage in heavy training in the Indiana heat this week, said Mitchell, but even with the selection trial phase over, the make-up of the Wallabies’ side to take on Fiji is yet to be revealed.

Leigh Halfpenny leaves the field on a stretcher after suffering a knee injury against Italy.

Mitchell was in the stands again in Chicago and has played just 103 minutes in two Tests since returning from France under the new ARU foreign player guidelines.

With Adam Ashley-Cooper locked in for one wing spot, Mitchell is battling with Rob Horne, Henry Speight and Joe Tomane for the other.

None of that trio stood out in Chicago and though Mitchell has only had one start, it was in Australia’s best performance — the win over the All Blacks in Sydney — and Michael Cheika is a big fan of his experience.

“I guess I would like to have had a bit more (time) in the games that we have had but I think there has to be some level of belief I suppose, for me to be here. Hopefully that and what I can do at training gives me an opportunity to get a run at some point,” Mitchell said.

“From this point on we are just looking at Fiji and just getting a result, and we have to have that mentality. It’s tournament rugby and you have to go out there to win every game.”

Mitchell said the win over the physical Eagles side in Chicago was a mixed bag but the overall result was positive.

“The linespeed the US had, coming out of the line and looking for some of those shots and levelling blokes was something they did pretty well, and the pleasing thing was we went in at halftime and the boys spoke about it and found a way to work through that, and solved it and came away with more positive solutions than we did in the first half,” Mitchell said.

“That was good to take from it, knowing we were able to identify what they were doing well and try and work out a plan to work around it and come away with a positive outcome.”

Asked if it was a concern the Wallabies needed a halftime talk to adapt, instead of fixing it on the run in the first half, Mitchell said: “We are more than capable of doing that but sometimes with the momentum of the game, the swings back and forth, and also just with the quality of your opposition, sometimes you don’t get the opportunity. Sometimes a break like halftime is a good opportunity to go in and reassess and then you come out and you start well again.”

Originally published as Rugby World Cup: Drew Mitchell, Matt Giteau ‘gutted’ Leigh Halfpenny will miss tournament