Hanigan out, Simmons in doubt as Waratahs face lock injury crisis
A heartbreaking loss, injury concerns, a misfiring goal-kicker and Kiwi taunts plague the Waratahs.
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NED Hanigan has suffered a knee injury that will sideline him for two weeks and potentially affect his chances of playing in the Wallabies’ first Test against Ireland.
After the stunning 31-29 defeat to the Crusaders last Saturday, NSW arrived home bruised and battered and now face the Highlanders on Saturday short of an international forward.
Hanigan has been playing lock for the Tahs, but at blindside flanker for Australia, and his medial ligament knee injury is a blow for NSW.
The three other injury casualties from the game, lock Rob Simmons (shoulder), hooker Damien Fitzgerald and flanker Will Miller (both concussion) will be monitored closely before the team is announced Wednesday.
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If Hanigan and Simmons were both ruled out, NSW would have a second row crisis. Tom Staniforth and Ryan McCauley would be the obvious starters, while cover on the bench would come from club rugby.
Meanwhile, Tahs backs coach Chris Malone has thrown his support behind playmaker Bernard Foley, who missed two crucial penalties in the second half of the Crusaders loss.
“I was a goalkicker myself and I know you’ll sometimes have an off day,” Malone said.
“Obviously there were a couple of big kicks in that game that potentially could have won the game for us and Bernard himself was really disappointed in that.
“But we’ll go away and work on the things that he didn’t do quite so well on a couple of those kicks on the weekend.
“He’s been kicking really well, so any time there’s an option for us to take a shot at goal, it will definitely be Bernard Foley.
“I’ve been his kicking coach now for a number of years and he’s shown us in big games that he’s got the mental capacity to nail them.”
A number of controversial calls by referee Ben O’Keeffe in the defeat stirred up debate about Kiwi “cheating”, but Malone said NSW had no excuses other than lack of execution for the loss.
Hurricanes assistant coach John Plumtree joked to Kiwi media on Monday that they “will keep on cheating” against Australian teams, suggesting it was often an excuse by the Australian media and fans.
* Rugby Australia boss Raelene Castle will put forward the case to host the 2021 women’s World Cup this week.
Castle is in Ireland for the World Rugby conference and hosting the event in two years is top of her agenda.
Castle will then travel to Luxembourg for the SANZAAR conference, where the future of Super Rugby will be top of the list.
Reports in New Zealand suggest that a Pacific Island team is planned to enter the tournament from 2021, when the new broadcast deal kicks in, but RA has no knowledge of any expansion plans.
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Originally published as Hanigan out, Simmons in doubt as Waratahs face lock injury crisis
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