The Waratahs will hold onto selecting their team to face the Reds in their first clash of the season as they wait on players to recover from injuries and niggles. A host of stars are already set to miss the start of the season, but fresh injuries after their win over Tonga this weekend has coach Michael Foley worried.
We have already reported that Lachie Turner is out for a majority of the season, and that Drew Mitchell is in a race to be fit for the second week of matches, but fresh news is that Mitchell might only be back as late as April, meaning he will miss the first five rounds of action, at the very least.
Amongst the forwards, Dan Vickerman is set to miss the opening rounds, and might even be forced into retirement following a bone stress in his tibia, and then Rocky Elsom is also struggling with a niggling hamstring.
Fresh injury concerns revolve around Adam Ashley-Cooper and Berrick Barnes, who both sat out training on Monday, Ashley-Cooper with a leg injury and Barnes with a groin strain.
All of the above players form part of the Waratahs core group of leaders and without these players the experience in the starting team will be very limited. The worst of all is that they face their main rivals for top spot in the Aussie conference, the Reds, and could set them back a long way if these players take their time in getting back to full fitness.
Amongst the other teams we have the following injuries that we can report on:
Bulls – Wynand Olivier, Dewald Potgieter
Cheetahs – Juan Smith, Coenie Oosthuizen
Sharks – Beast Mtawarira, Julian Redelinghuys, Willem Alberts, Jean Deysel
Waratahs – Lachie Turner, Drew Mitchell, Dan Vickerman, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Berrick Barnes
Crusaders – Dan Carter, Richie McCaw
Reds – Quade Cooper
Lions – Bandiso Maku, Waylon Murray, Ross Cronje
Highlanders – Shaun Treeby, Kendrick Lynn, Kade Poki, Siale Piutau, Jarrad Hoeata, Josh Bekhuis
Stormers – Deon Fourie, Rynhardt Elstadt.
Hurricanes – Reggie Goodes
Tweet
Lions: Bandiso Maku, Waylon Murray & Scrummie Cronje
@LionsinPTA (Comment 1) :
Thank you!!
Welcome to the site by the way!
Highlanders – Shaun Treeby, Kendrick Lynn, Kade Poki, Siale Piutau, Jarrad Hoeata, Josh Bekhuis
@slammerboy (Comment 3) :
Thanks dude..
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 4) : no problem.
Not for the faint hearted “@KenBorland: That’s a proper gash! RT @DewaldPotgieter: Dont know if the pic is gonna show, not for the fainthearted though. http://t.co/oa45Hu0n“
@slammerboy (Comment 5) : That’s nasty! 😯
@Pokkel (Comment 6) : I agree 😕
@slammerboy (Comment 5) :
what does the window look like ? 😯
Jacques Potgieter from the Bulls also out injured at the moment.
Coenie Oosthuizen out for the moment, but fit to play by Week 3, or sometime on their overseas tour.
@slammerboy (Comment 5) : one of my fav none sharks players.wish him a speedy recovery.
@hendrikp (Comment 10) :
Oh thanks!
@bergshark (Comment 11) :
That explains a lot!
Stormers – Deon Fourie, Rynhardt Elstadt.
Hurricanes just lost their Pretoria born, and mostly raised (went to Affies) prop Reggie Goodes for the season.
@hendrikp (Comment 14) :
@hendrikp (Comment 15) :
Thanks and thanks again!
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 16) :
I might have well have listed this myself 😛
The Chiefs are missing Liam Messam also. Possibly only Week 1.
Brumbies – Pat McCabe out for a long while.
@hendrikp (Comment 18) :
Where did you see that?
Did he get injured in their friendly?
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 13) : you sure robdylan hasn’t said he likes dewald potgieter as well..?
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 19) :
Uhm, I read it somewhere. Gimme a minute.
@bergshark (Comment 20) :
I have no idea, but if he had made that comment, I would have said the same thing..
Not sure what your point is?
@hendrikp (Comment 21) :
No stress.. I just know I saw him selected for a game in last week sometime. I quite rate the guy.
@hendrikp (Comment 21) :
Daily Telegraph says they are unlikely to have him Rd 1 due to still recovering from off-season shoulder surgery.
Must have changed their minds about him during the warm-up game.
I’ve had to make 6 trades from my original squad on FL already and the season hasn’t even started.
@hendrikp (Comment 24) :
I see.. thank you..
Hope to see him in action this season..
@Pokkel (Comment 25) : I’ve had to make at least one trade each day for the past two weeks! Saddest was having to trade out Beast
@Pokkel (Comment 25) : @Die Kriek (Comment 27) :
haha . thats why i wait for team sheets to roll in :p
will have a busy Thursday evening it seems
@Zibbie (Comment 28) : I tend to forget when I procrastinate, so I’d rather pick early, swap out as news comes in, and have one or two wrong, than miss an entire round
Updates
Jarrod Hoeata – out for 1st 2 months with a ripped pectoral muscle
Blues
Tony Woodcock – out for first few rounds
Brumbies
Colby Faingaa – ankle – unknown return
Fotunuupule Auelua – knee – think out for the season
Robbie Coleman – sternum – unknown return
Siliva Siliva – knee – unknown return
Reds
Adam Wallace-Harrison – back in round 1/2
Aiden Toua – back in 1 month to 6 weeks
Rod Davies – back in round 1/2
Scott Higginbotham – shoulder – back in round 2
Waratahs
Rocky Elsom – Hamstring – unknown return
Dan Vickerman – word on the street is his knee is shot and may be forced to retire!
Dan V was in almost all my fantasy teams, had to do some mopping up when I first read he was out
@slammerboy (Comment 30) :
Elsom, as stated in the article, might be ready to face the Reds this weekend, he just sat out training today..
De Jongh out for the Stormers.
@Salmonoid (Comment 33) : Does that mean Habana moves to 13?
Joe Pietersen will miss the game against the Hurricanes with a hamstring niggle
Nick Koster is carrying a knee injury and will also miss the fixture
Not that he would have participate but Ruan Botha got concussed in the warm up so won’t be available
@slammerboy (Comment 35) : maybe you should right the weekly injury reports for the benefit of all those FL fans 🙂
@beet (Comment 36) : I’ll do some digging following the weekends games and then let you know who is in A&E or the hospital or physio bed
@slammerboy (Comment 5) :
Eina! 😯
I’m gonna look at every window with trepidation for the rest of my life.
Morning SW 🙂
gee this FL is getting to me trades and trades with all the injury’s
KSA?
can we PLEASe start over i think most of us did our teams to early
@chaz (Comment 39) :
Trades this week are still free Chaz..
They only start counting once the rugby actually starts
Can anyone tell me how long will
Dan Carter, Richie McCaw, Siale Piutau Adam Ashley Cooper and most odf all Jean Deysel be out for 😕
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 40) :
Thanks that is great
@chaz (Comment 41) :
Dan Carter and Richie McCaw will likely only be back in April..
Adam Ashley Cooper will only be out for a few weeks, maybe even just one..
Deysel will be back for when the Sharks go on tour, end of March
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 43) :
Thanks Rich
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 43) :
And Siale Piutau
@chaz (Comment 45) :
I don’t know…
@chaz (Comment 45) : chaz injuries are listed in the main article. If you hear of any please do let us know esp for those who play the FR
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 46) : Thanks can u find out please (somehow)
@slammerboy (Comment 47) :
I know i read it but those i named are in my FL and would not like to trade them if they are only out for a week or 2, but if i do get to now i will let SW know 🙂 😉
@chaz (Comment 48) : is your google broken?
@chaz (Comment 48) :
Yeah sure Chaz..
Let me just my job on hold while I make sure you don’t lose a trade..
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 50) : you’re a legend 🙂
@chaz (Comment 48) :
At least six weeks
@chaz (Comment 48) : Siale Piutau had an ankle operation… I wouldn’t count on him being back any time soon. Not sure why you’d want him in your squad anyway, but hey, that’s just me…
He shares a birthday with me. Amazing things you learn when doing Google searches on behalf of other people…. 🙂
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 50) :
eish Rich you really don’t have to do that, i was only asking if you do hear sth will you let us know please 🙁
@robdylan (Comment 49) : No why,
what did i do wrong now 😕
The rest of the Highlanders injuries:
• Kade Poki – knee (return unknown)
• Colin Slade – hernia (another two weeks)
• Siale Piutau – ankle (six weeks)
• Kendrick Lynn – neck (two months)
• Tamati Ellison – Japan (two weeks)
• Shaun Treeby – knee (unknown)
• James Haskell – Japan (two weeks)
• Josh Bekhuis hip – (unknown)
• Jarrad Hoeata shoulder – (two months)
• Jamie Mackintosh pelvis – (unknown)
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 55) :
Both Haskell and Ellison are now back with the Highlanders, as per my article yesterday.
@robdylan (Comment 53) : thanks Rob,
i don’t know either, its the thing with me sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, that is just going with my heart and not with my head its a name thing i guess 😉
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 55) :
thanks Rich
@robdylan (Comment 51) : 😆