Qantas wallabies
Wallabies secure bonus point win over lacklustre Boks
South Africa went down 30-17 to Australia in the Rugby Championship with the Wallabies recoding back-to-back wins against the Springboks for the first time...
Australia face the world champions in the Rugby Championship at the Gold Coast on Sunday, desperate to improve after three straight defeats to the All Blacks.
The Melbourne Rebels backrower was set to become Wallaby 926 when he ran out in the number eight jersey.
In a footage released by Rugby Australia, 23-year-old Tupou, who weighs 135 kg, had two patch dressings on his right forearm following the incident.
Rugby Australia said it had made repeated attempts to contact the fullback since his controversial Instagram post claiming "hell awaits" gays on Wednesday.
Pulu lasted less than 10 minutes with his new club against the Melbourne Rebels before he suffered the injury on Friday.
The Boks could not have wished for a better start to the game when star winger Aphiwe Dyantyi snatched an intercept pass from Kurtley Beale to score with barely a minute on the board.
With the Wallabies under fire after slipping to seventh in the world rankings, Michael Cheika said he was ready to play ‘any combination’.
The 30-year-old Pocock also shifts from number eight to openside flanker, with Pete Samu coming into the starting lineup at the back of the scrum for Saturday’s clash.
South Africa started slowly in the manner that has become a habit this season.
The Wallabies need a win at the Auckland stronghold to dent the All Blacks’ title defence and push the Bledisloe Cup to a decider.
Folau fell awkwardly after an aerial contest during the second half of the 38-13 loss at Sydney’s Olympic stadium and hobbled off the ground.
Australia scrumhalf Will Genia has known only disappointment in his seven campaigns since his 2009 debut against the All Blacks.
David Pocock, who sat out the 2017 season on a sabbatical, was a constant menace at the breakdown as the Irish fell to the first defeat in 13 Tests.
The Wallabies centre was forced off the pitch in Durban and could miss the second leg of the 20,000-kilometre trek, which takes the Waratahs from South Africa to Argentina.
The defeat also ended what has been an enigmatic and frustrating international programme for the team.
The world champions thrashed Australia 54-34 in Sydney last week and can retain the symbol of trans-Tasman supremacy for a 15th successive season.
Coach Cheika has serious doubts of Folau’s availability while Hooper was suspended for 1 week.
Besides the Boks, injury woes have hit England, Australia and Scotland.