Latest news with #Alaalatoa
Perth Now
6 days ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
Injured star prop targeting Rugby Championship return
Credited with inspiring the Wallabies to their rousing third Test victory over the British and Irish Lions, injured prop Allan Alaalatoa remains hopeful of returning through the Rugby Championship. Initially set to undergo surgery on his shoulder after injuring it in the second Test in Melbourne, Alaalatoa is instead back in Canberra completing intensive rehab in the hope of re-joining the Wallabies for the four-nation tournament. The 31-year-old is expected to be sidelined for six to eight weeks, meaning he has a chance of returning for the second Test against Argentina in Sydney on September 13, or the first match against New Zealand at Auckland's Eden Park two weeks later. Set to fly out to Johannesburg on Friday with the first Test against the world champion Springboks on Sunday August 17 (AEDT), injured halves Tom Lynagh (concussion) and Jake Gordon (hamstring) remain a possibility to be on the plane. "I'm doing re-hab, hoping to be back at some stage throughout the Rugby Championship," Alaalatoa said at the Brumbies' awards night, after winning the Brett Robinson Players' Player of the Year for a fourth time. "I'm back at Brums now re-habbing and spending a bit of family time." Alaalatoa drew high praise from his Test coach Joe Schmidt and Wallabies captain Harry Wilson for putting his body on the line in the second Test, which Australia lost with a try at the death. He suffered the injury in the 14th minute but bravely remained on the field until halftime. Schmidt revealed after the third Test that the Brumbies captain had addressed the Wallabies in the lead-up to the match, helping motivate the players after they'd blown an 18-point lead in game two. He described Alaalatoa as a "talismanic" player. "Allan Alaalatoa came in and spoke to the players - he hurt his shoulder in the 14th minute (in game two), played the whole first half with one wing," Schmidt said. "I think it was a little bit of the inspiration the players needed. "We were flat early in the week and and we got a little bit of an upswing, but I really think Allan helped." Wilson, who has now led the team in 11 Tests, said seven-time captain Alaalatoa was an "integral" member of the squad and his words resonated with the playing group as they delivered one of their best performances of recent times. "The thing with Allan, what he says he delivers, and he's spoken to us quite a bit about being willing to put your body on the line for the team, doing whatever it takes to win," Wilson said. "He's probably the most integral part of our team, our squad; he's a leader in every facet of it, and so when he came in and spoke to us about what we need to be willing to do for each other to win a game, it really did hit home. "Firstly, because there's evidence of what he's done, and secondly he's just the most important and influential person around us, so I feel so happy that we got the result so he'll be proud of us." Schmidt is expected to name his travelling squad on Wednesday. He forecast few changes. He confirmed that players taking their career off-shore, such as forwards Taniela Tupou, Tom Hooper and Langi Gleeson, were available while halfback Nic White, who announced his international retirement in Sydney, could also make a return given the fitness cloud over Gordon. "Whitey will rival me maybe in terms of being kind of like Johnny Farnham - you know, there's one more tour - as Jake did pick up a little bit of a hamstring right at the end of training on Thursday," Schmidt said. "We're just tracking and seeing how that goes, but we're not going to take risks with people so we will probably announce an updated squad on Wednesday. "It won't be massively different because because people earn the gold jersey and and there's some guys who did that."
The Age
02-08-2025
- Sport
- The Age
‘Special things ahead': Lions coach says Wallabies will be a force at 2027 World Cup
'I said to Joe (Schmidt) before the game there on the pitch that I think special things are going to happen for this team over the next 18 months, and by the time the World Cup comes around they'll be a force to be reckoned with, like everyone's seen in the past. 'They've got some special athletes and some special players and that's no surprise to us of how they've performed over the last couple of weeks.' When informed of Farrell's comments, Schmidt joked he agrees 'with everything Faz tells me'. 'Faz and I would be good friends, go back a long way, have worked together a lot and we would also be quite like minded around probably studying other teams,' Schmidt said. 'I'd like to think that he's right.' The Wallabies' victory in Sydney opened the door for the series win by the Lions to carry an asterisk - given the contentious nature of the end of the second Test at the MCG, where the Wallabies argued Jac Morgan's cleanout on Carlo Tizzano, prior to Hugo Keenan's matchwinning try, was illegal. But Schmidt didn't want to go down that road after the game on Saturday night, which had crept into early Sunday morning by the time the teams finished their media duties. 'We can't get those points back,' Schmidt said. 'We can only try to win the points that are ahead of us. I think I've said before I'm very boring and pragmatic and all we can do is try to affect what happens to us in the future and try to control as much of that as possible by trying to grow. 'The one thing I would say is I felt we grew through the series. We lost the first half of the series poorly, we won the second half, we played well in the first half of the second test, didn't succeed eventually in that test but I felt we deserved to win both halves today. 'We fought our way through very difficult conditions and got destabilised a couple of times but fought our way through that as well.' Schmidt and Wallabies captain Harry Wilson both revealed the power of Alaalatoa's address to the team on Friday, after the side had struggled to bounce back from the disappointment of losing a thriller in Melbourne. Schmidt said Alaalatoa had badly injured his shoulder in the 14th minute of the MCG Test but played out the first half in pain and 'with one wing'. 'It was a little bit of the inspiration the players needed yesterday,' Schmidt said. 'We were flat early in the week and we got a little bit of an upswing, but I really think Alan helped.' Wilson said Alaalatoa had spoken to the team about having to be prepared to suffer to win. 'The thing with Allan, what he says he delivers - and he's spoken to us quite a bit about willing to put your body on the line for the team, whatever it takes to win,' Wilson said. 'In that game in Melbourne he tore his shoulder pretty early and he put his body on the line for the next 25 minutes. 'When he came in and spoke to us the day before a game about what we need to be willing to do for each other to win a game, it really did hit home.' The Wallabies now turn their attention to two games in South Africa for the Rugby Championship, and Schmidt said he will name a squad on Wednesday. He confirmed Jake Gordon was in doubt after injuring a hamstring at training, which could see Nic White push out his international retirement for a few more weeks. White was outstanding against the Lions and received a standing ovation when he came off, but Schmidt joked: 'Whitey will rival me maybe in terms of being kind of like Johnny Farnham, one more tour.'
Sydney Morning Herald
02-08-2025
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Special things ahead': Lions coach says Wallabies will be a force at 2027 World Cup
'I said to Joe (Schmidt) before the game there on the pitch that I think special things are going to happen for this team over the next 18 months, and by the time the World Cup comes around they'll be a force to be reckoned with, like everyone's seen in the past. 'They've got some special athletes and some special players and that's no surprise to us of how they've performed over the last couple of weeks.' When informed of Farrell's comments, Schmidt joked he agrees 'with everything Faz tells me'. 'Faz and I would be good friends, go back a long way, have worked together a lot and we would also be quite like minded around probably studying other teams,' Schmidt said. 'I'd like to think that he's right.' The Wallabies' victory in Sydney opened the door for the series win by the Lions to carry an asterisk - given the contentious nature of the end of the second Test at the MCG, where the Wallabies argued Jac Morgan's cleanout on Carlo Tizzano, prior to Hugo Keenan's matchwinning try, was illegal. But Schmidt didn't want to go down that road after the game on Saturday night, which had crept into early Sunday morning by the time the teams finished their media duties. 'We can't get those points back,' Schmidt said. 'We can only try to win the points that are ahead of us. I think I've said before I'm very boring and pragmatic and all we can do is try to affect what happens to us in the future and try to control as much of that as possible by trying to grow. 'The one thing I would say is I felt we grew through the series. We lost the first half of the series poorly, we won the second half, we played well in the first half of the second test, didn't succeed eventually in that test but I felt we deserved to win both halves today. 'We fought our way through very difficult conditions and got destabilised a couple of times but fought our way through that as well.' Schmidt and Wallabies captain Harry Wilson both revealed the power of Alaalatoa's address to the team on Friday, after the side had struggled to bounce back from the disappointment of losing a thriller in Melbourne. Schmidt said Alaalatoa had badly injured his shoulder in the 14th minute of the MCG Test but played out the first half in pain and 'with one wing'. 'It was a little bit of the inspiration the players needed yesterday,' Schmidt said. 'We were flat early in the week and we got a little bit of an upswing, but I really think Alan helped.' Wilson said Alaalatoa had spoken to the team about having to be prepared to suffer to win. 'The thing with Allan, what he says he delivers - and he's spoken to us quite a bit about willing to put your body on the line for the team, whatever it takes to win,' Wilson said. 'In that game in Melbourne he tore his shoulder pretty early and he put his body on the line for the next 25 minutes. 'When he came in and spoke to us the day before a game about what we need to be willing to do for each other to win a game, it really did hit home.' The Wallabies now turn their attention to two games in South Africa for the Rugby Championship, and Schmidt said he will name a squad on Wednesday. He confirmed Jake Gordon was in doubt after injuring a hamstring at training, which could see Nic White push out his international retirement for a few more weeks. White was outstanding against the Lions and received a standing ovation when he came off, but Schmidt joked: 'Whitey will rival me maybe in terms of being kind of like Johnny Farnham, one more tour.'
Hindustan Times
29-07-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Wallabies lose veteran prop Alaalatoa for third Lions Test
Veteran Australia prop Allan Alaalatoa was ruled out of the third British and Irish Lions Test Tuesday, the Wallabies' second injury blow in as many days. Wallabies lose veteran prop Alaalatoa for third Lions Test Alaalatoa hurt his shoulder during last week's crushing last-minute 29-26 defeat in the second Test at Melbourne, not returning after half-time as the Lions clinched the series 2-0. His absence explains the call-up on Monday of former All Blacks prop Aidan Ross, who has linked up with the Wallabies for the first time. It is more likely, however, that Tom Robertson, who came off the bench in the first two Tests, or Taniela Tupou will start in the front row on Saturday in Sydney. "He's a massive part of the group," forward Jeremy Williams said of Alaalatoa. "We just wish him the best in his recovery and hopefully he'll be back out there soon." Williams had praise for Ross, who was born in Australia before moving to New Zealand as a child, playing one Test for the All Blacks in 2022 before switching allegiances this year. The 29-year-old was a long-time Waikato Chiefs player but he will play for Queensland Reds from next season. "He's a great bloke and he trains really hard," said Williams. "He's been in a few different systems now so I'm sure he's going to add a lot of value to the group." Wing Harry Potter has also been ruled out injured, with coach Joe Schmidt having several options to replace him, including Dylan Pietsch, Filipo Daugunu and Corey Toole. Australia head into the game desperate to avoid a whitewash, after losing the opening Test in Brisbane 27-19. Lock Nick Frost said the team were hungry for another shot at Andy Farrell's men after their disappointment at losing in Melbourne to Hugo Keenan's controversial late try. "There's a bit of fire in the belly from the last couple of games, and you're playing in Sydney, for a lot of the boys, that's hometown," he said. "You're playing for your nation, playing for your family first and foremost too." mp/dh This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
France 24
29-07-2025
- Sport
- France 24
Wallabies lose veteran prop Alaalatoa for third Lions Test
Alaalatoa hurt his shoulder during last week's crushing last-minute 29-26 defeat in the second Test at Melbourne, not returning after half-time as the Lions clinched the series 2-0. His absence explains the call-up on Monday of former All Blacks prop Aidan Ross, who has linked up with the Wallabies for the first time. It is more likely, however, that Tom Robertson, who came off the bench in the first two Tests, or Taniela Tupou will start in the front row on Saturday in Sydney. "He's a massive part of the group," forward Jeremy Williams said of Alaalatoa. "We just wish him the best in his recovery and hopefully he'll be back out there soon." Williams had praise for Ross, who was born in Australia before moving to New Zealand as a child, playing one Test for the All Blacks in 2022 before switching allegiances this year. The 29-year-old was a long-time Waikato Chiefs player but he will play for Queensland Reds from next season. "He's a great bloke and he trains really hard," said Williams. "He's been in a few different systems now so I'm sure he's going to add a lot of value to the group." Wing Harry Potter has also been ruled out injured, with coach Joe Schmidt having several options to replace him, including Dylan Pietsch, Filipo Daugunu and Corey Toole. Australia head into the game desperate to avoid a whitewash, after losing the opening Test in Brisbane 27-19. Lock Nick Frost said the team were hungry for another shot at Andy Farrell's men after their disappointment at losing in Melbourne to Hugo Keenan's controversial late try. "There's a bit of fire in the belly from the last couple of games, and you're playing in Sydney, for a lot of the boys, that's (their) hometown," he said.
