Deans left to rue missed opportunities and broken bodies, Wallabies captain James Horwill may be in doubt for the second Test after being cited for stamping British and Irish Lions lock Alun-Wyn Jones on Saturday night. The alleged incident occured in the third minute of the Lions' 23-21 win against the Wallabies at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. The Lions referred the allegation to the ARU-appointed commissioner after the game, with Horwill due to appear at a judicial hearing in Melbourne on Sunday night. It is another blow to the Australian camp.
A game plan months in the making was ripped to shreds within 45 seconds of play starting at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night. Brumbies playmaker Christian Lealiifano was the Wallabies first-choice goal kicker. When he went down in a tackle on British and Irish Lions centre Jonathan Davies so did the Wallabies fortunes. The team's next best options with the boot, five-eighth James O'Connor and replacement fullback Kurtley Beale missed a combined 14 points during the course of the match. "We could have won that game, it was right on a platter for us at the end," O'Connor said. "I��m not putting any pressure on Kurtley at all,http://www.playoffs12s.biz/, he came on and made such a huge difference ... It wasn��t the best surface at all,http://www.phoenixsun8s.biz/, but you can��t put it on that. I don��t want to make excuses myself, I slipped up and didn��t have the best game off the boot."
Lealiifano's concussion was only the start of the carnage. Before the half was out fullback Berrick Barnes was stretchered off with a head knock, Pat McCabe appeared to injure his neck in the 47th minute and Adam Ashley-Cooper played the final few minutes of the match with what appeared to be a busted shoulder. Wallabies coach Robbie Deans said he had not seen anything like the concentration of injuries in one game before. "It's very frustrating,http://www.jordangrapes5s.biz/, I'm proud of the effort the boys put in but it was a trying circumstance and to put themselves in the position to be able to win the game was a good effort," Deans said. "But we didn't so we go to Melbourne now,http://www.bugsbunnys8s.biz/, having to win." The sight of McCabe in a neck brace and Ashley-Cooper in a sling under the stands post-match was sobering. The Wallabies will wait for full medical reports on each player before making decisions about calling in replacements. But Beale's elevation to the starting line up now seems necessary, with Barnes, McCabe and Ashley-Cooper in serious doubt for the second Test and concussion protocols governing Lealiifano's path from here.
"It would appear that there will be a need for some change ... but let's hope it is not as grave as it appeared in the first instance," Deans said. He may well ponder the selection of O'Connor at five-eighth in Melbourne, conceding the Rebels back had a "difficult night" in the chief playmaking role. "The [injury] disruptions didn't help but I guess he was at the heart of working our way into a position where we could win the game, so you've probably got to give him credit for that, under the circumstance,http://www.squadronblues13s.biz/," he said.