Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has put an end to speculation his side fudged injuries to ensure their Rugby Championship clash against the Springboks was reduced to uncontested scrums in the second half.
The respected coach insisted that not only did the absence of three of their four props hurt them on the field but added it wasn’t in the spirit of the game to question the medical advice of independent doctors.
Schmidt’s comments came after a South African report said the SA Rugby had asked World Rugby to investigate the Wallabies’ medical records after starting props Angus Bell (injury) and Allan Alaalatoa (concussion) failed to return in the second half.
After replacement prop James Slipper also left the field with concussion, the final 32 minutes of the Test in Perth were reduced to uncontested scrums.
Following the clash, Schmidt said the Test was the most “bizarre” he’d been involved with given the heavy injury toll up front.
Angus Bell leaves the field against the Springboks at Optus Stadium on August 17, 2024 in Perth. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
Despite overcoming a resilient Wallabies side at half-time where the world champions held a narrow 11-9 lead, the Springboks ultimately ran out convincing 30-12 victories to move to the top of The Rugby Championship standings.
Nonetheless, the Springboks’ much-celebrated “bomb squad” wasn’t quite able to flex their muscle given the fact they couldn’t try to scrum the Wallabies out of the game.
It led to former Springboks captain Jean de Villiers questioning on the South African Rugby podcast whether the Wallabies had fudged their injuries to depower the world champions.
In response, current Springbok Lood de Jager said if indeed they were fudging the concussion, the timing of it in the second week of a two-match block would be ideal because it wouldn’t rule them out for their next Test.
“I think it’s a difficult one with them going off with concussion, there’s a certain protocol, it’s 12 days before you can play again if you go off the field with concussion,” de Jager said.
“So I think maybe that’s why they didn’t do it last week because they wouldn’t have guys available now [in Perth], but now with the week break and then another Test maybe they thought now is the time to do it.
“I don’t know because it’s so difficult to prove that they actually did it, but I did just think the timing would be kind of ideal if it was the case.”
The final half-hour of the Wallabies’ home Test against the Springboks at Optus Stadium on August 17, 2024 was reduced to uncontested scrums. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
Days after Alaalatoa was left surprised by the reports surfacing out of South Africa, Schmidt said the Wallabies were confident in their scrum and added that they suffered at the rolling maul in the absence of their front-rowers.
“I think that was pretty evident against Los Pumas,” Schmidt told reporters on Friday.
“I thought the scrum was one of our strong points in the game and it gave us a couple of access points that were sorely needed in the game.
“Angus Bell came off both for blood and an injury. Once you have substituted a player for injury they cannot return to the field of play.
“Then we had two head injuries that were assessed by an independent medical doctor, who I’m sure wouldn’t appreciate anyone questioning their independence.
“I think in the game we conceded three maul tries, we didn’t have our big men to combat those mauls.
“So it’s not like anything that we wanted to have happen but player welfare is paramount. When players are injured, particularly those two head injuries we got in the second half, it’s really important that the protocols for head injury assessments are followed. They both failed their HIA2 and their HIA3 as well.
“As far as I know, there has been no formal inquiry made to World Rugby. Certainly nothing that World Rugby has come back to us with and nothing that they have said that they felt was untoward.”
Asked to qualify that World Rugby hadn’t sought clarity, Schmist said “No.”
“As I said, World Rugby, as far as we know, haven’t had a formal request to investigate anything that happened,” Schmidt continued.
“They haven’t certainly come to us and they haven’t questioned anything that happened. Because, like us, they know the regulations and they’re driven to make sure that player welfare here is paramount.”
He added: “It’s someone’s prerogative if that’s what they believe. We all question things from afar at times, particularly when we’re not abreast of the valid information. But the information is black and white.”
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