Wallaby star coming out of 'retirement' to rattle Boks?
SPOTLIGHT: Wallaby head coach Joe Schmidt could spring a surprise when he unveils his squad for their two Tests against the Springboks in South Africa.
The Wallabies will start their Rugby Championship campaign in Johannesburg on August 16 before they face the Boks again in Cape Town on August 23.
There will be a spotlight on the scrumhalf position and especially Nic White.
White started in the Final Test against the British and Irish Lions after announcing his retirement from the international game following the clash in Sydney last Saturday.
However, Jake Gordon’s hamstring injury could be the catalyst to put Nic White’s retirement plans on hold.
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Some reports coming out of Australia indicate that Gordon will not be available for the Tests against the Boks.
Quoted by Australian media, Schmidt, who will leave his post as head coach next year with Les Kiss taking over, hinted that there could be more for the scrumhalf.
“Whitey will rival me, maybe, in terms of being like [Australian singer] Johnny Farnham, there’s one more tour.
“Jake did pick up a little hamstring [injury] right at the end of training on Thursday, we’re just tracking and seeing how that goes, but we’re not going to take risks with people.
“We’ll announce an updated squad on Wednesday; it won’t be massively different because people earn the gold jersey and there are guys who did that tonight [in the 22-12 win on Saturday].”
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Meanwhile, White added: “If duty calls, I absolutely love wearing the jersey.
“Right now, this has been an absolute fairytale.
“That was proper special. I’m just counting my lucky stars.”
White is also no stranger to controversy when it comes to facing the Boks.
Back in 2022, during the Wallabies’ 25-17 victory in Adelaide, there was an incident that caused an uproar in the rugby fraternity.
In the 39th minute, White ‘earned’ Australia a man advantage after he received a glancing blow to the moustache from opposite number Faf de Klerk.
White appeared to look up to the referee and then drop to the ground following the minor collision, leading many to believe that he had made the most of the contact to eke out a penalty.
De Klerk was subsequently sent to the sin-bin
Source: The Daily Telegraph (Australia)
Faf De Klerk saw yellow for this slap to Nic White 🟨
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