Parts of this story are courtesy of Qantas Wallabies Media Unit
Four Sydney University Football Club (SUFC) representatives have been selected in coach Robbie Deans’ 30 Wallabies squad for next month’s Spring Tour to France, Italy and the United Kingdom.
SUFC fly-half Berrick Barnes, halfback Nick Phipps and flanker Dave Dennis will be joined in the Australian touring party by uncapped prop Paddy Ryan.
Ryan (B. Business) and Dennis (Grad. Dip. in Commerce) both hold Sydney Uni Sport & Fitness (SUSF) Elite Athlete Program (EAP) scholarships.
The squad features an 18-forward, 12-back split, with five props selected to cater for the new arrangements regarding front-row substitutes which requires two props to be included on an eight-man Test reserves bench.
The tour begins in Paris where Australia will be bidding for a record equalling sixth consecutive win against last year’s Rugby World Cup finalists, which would tie the Wallabies’ best winning run against Les Bleus, achieved between 1993 and 2000.
This tour will conclude with the year’s fourth meeting with current Six Nations champs Wales, who will be smarting after a 3-0 series defeat in June’s closely fought Castrol EDGE Wales Tour, where just 11 points separated the two teams across the three Tests.
Before that, the Wallabies will call at Twickenham, seeking to snap a two-game losing run against England, which saw the Cook Cup conceded after an 18-35 on the most recent visit to London in 2010.
The tour’s third match, which follows the Test in London, sees the Wallabies return to Florence, where Australia recorded a 32-14 win over Italy in 2010 in a game that marked Adam Ashley-Cooper’s 50th Test appearance, along with Pat McCabe’s first.
The Qantas Wallabies squad assembles in Sydney on Wednesday, and will attend the John Eales Medal presentation at the Sydney Convention Centre the following evening before departing for France on Saturday November 3.
The Qantas Wallabies squad for the 2012 Spring Tour is:
– Ben Alexander
– Adam Ashley-Cooper
– Berrick Barnes
– Kurtley Beale
– Nick Cummins
– Dave Dennis
– Kane Douglas
– Anthony Fainga’a
– Liam Gill
– James Hanson
– Mike Harris
– Michael Hooper
– Digby Ioane
– Sekope Kepu
– Pat McCabe
– Drew Mitchell
– Stephen Moore
– Wycliff Palu
– Nick Phipps
– David Pocock
– Tatafu Polota-Nau
– Benn Robinson
– Paddy Ryan
– Radike Samo
– Nathan Sharpe (c)
– Brett Sheehan
– Rob Simmons
– James Slipper
– Ben Tapuai
– Sitaleki Timani
2012 Spring Tour Matches
Trophée des Bicentenaries
10 November: Qantas Wallabies v France, Stade de France, Paris, 9pm (7am, 11 November AEDT)
Cook Cup
17 November: Qantas Wallabies v England, Twickenham, London, 2.35pm (1.35am, 18 November AEDT)
24 November: Qantas Wallabies v Italy, Stade Artemio, Florence, 3pm (1am, 25 November 25 AEDT)
James Bevan Trophy
1 December: Qantas Wallabies v Wales, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, 2.30pm (1.35am, 2 December 2 AEDT)
Parts of this story are courtesy of Qantas Wallabies Media Unit