May 27 (Reuters) – Captain James Horwill was left out of
Australia’s 39-man squad for the June tests against Wales and
Scotland after suffering a hamstring injury playing for the
Queensland Reds.
A statement from the Wallabies on Sunday said that the
towering lock had assembled with the squad and coaching staff in
Sydney and will undergo a scan on Monday but is expected to miss
out on the tests and so a new captain will have to be named.
Flyhalf Quade Cooper was named in the 39 despite playing
only 120 minutes of rugby since a serious knee injury sustained
at last year’s World Cup.
His inclusion in the squad, which features 15 uncapped
players, was a result of injury doubts over Melbourne Rebels duo
James O’Connor and Kurtley Beale, the Wallabies said.
Australia face Scotland on June 5 in Newcastle before the
first of three tests against Six Nations champions Wales on
successive weekends from June 9.
(Reporting by Patrick Johnston in Singapore. Editing by Sudipto
Ganguly)
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