HSBC Waratahs lock Kane Douglas will make his international debut this Saturday when the Wallabies take on Argentina.
In fine form, Douglas helped his Southern Districts club to its maiden Grand Final, starring in last weekend’s 41-22 victory over Manly.
On the day his Souths’ teammates make their Grand Final debut, Douglas will now complete his rise to international honours, becoming Australia’s 863rd Test player.
The most represented state in the Wallabies side, the 23-year-old Maclean-born lock is among six NSW players to be named in the starting XV for this Saturday night’s Test against Argentina in The Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship at the Gold Coast’s Skilled Park.
His chance comes after his NSW team mate Sitaleki Timani injured a hamstring in last weekend’s victory over the Springboks.
Said Qantas Wallabies coach Robbie Deans, “Kane has been with us a fair while now, has worked hard and provides us with a similar set-piece presence as Sita [Timani] does.
“He’s a big man so he will help anchor the scrum on the tight head side in a similar way to how Sita has. Kane also has the benefit of plenty of recent match play under his belt in club rugby, which will help make his introduction to Test rugby a little easier.”
The Wallabies will be captained by experienced lock Nathan Sharpe after Will Genia last weekend became the third Wallaby captain for the year to have been sidelined by injury.
The addition of Douglas is the only change to the starting pack from that subdued the Springbok eight last weekend. HSBC Waratahs hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau retains his starting position, having performed strongly after replacing Stephen Moore in Perth last weekend when the Brumbies hooker strained his hamstring at training. Polota-Nau is joined in the front row by his state team mate Benn Robinson. Dave Dennis and Adam Ashley-Cooper retain the six and 13 jerseys respectively, while Berrick Barnes moves from 12 to fullback to accommodate the return of regular inside centre Pat McCabe.
“Berrick has good grounding at the back while his ability to take just about every point-scoring opportunity on offer [with his goal-kicking] was highlighted once again last weekend,” Deans says.
“His presence provides good balance to the backline, while giving us the opportunity to throw Kurtley (Beale) in where he will be at his most dangerous, against a tiring defensive line as the game opens up and he can get out there with a license to play.”
Los Pumas arrived on the Gold Coast last Sunday for what will be Argentina’s first appearance in Australia since the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
That tournament opened with an 8-23 loss to Australia in what was the most recent Test match between the two countries. Sharpe is the only Wallaby survivor from that occasion.
While winless to date in The Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship, Los Pumas have made both of their opponents uncomfortable, with the competition newcomers making most of the running in a 16-16 draw with South Africa at Mendoza last month, before giving the All Blacks a scare for much of last weekend’s Test in Wellington which was eventually lost 5-21.
This weekend’s match will be the 355th Test played by Argentina, with Los Pumas having won 196, lost 145 and drawn 10.
Argentina beat both France and Italy at home in June, sharing the series with the former despite France fielding much of the side which qualified for last year’s Rugby World Cup final.
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The Qantas Wallabies team to play Argentina on Saturday in The Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship at Skilled Park on the Gold Coast (kick-off: 8pm AEST) is:
15. Berrick Barnes (HSBC Waratahs)
14. Dominic Shipperley (Queensland Reds)
13. Adam Ashley-Cooper (HSBC Waratahs)
12. Pat McCabe (Brumbies)
11. Digby Ioane (Queensland Reds)
10. Quade Cooper (Queensland Reds)
9. Nick Phipps (Melbourne Rebels)
8. Radike Samo (Queensland Reds)
7. Michael Hooper (Brumbies)
6. Dave Dennis (HSBC Waratahs)
5. Nathan Sharpe (Western Force, captain)
4. Kane Douglas (HSBC Waratahs)
3. Ben Alexander (Brumbies)
2. Tatafu Polota Nau (HSBC Waratahs)
1. Benn Robinson (HSBC Waratahs)
Replacements
16. Stephen Moore (Brumbies) or Saia Fainga’a (Queensland Reds)
17. James Slipper (Queensland Reds)
18. Scott Higginbotham (Queensland Reds)
19. Liam Gill (Queensland Reds)
20. Brett Sheehan (Western Force)
21. Anthony Fainga’a (Queensland Reds)
22. Kurtley Beale (Melbourne Rebels)
Australia v Argentina – Historical Notes
- Australia and Argentina have met on 17 previous occasions in Test matches, with the Qantas Wallabies winning 12 of these, Los Pumas four, while the two teams drew 19-19 at Buenos Aires in 1987.
- This will be Argentina’s first appearance on Australian soil since the 2003 Rugby World Cup where Los Pumas featured in the tournament’s opening match against the hosts.
- Argentina’s maiden appearance on Australian soil came in Queensland 29 years ago, with the visitors being inspired by their legendary flyhalf Hugo Porta as they caused a major upset in beating the Wallabies 18-3 at Ballymore in Brisbane. Australia recovered from the shock to take the second Test of that series.
- Los Pumas have now played nine Tests in Australia but have been unable to add to that win on debut.
Australia v Argentina in Australia
1983: Argentina 18, Australia 3
1983: Australia 29, Argentina 13
1986: Australia 39, Argentina 19
1986: Australia 26, Argentina 0
1995: Australia 53, Argentina 7
1995: Australia 30, Argentina 13
2000: Australia 53, Argentina 6
2000: Australia 32, Argentina 25
2003: Australia 24, Argentina 8 (RWC)
Skilled Park, Gold Coast
The Gold Coast will become the 11th city to have hosted Test matches in Australia, and the eighth home Test venue for the Qantas Wallabies.
Up until this year, Australia’s home Test matches have been the exclusive domain of the country’s six largest cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Canberra and Adelaide. Newcastle became home venue number seven for the Hopetoun Cup Test against Scotland earlier in the year. Gosford, Townsville and Launceston all hosted Test matches during the 2003 Rugby World Cup, although these did not feature the Wallabies
Constructed between 2006 and 2008 by the same company that rebuilt Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium. Like Suncorp, Skilled Park is owned by the Queensland State Government under the banner of Queensland Stadiums Ltd. It hosted its first rugby international last year when the Australian Barbarians beat Canada 38-14 in a Rugby World Cup warm-up match.
Last year it became the venue for the Gold Coast Sevens – Fever Pitch tournament, the Australian leg of the International Rugby Board Sevens circuit.
Is the home venue for the Gold Coast Titans rugby league team in the NRL and also hosted the now defunct Gold Coast United in Australia’s A-League domestic football competition.Also hosts the annual rugby league All-stars game at the start of each season