Guilty Elsom rubbed out for Jo'burg - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Guilty Elsom rubbed out for Jo'burg

By David Beniuk 26/08/2008 08:10:19 PM Comments (0)

The Wallabies will get another glimpse of the future on Saturday after Rocky Elsom was suspended for Saturday's Tri Nations Test against South Africa.

Elsom was rubbed out for one game by the SANZAR judiciary which finally found him guilty on Tuesday of dangerous play during the second half of Australia's drought-breaking 27-15 win against the Springboks in Durban on Saturday.

The flanker had been cited after pulling down Springboks jumper Victor Matfield in a lineout.

Elsom attended a two-hour hearing on Monday, only for citing commissioner Nick Davidson QC to postpone his decision until Tuesday.

Australia's team at Ellis Park will now take on the look of the near future without injured lock Dan Vickerman (shoulder) and flanker Elsom, who will both bow out of Test rugby when they head to Europe at season's end.

Reinforcement Nathan Sharpe has joined his team-mates at their base north of Durban but could find himself down the pecking order below rising stars Dean Mumm and Hugh McMeniman.

Sharpe, Mumm and McMeniman will vie for the blindside flanker position and one of the lock spots, with the man missing out likely to sit on the bench.

McMeniman has finally recovered from a bout of food poisoning which forced him out of last Saturday's match and laid him low for three days.

"If it was to happen I think you'd just have to take it in your stride," Mumm said.

"I think I've taken a lot of confidence out of (Saturday), and not knowing I was going to be there (because of McMeniman's illness), and yet the team had such a good result."

The Wallabies trained Tuesday for the first time since Saturday's win, fittingly for Kiwi coach Robbie Deans at the Durban Crusaders' ground.

Australia have only once won successive Tests in South Africa - in 1963 when the Wallabies beat the Boks 9-5 in Cape Town and 11-9 in Johannesburg two weeks later.

The seemingly minor nature of Elsom's offence and the disruption caused by the length of time it took for the verdict have been the causes of frustration for the Wallabies.

Asked if he was surprised by the result, Deans said: "I'm not surprised by anything really in the game these days.

"You enter, you do your best and you hope for the best and you have to live I guess with what you're delivered."

Deans said it was too early to comment on whether the Wallabies would appeal.

"I'll read the release and then we'll go from there," he said.

Elsom was the man-of-the-match last Saturday but Deans said the team would deal with the challenge of his omission.

"Every week there's players who are injured and unavailable to us, Luke Burgess it one example, but there's a queue of blokes who are waiting for their opportunity as well so it will be what it is," he said.

"Nathan Sharpe has flown over as a contingency, we have all the other blokes who are on tour and Hugh McMeniman's back on his feet after his illness so the whole group will be considered.

"I guess a suspension it not typical, but it's a typical week in terms of managing your mix."

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