Wallaby coach hopping mad after Latham injury blow
Latham requires knee reconstruction and has been ruled out of the entire Super 14 season.
“It was just one of those freak accidents that happens in sport,” Queensland Reds coach Eddie Jones said of the injury, but Wallaby coach John Connolly is furious that Latham was even in a potential injury situation.
Latham had just returned from the Wallaby training camp in Canberra, and was one of 22 players to be kept out of all possible contact situations for the next few days.
“We’re going to ask for a report out of Queensland about how it happened because he was in the 22 group supposedly staying out of all contact,” said Connolly.
“It happened on Saturday, the day after he’d had a three-day camp at the AIS (Australian Institute of Sport) with us. We’ve got to get a full report out of it to understand exactly what happened.”
Connolly was still hopeful Latham would be available for the World Cup, which starts in France in September, but confessed that the full-back’s Super 14 prospects were almost zero.
“We haven’t got the full picture yet,” he said.
“He’s seeing a specialist again, but yes, he has to have his ACL done and it is very disappointing.
“We have got six months, so we have to make sure we find the best rehab for him and get him back on deck, but these things do take time.”
Both Latham and Jones defended their position about the training at a press conference, with Latham saying he didn’t think he had been told not to train.
Latham said it was his decision to train with the Reds, while Jones said there were no clear edicts from the Australian Rugby Union over how Super 14 sides handled their star Wallabies.
“There’s been no clear edict one way or the other from the ARU and anyone who says otherwise is lying, and Lath wanted to train on Saturday,” Jones said.
“If we had more players with Chris’s attitude I think we’d be doing a little bit better.
“What do you do, not train? You can’t get around the fact rugby’s a physical sport. You can do your back in picking up your baby — do you stop players being a father at home?
Latham said: “It’s one of those stupid, freakish things... a week ago I was behind a boat skiing and nothing happened, and now all of a sudden I go out and train like I have for the last 10 or 11 years and this happens.
“You just can’t help an accident.”
Latham, with 72 Wallaby caps to his name, is a key member of the Australian team.
With previous cover man Mat Rogers heading back to rugby league, Australia are short of options.
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