Rogers and Sailor impress Jones
February 24, 2002
Wallaby coach Eddie Jones said he would reserve his judgment on the Super 12 debuts of rugby league converts Mat Rogers and Wendell Sailor. "At this stage it's a little bit premature to be saying anything," Jones said. "They were amongst a number of players that did well in the first round and I'm just looking forward to seeing them progress. "I don't think you can make any judgements on 80 minutes of football." Rogers, who previously played representative rugby at school, was particularly impressive, playing with confidence and proved a difficult man to tackle with the ball in hand. The former Sharks and Australian rugby league representative should keep the No.15 jersey with Wallaby Matt Burke having a strong game at outside-centre. "Positionally I felt more comfortable and with the ball I did ... but it's still not instinctive for me," Rogers said. Rogers' performance in defence was also impressive, including two crucial tackles that denied Chiefs wingers Roger Randle and Mark Ranby certain tries. "It was an excellent debut," Waratahs coach Bob Dwyer said. "They were great tackles ... and it was just when the Chiefs were looking to get back in the game." Sailor was relieved to get his first big game under his belt. "I just wanted to get the game out of the way, because obviously there's been a lot of hype and a lot of talk," Sailor said. "I don't think you get a harder match than the Brumbies away first up." |
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