Roff doubt, Latham recalled
August 15, 2001

The Wallabies could be without their two frontline wingers for Saturday's Test against the Springboks in Perth after Joe Roff sprained his ankle at training.

Andrew Walker was dropped from the squad earlier this week for disciplinary reasons and Roff's injury leaves the Wallabies facing the prospect of starting with two players not entirely familiar with the position.

Queensland fullback Chris Latham replaces Walker on one wing, while Brumbies utility Graeme Bond will come off the bench if Roff fails to recover.

"It's a grade one sprain which means he should be right for the match but as a precaution we've put Ben Tune on standby," Wallaby coach Eddie Jones said of Roff's injury.

Latham is the only change to the side that defeated the All Blacks 23-15 in Dunedin at the weekend.

Latham started at fullback in the First Test against the Lions in Brisbane, but was replaced by the Waratahs' Matt Burke for the Second Test. Latham previously played on the wing for New South Wales before moving to Queensland.

"We had several options in Latham, Bond and Ben Tune but in the end we decided to go with Latham because of his experience and kicking ability," Jones said. "Ben Tune has made extremely good progress since returning from injury but still needs game time and he'll play club rugby again this weekend.

"Graeme Bond thoroughly deserves his place in the 22, he's exciting and definitely a player of the future."

WALLABIES: 1. Nick Stiles, 2. Michael Foley, 3. Rod Moore, 4. Justin Harrison, 5. John Eales (c), 6. Owen Finegan, 7. George Smith, 8. Toutai Kefu, 9. George Gregan (v/c), 10. Stephen Larkham, 11. Joe Roff, 12. Nathan Grey, 13. Daniel Herbert, 14. Chris Latham, 15. Matthew Burke. Reserves: 16. Brendan Cannon, 17. Ben Darwin, 18. Matt Cockbain, 19. Phil Waugh, 20. Chris Whitaker, 21. Elton Flatley, 22. Graeme Bond.

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