Sneaki
Academy Player
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2007
- Messages
- 172
- Country Flag
- Club or Nation
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/4896735/Slade-breaks-jaw-World-Cup-hopes-dashed
A real shame if he's not in the WC frame, he was looking like the best backup for Carter by a long way. If he is out it will be interesting to see who the backup is. Delany has looked reasonably good, McAlister possibly?
Colin Slade's Super Rugby season looks to be over and his World Cup hopes might be dashed as well after suffering another broken jaw in last night's win over the Melbourne Rebels across the Tasman.
The young first five went off early after a clash of heads in this physical match in Melbourne which the Highlanders won 40-18, scoring a valuable bonus point in the process.
Slade was rushed to hospital and remained there as the team flew back to their Dunedin base today.
The Highlanders confirmed Slade has broken the other side of his jaw after suffering a similar injury in the preseason. It's a cruel blow for him and also for the Highlanders as they look to push on in this exciting season.
Slade's first broken jaw kept him on the sidelines for nine weeks. He returned to action in round seven and starred in the home wins over the Brumbies and Cheetahs before disaster struck again last night.
"I'm not a doctor but it doesn't look good for him," Highlanders assistant coach Simon Culhane said this morning as the team prepared to leave Melbourne with their sixth win of the season under their belts.
"We really feel for him."
The 23-year-old had come back strongly from his initial injury over the past few weeks to play a key role with his strong attacking game and goalkicking as the Highlanders campaign continued to gather momentum.
Having made an impressive test debut in the All Blacks Bledisloe Cup win in Sydney last September, Slade was surprisingly overlooked for the end of year tour north when the All Blacks returned Waikato's Stephen Donald to their ranks as Dan Carter's backup in the No 10 jersey.
Having bravely made the shift to the Highlanders from the Crusaders to get out of Carter's shadow, Slade had everything to play for this season and was making a good fist of it until this latest disaster struck.
The race to be the next best first five to Carter remains wide open. Slade, in his short time, with the Highlanders, had probably pushed his way to the front of that queue.
But now halfway through regular season play in the Super Rugby calendar, it's hard to see him getting back into action with the Highlanders unless there is a medical miracle.
With just a warmup test against Fiji to be played immediately after Super Rugby and a reduced Tri-Nations championship rushed before the World Cup, opportunities will be limited for Slade if he does get off the casualty list.
The Highlanders' latest win keeps them on the pace in the New Zealand conference and, of course, their hopes of being in the six-team playoffs.
The Highlanders play the Crusaders in Nelson in the next round and that would have been an ideal chance for Slade to go head-to-head with Carter.
Southland's Robbie Robinson took over at first five last night and did a good job in general play although his goalkicking was erratic.
A real shame if he's not in the WC frame, he was looking like the best backup for Carter by a long way. If he is out it will be interesting to see who the backup is. Delany has looked reasonably good, McAlister possibly?
