By Ian Ransom
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australia loose forward Fraser McReight unknowingly played with a broken hand through all their July internationals, but has now recovered from surgery and is ready to put the bone to the test in the Rugby Championship against New Zealand.
The tough flanker sustained the injury in the opening minute of the first test of the season, against Wales, but played out the series and the one-off test against Georgia before the fracture was revealed by a scan.
“I thought it was hopefully a ligament (problem),” he told reporters on Monday.
“Obviously longevity and health is important so pretty happy I got (surgery) done and sorted.”
The precise nature of McReight’s injury was not announced while the back row enforcer was recuperating — and finding the Wallabies’ on-field struggles tough viewing from the sidelines.
Joe Schmidt’s team lost both their home tests to South Africa and suffered a record 67-27 hiding by Argentina in their last match away in Santa Fe to surrender their chance of winning the Rugby Championship.
However, winning the last two tests against Scott Robertson’s All Blacks would offer an arguably greater prize for Australian rugby — the Bledisloe Cup.
New Zealand have won the annual bilateral series every year since 2003.
Australia will need to win one of the Sydney and Wellington tests and at least draw the other to reclaim the Cup, and their chances seem remote on the strength of their abysmal form in Santa Fe — even if Scott Robertson’s All Blacks are coming off back-to-back away losses to South Africa.
McReight, whose tenacity at the breakdown was sorely missed by the Wallabies, played down the horror show in Santa Fe as an aberration.
“If you look at the two games over there, we played three great halves of footy and had one slip-up,” he said.
“Everyone’s … come back here, had a week off with family and friends, rejuvenated.
“Obviously (there’s) a buzz of playing the All Blacks, one of the best teams in the world and testing ourselves.
“So there’s not going to be a worry about the team not getting up for it.”
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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