Wright ruled out for season

[Sosume]

Sunday August 22 2010

Leinster's 41-6 hammering at the hands of Wasps on Friday night was the least of their worries after it emerged yesterday that prop Stan Wright is out for the season after rupturing his Achilles tendon in that match.

Leinster chief executive Mick Dawson confirmed yesterday that they will have to sit down with the IRFU to try to find a suitable replacement for Wright, who has been a cornerstone of the pack since joining in mid-season 2006/07 -- ironically as an emergency replacement for the injured Will Green. He has played 83 times for Leinster since then.

Wright will be operated on this week, after which the prognosis will be clearer.

"At the minute it doesn't look great and we're planning on the basis that we'll be without Stan (32 next month) until next year," Dawson said yesterday. "It's a serious setback given how good he has been for us and it doesn't help that most of the good props around the place are already under contract.

"Certainly we'll have to go outside Ireland to find a replacement and we've already been in touch with the IRFU on that. We'll try and identify someone as soon as possible and take it from there."

Losing someone of Wright's calibre is bad news at any stage but given the micro-management of Ireland players by Declan Kidney this season, with the 2011 World Cup in mind, the Cook Islander would have been an invaluable man to have around when the Test stars are away. As it is, new coach Joe Schmidt will have to cope without them until October.

That leaves him with newcomer Heinke van der Merwe, Mike Ross, and Ronan McCormack on full contracts, and Jack McGrath (development contract) to soldier through the early rounds of the Magners League until Cian Healy is freed by Ireland to play.

[ceemec]

Oh sweet f%~k? This is absolutely dreadful.

[simplythebest]

That's not good at all. We'll miss him big time.

[ceemec]

Going to be plenty of game time for Ross now. If he can't step up and show some fitness now, he never will. VDM is going to be a very important player for us now too as he can cover both sides. Interesting times ahead. Massive shame. At Stan's age it will be very tough to come back and be the same player after a year out of the game.

[Logorrhea]

Balls. Definately one of my favourite players.

[Vamos los azules]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Between them Stan and Isa kept us going last year when all the international players were missing. He's hugely important to the squad. Gutted. For him as well as us.

[Sauvignon Blank]

A real kick in the b*%&!x.
An absolute stalwarth for us and at 32 it will be nigh on impossible to come back stronger and fitter

[gleesonisgod]

Oh God, what a nightmare! Worst news since Gleeson announced his retirement.

Personally, for Ireland's sake, I think they should go with Ross. At least for a few months. In the last five or so years, at one time or another Birch, Fogs, Stan, Keogh and McLaughlain all made themselves first choice players and in some cases internationals by being given a decent run of matches.

You need game time to get match fit and until Ross gets a decent run of it he'll just be unfairly judged as unfit and lazy. It's impossible for him to ever make an impression with the game time he's been getting.

I know Sky have a tendancy to fall in love with players and then laud them as God's gift to rugby but Ross made Barnes' GP Team of the Year before he signed and then he spent a season on our bench. Fair enough if Stan was keeping him out but now that he is injured Ross must be used for the sake of the Irish scrum.

[aisling7]

Disaster. Gutted for Stan

[Leinsterman]

What a horrible way to start the season. An absolute disaster.

[fourthirtythree]

That's one bad piece of news.

The only good thing is that Ross has the opportunity to make the position his own.

[BlueBalls]

Gutted for Stan a really awful way to start the season. He has been one of the stand out players over the last few years, hopefully Ross or Van der Merwe can step up to fill the massive gap left.

[rex banner]

That's a disaster. Hope the guy recovers well and comes back next year. He's been a legend for us since he arrive and is firm crowd favourite. Good luck Stan.

[RoboProp]

Get well Stan. You're a true blue hero through and through.

[sheepshagger]

Gutted.

Where's the source of that first article as a matter of interest?

[Amz]

Quick google says it's from the Indo.

Gutted for Stan if it turns out to be truly season ending. He's a hero.

[gowest]

i thaught he was your best player last season, very consistent,

ur loss is irelands gain, ross has a season to play week in week out, if he cant tack hold of this opportunity to get into the irish squad he never will, no more excuses about lack of game time.

[cormac]

It's in the Sunday Times too. Terrible news for Stan and the team. Only one man can fill Stan's jersey, figuratively and literally. Even though he hasn't played for 18 months he's still probably fitter than CJ. He never did pre-season anyway. Yep, the Bring Back Ollie campaign starts here.

[tackle-bag]

As many people have already adverted to, this unfortunate news isn't without an upside. Our starting front row for most games this season will include one of the following combinations: 1. Healy, 3. Ross; 1. VDM, 3. Ross; or 1. Healy, 3. VDM. All three of those should be strong enough in the scrum to compete vigorously at both ML and HEC level.

However, Stan's injury also presents an opportunity for Jack McGrath, Jack O'Connell and Stewart Maguire. All three players have impressed me enormously for 'A' sides and the Irish underage teams in recent years. They're all physically developed and they're all very hungry, but crucially they all lack game time. If the Leinster website is correct, they only have 1 full cap (as a sub) and 11 'A' caps between them. In my opinion, if each of those guys can turn around at the end of this season (before the age of 21/22) and say that they each participated in 5 or 6 first team fixtures and held their own, then the loss of Stan will all have been worthwhile.

[BlueBlue]

sickening