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Wallabies cancer survivor Christian Lealiffano being carefully monitored

(Photo by Dan Mullan / Getty Images)

Cancer survivor Christian Lealiifano’s final season in Australia is being carefully managed by the Wallabies at the Rugby World Cup.

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Strength and conditioning coach Brad Harrington revealed Lealiifano’s wellbeing is handled differently to the rest of the 31-man squad in Japan to cater for what his body has been through.

Having returned to rugby in late 2017 after taking a year out to undergo treatment for leukaemia, Lealiifano went from strength to strength with the Brumbies and was the busiest of any Australian player this season.

Remarkably, he started all 18 Super Rugby games and was subbed off late in just three of them, defying any doubts over his conditioning levels.

Harrington said Lealiifano was faster and stronger than before his cancer episode, which was a measure of his character.

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However, Wallabies medical staff are vigilant over his wellbeing, allowing him greater recovery time from games, providing with more gym work and lighter training loads elsewhere.

“Obviously Christian’s a different case where we need to look at how he’s travelling with his health each week and manage him accordingly,” Harrington said.

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“It’s just probably the intensity of the game takes more out of him and he’s getting older too, so we’ve got to manage our older athletes a little bit differently.

“That’s the sort of balancing act with him but it’s something that the Brumbies did really well this year and we’ve learned a fair bit off them.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2_kl8eAnND/

Lealiifano, who turned 32 last week, leaves for Japan following the tournament.

He farewelled Australia with a sublime final campaign for the Brumbies, playing his 150th game when they lost their semi-final to the Jaguares in Buenos Aires.

Lealiifano hasn’t found his best form since the stunning Bledisloe Cup win in Perth in August but remains in contention to reclaim the No.10 jersey after Bernard Foley struggled during Sunday’s loss to Wales.

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– AAP

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika and captain Michael Hooper were both left flummoxed after Australia’s loss to Wales:

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J
JW 1 hour ago
'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

Well a) poor French results doesn’t seem to effect the situation much. In fact one of the reasons given for this selection policy is that the French don’t tune in for foreign rugby content on the other side of the world, at a time when theyre not having their vino. So who would know the results? And b) this is the crux of the matter, they are legally abided to play them as part of WRs tier 1 reciprocal tours programme. The only real choice for the SH team is to treat it the same, which is fine when teams are happy to do that, but the AB’s have a totally anthesis policy/mentality so would never use the games in the same way.


So alligned with b) the only real option is to complain to those in control. I suspect that’s why weve seen France reneging on the practice, and you can only be left to think that if they hadn’t reneged, WR would have done something more drastic about it. Which of course would mean not just telling them to bugger off when they want to tour, it’s no one playing them (from t1 at least) at all (assuming they have no interest in scheduling match’s outside the windows, like Ireland and NZ are doing).


Then of course that means no involvement of France in the Nations Championship. Which means they are automatically the last ranked team in 6N to qualify, so the actual worst team in 6N gets to compete in it, making a mockery of the promotion and relegation WR wanted to happen between T1 and T2 for qualifying purposes. Yup, b) is just something nobody wants to happen. Well done FFR and LNR for making the tour work instead (how well is yet to be seen).

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