5 Aug 2014

Wallabies looking for another hooker

1:52 pm on 5 August 2014

The Wallabies will be relying on their third-choice hooker for the opening Bledisloe Cup test against the All Blacks in Sydney on Saturday week.

Wallabies hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau

Wallabies hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau Photo: PHOTOSPORT

New South Wales' Tatafu Polota-Nau has been ruled out of the match with a knee injury suffered during the Super rugby final at the weekend against the Crusaders.

Polota-Nau had replaced Stephen Moore in the Wallabies lineup after the skipper's season ended with an ACL injury in the first Test against France.

The Wallabies have confirmed he'll miss the first Bledisloe match in Sydney on August 16th, but will be re-assessed leading into game two in Auckland on August 23rd.

It's a huge blow to the Wallabies' hopes of ending their 12-year Bledisloe Cup drought, as they also lost their captain and first-choice rake Stephen Moore to a season ending ACL injury in the first Test against France.

In a further blow to the Wallabies' front-row stocks, the Brumbies prop Scott Sio has sprained his ankle.

Western Force hooker Nathan Charles, who earned his first two Test caps off the bench in Moore's absence, could now face a baptism of fire in his first run-on game when he takes on the All Blacks on August 16th.

With the Queensland Reds' James Hansen the only other hooker in the 32-man squad, Waratahs reserve hooker Tolu Latu will join the camp tomorrow as an additional training squad member.