{"id":401809,"date":"2024-06-11T04:30:03","date_gmt":"2024-06-11T04:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=401809"},"modified":"2024-06-11T05:05:15","modified_gmt":"2024-06-11T05:05:15","slug":"can-hurt-brumbies-desperate-for-stars-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=401809","title":{"rendered":"'Can hurt': Brumbies 'desperate' for star's return"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brumbies<\/a> prop James Slipper<\/a> could be a fly in the ointment for the Blues<\/a> if he's fit to play the Super Rugby Pacific<\/a> semi-final on Friday.<\/p>\n

Slipper suffered an upper calf strain in the final round of the regular season against the Western Force.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Initially, head coach Stephen Larkham indicated there would be a two- to three-week layoff and said Slipper was an "outside chance" to return for the semi-final.<\/p>\n

Watch all the action from the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season, with<\/strong><\/em> every match ad-free, live and on demand on Stan Sport<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

After being belted by the Blues earlier this year, 46-7, the Brumbies may be sweating on having a fully fit side.<\/p>\n

\"James<\/p>\n

"They're hoping Slips is back," said former Wallabies scrum-half Nick Phipps on Stan Sport's Between Two Posts<\/em>.<\/p>\n

"He said he'd be back this week. I certainly know with calves, you're optimistic about it. They desperately need him, don't they?"<\/p>\n

Stephen Hoiles added, "If you didn't play him last week, you're not going to get huge minutes out of him this week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"The risk is whether you bring him on to start and try and get him to half-time or do you just try and let him get through that."<\/p>\n

\"'World<\/p>\n

The Highlanders gave the Brumbies plenty to think about in their quarter-final match.<\/p>\n

The lead changed five times in the first half but the home side kept the visitors scoreless in the second half.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Brumbies prevailed 32-16 but gave away costly scrum penalties that Hoiles said would be crucial to stamp out against the Blues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"They were under a fair bit of pressure early on," said Hoiles.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/StanSportRugby\/status\/1800354768377786622?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw<\/a><\/p>\n

"I thought the Highlanders played to their strengths really well. They played the territory, set-piece style, and really challenged the Brums.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"That's probably one of the only concerns; how can they get their scrum to a point where it doesn't cost them any penalties?<\/p>\n

"Admittedly, it was young (Harry) Vella up against Ethan de Groot, who's one of the best props in the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"You don't see a Brumbies side this deep in the competition getting consistently penalised. That can hurt you in the bigger games."<\/p>\n

\"Muirhead<\/p>\n

How Slipper might fit into that equation could be crucial in deciding the outcoming of the contest.<\/p>\n

"I actually have this theory with scrum penalties, it probably costs you more late in the game," said Hoiles.<\/p>\n

"You don't want to get them in the last 30 minutes. If you're gonna get them, you want to get them in the first 30. You don't want them at any stage. If they get Slips back, where they play him (will be important).<\/p>\n

"Again, you don't know the combinations like who is their best scrummaging hooker. Pollock is a phenomenal young footy player but he's a young front-rower. (Harry) Vella has only just come into Super Rugby this year. No young front rower doesn't get thrown into the cauldron at some stage."<\/p>\n

\"Patrick<\/p>\n

The Blues will name their side on Wednesday, which will not include talismanic captain Patrick Tuipulotu.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Japan-bound Akira Ioane limped from the field in his side's win over the Fijian Drua, casting some doubt over his participation in the semi-final.<\/p>\n

The Blues will host the Brumbies on Friday at Eden Park with kick-off at 5.05pm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brumbies prop James Slipper could be a fly in the ointment for the Blues if he's fit to play the Super Rugby Pacific semi-final on […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":401812,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401809"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=401809"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":401817,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401809\/revisions\/401817"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/401812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=401809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=401809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=401809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}