Wallabies give injured Horne every chance

The Wallabies will give injured winger Rob Horne every chance to overcome a shoulder complaint which threatens to end his World Cup.

Horne was forced from the field 10 minutes into the Wallabies’ superb 33-13 win over England that booked their quarter-final spot and eliminated the hosts at the group stage of the competition.

He left the stadium with his arm in a sling, prompting fears he could join forwards Will Skelton (pectoral) and Wycliff Palu (hamstring) in being ruled out of the tournament.

The utility back had scans on Sunday in London which proved inconclusive and the Wallabies are eager to seek further advice as they look to make a decision early this week.

However, coach Michael Cheika remains hopeful he’ll be fit to remain in the squad for the rest of the tournament.

Horne is well liked within the Wallabies camp for his defensive nous and toughness.

Cheika praised the 26-year-old for resuming his place in the defensive line on Saturday night, despite being clearly hampered by the injury before he was replaced by Kurtley Beale.

“That’s one of the reasons why Rob Horne is a pretty consistent selection,” Cheika said.

“He brings a certain type of commitment and grunt that we are really asking our players to give.

“When you speak to him he’s going `don’t worry, I’ll be right’ and he’s sitting in there in a sling waiting to go for scans.

“That’s what we want players to do, we want them to be committed to the cause.”

It is understood the Wallabies have not contacted any players to be placed on stand by.

There were also concerns for star fullback Israel Folau, who failed to finish the game after rolling his ankle but Cheika said the cross-code superstar would be fit for the Wales match.

“Izzy pulled up pretty good,” he said.

“There are some sore lads because it was a very physical encounter.

“They’ve all done their recovery now so I’m sure they will enjoy the day off.”

Despite the bruising encounter against the English, Cheika said he had no interest in fielding a second-string side against Warren Gatland’s Wales.

Cheika had employed a two-team system across Australia’s opening fixtures against Fiji and Uruguay – with the short turnaround between the clashes leading to mass changes to both starting lineups.

But with top spot in Pool A going on the line against Wales, who like Australia are on 13 points, that ploy is unlikely to be revisited – no matter how weary Cheika’s squad is.

“There’s no resting I don’t think,” he said.

“It will be done on how we feel physically. You need to peak at different times.

“Everyone has had an opportunity there to rotate through and participate early on and get involved.

“We have to look at the collective load now, and say realistically we had the Rugby Championship and for the guys who started yesterday, they have really only played two matches in five to six weeks.

“You have to manage other things later on but right now I don’t feel we have to be looking for rests and stuff like that.”

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