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Kangaroos coch Tim Sheens says he needed a specialist winger for Four Nations
By Dean Ritchie From: The Daily Telegraph October 22, 2010 12:00AM
KANGAROOS coach Tim Sheens has come forward to explain and defend his controversial decision to name Lote Tuqiri on the wing ahead of Clive Churchill Medal winner Darius Boyd.
Shocked St George Illawarra yesterday joined a chorus of fans questioning Boyd's snubbing from the Australian Four Nations side to play PNG on Sunday.
An online The Daily Telegraph poll attracted 2500 respondents yesterday and 63 per cent agreed Boyd should have been picked ahead of Tuqiri.
"Lote is a specialist winger and that's what I was looking for," Sheens said. "He is a big, strong man with a high workrate in the hit-up area.
"We only had one specialist winger and that wasn't something I was particularly happy about.
"It's about positional play and defence. I have enough players playing out of position as it is. If you keep doing that, it will bite you."
Asked was Boyd unlucky, Sheens said: "It's game one and hopefully we have three games to go."
The Boyd omission was the key discussion point in the Australian side that was exclusively revealed in yesterday's The Daily Telegraph.
Dragons chief executive Peter Doust yesterday asked why Boyd was overlooked considering his star's emphatic form throughout the club's premiership-winning season.
Asked if he believed Boyd was unlucky, Doust said: "I think all those who recognised him this year would feel that way. I think everyone would agree with that.
"He is an incumbent Test player on the wing and, given his season, it is a little hard to understand.
"Luckily, though, I'm not a selector or coach. It is a long program [Four Nations] and there are plenty of games to go."
Tuqiri spoke to Boyd yesterday.
"I just said 'hard luck'," Tuqiri said. "Then we got into training. Everyone is professional here. I don't know him in-depth but he seems like a 'cruisey' bloke.
"Everyone will have a crack at some point.
"It will be very competitive."
In his defence, Tuqiri has enjoyed a stellar season and will no doubt star on Sunday.
He was stunned to hear his name read out by Sheens in a team meeting in Homebush yesterday.
"I didn't know what to think," Tuqiri said. "I was sitting up the back and … Slater, Morris, Tate, Tonga, Lote ... I don't know what was said after that. There you go.
"I was spinning. I thought I would be picking up the bags and being an Emu [the second-string Australians players]. Maybe get a run if someone went down. I can't believe it. I honestly thought I'd be training for four weeks. I'm just honoured to put the jersey on again. Now I'm there I've got to perform."
Becoming a Kangaroo, again, caps a sensational season for Tuqiri, who was signed earlier this year by the Wests Tigers from English rugby union club Leicester.
"I remember [Tigers CEO] Stephen Humphreys coming to Leicester 10 months ago to seal the deal," he said. "And here I am 10 months later, playing for the Kangaroos."
By Dean Ritchie From: The Daily Telegraph October 22, 2010 12:00AM
KANGAROOS coach Tim Sheens has come forward to explain and defend his controversial decision to name Lote Tuqiri on the wing ahead of Clive Churchill Medal winner Darius Boyd.
Shocked St George Illawarra yesterday joined a chorus of fans questioning Boyd's snubbing from the Australian Four Nations side to play PNG on Sunday.
An online The Daily Telegraph poll attracted 2500 respondents yesterday and 63 per cent agreed Boyd should have been picked ahead of Tuqiri.
"Lote is a specialist winger and that's what I was looking for," Sheens said. "He is a big, strong man with a high workrate in the hit-up area.
"We only had one specialist winger and that wasn't something I was particularly happy about.
"It's about positional play and defence. I have enough players playing out of position as it is. If you keep doing that, it will bite you."
Asked was Boyd unlucky, Sheens said: "It's game one and hopefully we have three games to go."
The Boyd omission was the key discussion point in the Australian side that was exclusively revealed in yesterday's The Daily Telegraph.
Dragons chief executive Peter Doust yesterday asked why Boyd was overlooked considering his star's emphatic form throughout the club's premiership-winning season.
Asked if he believed Boyd was unlucky, Doust said: "I think all those who recognised him this year would feel that way. I think everyone would agree with that.
"He is an incumbent Test player on the wing and, given his season, it is a little hard to understand.
"Luckily, though, I'm not a selector or coach. It is a long program [Four Nations] and there are plenty of games to go."
Tuqiri spoke to Boyd yesterday.
"I just said 'hard luck'," Tuqiri said. "Then we got into training. Everyone is professional here. I don't know him in-depth but he seems like a 'cruisey' bloke.
"Everyone will have a crack at some point.
"It will be very competitive."
In his defence, Tuqiri has enjoyed a stellar season and will no doubt star on Sunday.
He was stunned to hear his name read out by Sheens in a team meeting in Homebush yesterday.
"I didn't know what to think," Tuqiri said. "I was sitting up the back and … Slater, Morris, Tate, Tonga, Lote ... I don't know what was said after that. There you go.
"I was spinning. I thought I would be picking up the bags and being an Emu [the second-string Australians players]. Maybe get a run if someone went down. I can't believe it. I honestly thought I'd be training for four weeks. I'm just honoured to put the jersey on again. Now I'm there I've got to perform."
Becoming a Kangaroo, again, caps a sensational season for Tuqiri, who was signed earlier this year by the Wests Tigers from English rugby union club Leicester.
"I remember [Tigers CEO] Stephen Humphreys coming to Leicester 10 months ago to seal the deal," he said. "And here I am 10 months later, playing for the Kangaroos."
