/ 6 October 1999

NORIEGA OUT OF TOURNAMENT

EXPERIENCED Australian prop Patricio Noriega was Tuesday ruled out of the World Cup after failing to recover from an injury to his left shoulder. The former Argentine international’s place in the 30-man squad will be taken by Eastwood and New South Wales prop Rod Moore. Noriega suffered a torn ligament in his left shoulder at training last week and failed to make a rapid recovery. “Pato has not improved quickly enough for us to keep him in the squad,” said coach Rod Macqueen. “Unfortunately he wont be right for at least a couple of weeks. “Its a hard decision to make, obviously, for someone who has put a lot of work in for this World Cup campaign. Noriega said he accepted the decision. “Its very disappointing for me,” he said. “Like all players, I feel that competing in the World Cup is the top of our sport. Id like to wish the team all the best and I am very confident they will succeed.” Moore will arrive in Dublin from Sydney on Tuesday. No decision has yet been made on when Noriega will return to Australia.