The Queensland Reds’ injured-plagued Elton Flatley announced on Wednesday that he is giving up the team captaincy, putting added pressure on his stand-in replacement, Nathan Sharpe, not to defect to new Super 14 franchise Perth.
Flatley, a veteran Wallaby who has struggled with a string of injuries over the past two seasons, missed the Reds’ past two Super 12 games after being concussed against the Crusaders on March 12.
With symptoms of concussion persisting, Flatley has also been ruled out of the Reds tour of South Africa, where they will play the Stormers and Bulls in the coming two weeks.
”I want to concentrate solely on getting fit again and getting back to playing my best football without any other distractions getting in the way,” Flatley said in explaining his decision to give up the captaincy.
”Captaining the Reds is a huge responsibility and while it may be a bit selfish of me to stand down in order to get myself fit and to regain my form, I believe it’s also in the best interests of the team,” he said in a statement issued by the Reds.
”I’ve had a lot of injuries and it’s hard not being there week in, week out as a captain should be,” he said. ”I need to get fit again and then come back and play good football without worrying about the captaincy.”
Flatley’s move hands the captaincy to Sharpe at a time when the Wallaby lock is considering whether to follow New South Wales Waratah’s hooker Brendan Cannon to Perth when the Western Australian franchise joins the expanded Super 14 competition next year.
Sharpe, who is the Wallaby’s vice-captain, is currently negotiating with both the Reds and Perth and is believed to have been offered the captaincy of the new team.
The leadership issue is key for Sharpe, who hopes to take over as Wallaby captain when George Gregan retires, and the experience of running a team at the provincial level could prove a prerequisite for such a move.
Flatley denied that he was persuaded to relinquish the captaincy in order to keep Sharpe with the Reds.
”There was absolutely no pressure from anyone at the Reds,” he said.
Coach Jeff Miller said Flatley’s decision came as a surprise, but was ”a very brave step”.
”We obviously want Elton to return fully fit and back to his very best, so if he thinks he can do that without the added responsibility and pressure of being captain, then we will fully support his decision, albeit with some sadness,” he said.
Cannon announced on Tuesday that he will head to Perth at the end of this year’s Super 12 season.
Reds wing Ben Tune and ACT Brumbies centre Clyde Rathbone are also both considering moves to the new franchise. — Sapa-AFP